In a career where beauty and uniformity are often indistinguishable, it becomes necessary to find the few features you can truly call your own, things that no one else can do as well as you. In modeling, this is known as the signature pose.

Practice, Practice, Practice

The signature pose isn’t something you wake up one morning doing. If your aim is to master a pose that people relate directly to you, you need to research and practice. How do other models or celebrities pose? Why does it work or not work? Is it attractive? Is it wacky? Beyond this, what is your ultimate goal with this look? Do you want it to be sexy or do you want it to be fun?

Now that you’ve narrowed down the options and the focus, you can start standing in front of that mirror and testing out poses you’ve found coupled with your own spin. You can even look through your own portfolio and see if there are angles or looks you think are really unique to you specifically and work from there.

Stick With It

Once settled on a style, start using it. Don’t go overboard, but make sure it becomes a prominent feature of your look. The more you do it, the more natural it will feel until you find yourself posing that specific way without giving it a second thought.

Be mindful, however. Listen to your close, respected peers if they have something to say. You can even ask them outright what they think of your look. What would they suggest? What do they like? What don’t they like? Take their opinions and work them in until there’s no denying that the pose you strike was yours first and everyone else is merely copying you.