25 Saree Poses for All Occasions + 11 Tips on How to Pose in Saree

From easy to editorial-level, from simple to sexy, here are 25 saree poses to try for your Instagram pics & a COMPLETE guide on how to pose like a model in a saree.

Hey gorgeous! ‘Tis the season of festivities. So upping our traditional wear game is on top of our to-do list. However, with the Covid situation going on, it seems we’ll be celebrating most of everything on Instagram, or sharing pics on Whatsapp with our family and friends (and frenemies). So what better time than now to master the art of posing for pictures.

I know you’ve all been posing since you were little (hey, I know, I’ve been doing it too). But if you’re wondering how to pose in a saree properly and like a model, you’re in the right place. Whether you just want to start taking better pics for your blogstagram, or are practicing for an upcoming engagement, party or family function, this guide to saree poses for Instagram will help you become an expert in no time.

So let’s begin with a step-by-step posing guide, where I spill all my posing secrets, which I have mastered over the years of my fashion blogging and magazine cover photo-shoot career. This guide will help you understand how to look slim in a saree, how to feel confident, how to work with your body in a way you feel comfortable yet look the best.

Afterwards, we’ll look at some of the professional model pics and Bollywood celebrity pics in sarees to get some inspiration, so you have some handy poses to emulate. Ready? Let’s go!

The 11 Tips to a Perfect Saree Pose: Step-by-Step Basic Posing Guide

1. Be Graceful & Feminine

Saree is a very graceful and feminine garment, so the first thing to remember is to let your elegance show. Poses that let you look elegant always work well. On the other hand, tomboyish or unrefined poses don’t usually look good with a saree.

2. Adjust the Drapes Well before Taking a Pic

The second tip is to make sure your saree is ironed and draped well. Uneven pleats and pallu drape can ruin any picture, especially a full-length picture. So make sure to adjust your pleats, bring them to the center, and if you’re taking a full-length picture, request someone to make sure your pallu is not wrinkled or creased at the bottom.

3. Wear Heels & Keep a Straight Posture

Posture is the next thing to work on for saree poses. You need a straight posture, and try to wear heels which will make your back look straight. Make sure you’re not hunching. Keep your back straight and your shoulders relaxed.

4. Suck in your Tummy

Yes, even slim models have to be sure they’re not breathing in while the picture is being taken. So suck in your tummy and hold it for a bit. You don’t have to hold your breath.

5. Keep the Camera at a Lower Level

Now that your posture and mood is set, let’s work on a few basics ways of posing. These basics will help you pose even in other traditional wear. The idea with any good photograph is to focus on showing your best silhouette. This means that the image should make you look tall, slim and hourglass-y.

So firstly, make sure the camera is at your eye-level or below. This will help you look taller. You can request the photographer to either bend a little, or sit down. (Psst. Secret tip: The best level is to have the camera in line with your chest or upper abs.)

6. Stand at an Angle & Twist your Torso

Now let’s get to the slim part. To look slim, your photograph should show your waist at its smallest. For this, you should stand in a way that your feet are an an angle. Next, twist your upper body to face the photographer. You should do this naturally and without straining yourself. This will showcase the curve of your hips, a tiny waist and your full upper body, making your bust look fuller. If you notice, this is the most common pose used by models.

7. Face the Camera at a Slight Angle

If you face the camera at just a slight angle, it will make your face look slimmer and will show your nose profile well. This is more preferable to full-frontal pics which tend to merge the nose profile with the face due to the camera flash/ studio-lighting.

8. Make Triangles with your Arms

Your pose should not be rigid. If you just stand straight with your hands down, you’ll look stern and rigid. To avoid this, use the trick of triangles. Making triangles with your body is one of the top tricks models use to make the body seem fluid. So bend your arms to create triangles. Keep one hand on your waist or one touching your hair. You can also use one arm to hold your pallu, put it on your thigh lightly, or touch a wall.

9. Keep your Head Straight

You want to look confident. So try not to shy away from the camera. However, you want to look comfortable with the camera too. So your face should not be tilted up or down. If your face is tilted up, your eyes will show smaller and your eyelids and chin will look too big. If your face is tilted down, you will look less confident. So it should directly be in line with the camera lens.

10. Open your Eyes more & Smile!

Make your eyes big (not too big: they should still look natural). Don’t blink until the pic is taken. You can ask your photographer to say “ready”. You can smile just enough to curl the corners of your mouth up. Or you can give a wide smile to show your teeth – totally up to you. If you want more of a confident model-like pose, then slightly part your lips without smiling. And voila!

11. Try some other Poses

Now that you’ve mastered the basics, keep on practicing other poses. Try moving your arms a little. You can sit on a chair, or play with your hair. Hold up your pallu or make it fly in the air (get someone to help!). You can also keep both hands on your waist, or look away from the camera casually. Keep reading to know more.

Easy Saree Poses to Try

Posing in a saree is easy, once you know the basics. It’s more or less like posing in any other garment. In fact, the pallu can give you lots to do with your hands. The only thing to remember is that you gotta keep looking refined & lady-like! You can still have lots of fun.

So let’s take a look at some pose-inspo!

Simple Front Pose

This is one of the easy saree poses for photography that looks very confident. Just stand with your front towards the camera, and bend one knee on the front. Bring some of your hair on one side. Place both your hands together on the front, touching them lightly. Keep your head straight and smile just a tiny bit.

Model Pose

Bit of a variation on the above pose – just place both hands on your waist and voila! You’re a model.

The Basic Confident Pose

Well, I’ve just taught you the basics of this pose above, and I’m sure by now you find it easy. So just twist your torso, put the front hand on the waist and keep the other one straight at the back. Tilt your head a bit towards the camera and look confident!

The Basic Staircase Pose

Standing on an elevated step or the first step of a staircase certainly helps you look taller. Plus it gives you something to do with your other hand, as you can softly rest it on the railing or balustrade. Great idea for full-length saree poses indoor.

Cheek-Touch-Look-Down Pose

Wondering what else to do with your hands if you have nothing to lean them onto? The easiest way is to touch your hair or cheek. You can look up towards the camera. Or just look down delicately to show off your eye makeup! You can also use it as one of the simple selfie poses in saree.

The Simple Front Pose

Want to show off your side profile but hate putting hands on your waist? Here’s one of the basic saree poses to try. Simply stand at the angle and look to the front. Then fold your arms to keep the hands together on your front, above your navel. That’s it!

The Simple Front Pose

If you don’t want to keep a hand on the waist, you can try this. It’s one of the easiest saree poses for beginners. Just stand facing the camera. Then turn the head very slightly on one side (so your nose profile shows properly). Bend one arm to place your hand on your front, and keep your fingers loose and natural. Keep the other arm straight on the side, and you can also hold your pallu there.

The Shy Girl Front Pose

Want to seem like the shy, demure girl you are? Then here’s a pose for you. Stand facing the camera. Bend one knee slightly to form a bit of a mermaid pose. Then turn the head slightly sideways and down to show your side profile and smile ever so slightly. With your hands, you can either hold your pallu or just touch one arm with your other hand.

The Side Pallu Pose

If you’re feeling body-conscious (which you shouldn’t), here’s an easy pose to hide all that tummy-fat. Just stand at a 90-degree angle with the camera (on your side) and adjust your pallu so it completely covers your side profile. Bend one knee so you don’t look too stiff. This pose will help you put the focus on your pallu. Tilt your head to smile at the camera. And finally, hold both your hands together in the front elegantly.

Stare-at-an-Ant-on-the-Floor Pose

Have I mopped the floor properly today? Will I be able to meet my deadline this week? What are those ants doing on the floor? These are all the questions you can think about as you stylishly stare at the floor in an effort to show your eyeshadow. Keep your arms slightly bent and you can also hold a clutch or a flower.

Leaning-against-the-Wall Pose

I love this pose – so pretty and fun. It’s one of the simplest saree poses if you have a beautiful wall to lean against. Bend one arm and touch the elbow with the wall and the hand with your head. In the other arm you can hold your clutch, or just place it on your thigh. Turn head to the side and smize!

The Nice Girl Sitting Pose

Sitting on a chair is an easy way to show your full outfit without even having to pose much. Sit cross-legged at a bit of an angle and face the camera. And then, simply place your hands one on top of another on your knee. Or hold one wrist with the other hand.

Sitting Down Front Pose

Here’s another sitting down pose – and it’s just a variation of the above one. This is just one of the most confident saree poses if you want somewhere to sit. Sit cross-legged at a slight angle, face the camera and keep your head straight. Then place one hand on your arm-rest or your bench. And place the other one on your thigh in front of you.

Touch-the-Pallu Front Pose

Here’s a very fashionable pose if you want to look very confident. Bring all your hair on one side to show your earring. Stand with your front facing the camera and bend one of the knees a bit, keeping your toe on the side. Put one hand on your waist and bring the other one up. With it, lightly touch your shoulder or your pallu. You can either look towards the camera or look sideways and up.

The Back-Pallu Pose

Here’s one of the most useful saree poses to learn if you have a saree with a beautiful pallu or a blouse with a sexy back design. Stand with your back towards the camera. Push all your hair on one side at the front to show off your blouse design. Then look towards the other side. Hold out one arm on the side and with the other hand, hold down the pallu.

Back Blouse Pose

If you want to show off a close up of the back of your blouse, here’s one of the sexiest poses to try. Find a pretty wall or door to pose in front of. Put all your hair to the side and turn your head to the other side. Then place your one hand on the side of your face and put the other on your waist or keep it in front of you.

The Half-Sexy Half-Nice Pose

If you want to look sexy but not too extra, here’s one of the best saree poses for girls to try. Keep one leg straight and slightly bend the other knee to place the foot in front. Then stand on your side at a bit of an angle and turn your head to the front. Keep your hair all on one side and just hold your hands together at your thigh.

The Front Pallu Pose

Here’s one of the saree poses to try if you’re wearing a front-pallu drape. Just stand confidently facing the camera, and put all your hair on the side opposite the pallu. Then hold the pallu down with one hand, and hold out the other slightly towards the side. Bend one knee a bit towards the side to add more drama.

Now that we’ve tried the basic poses, here are some more unique and different saree poses you can check out.

The Fashion Editorial Pose

The Well-Put-Together Pose

Here’s one of the saree poses in house you can try.

The Bollywood Pose

One of the most traditional saree poses for photoshoot, this one is very easy to master – you just need a tree, a wall or staircase railing to touch. And lean slightly.

The Strict Teacher Pose

Here’s one of the easiest silk saree poses if you haven’t pinned your pallu. Simply keep both your hands in the front and hold either side of the palla with them, wrapping it up like a shawl.

I’m Tired Pose

Oh, My! Pose

Leaning-Against-a-Wall Pose

Hope you found my guide on saree poses helpful. I’d love to see your own pics in saree so tag me @shilpaahujadotcom on Instagram!

Muaah!

Read next:

50 Saree Quotes for Instagram: Caption for Traditional Look for Instagram