Tension and Shadow - Stock model pose reference pack

This collection features 190 melancholic studio portraits exploring strain, withdrawal and resistance. Twisted and grasping arms, a body pushing against a wall and curled tightly on the floor. These poses are not about glamour, they are about discomfort, and held breath. Made for artists exploring psychological storytelling through body language

I am wearing a simple black silk dress with wet, unstyled hair. Skin retouching has been kept minimal, scratches and bruises remain. The rawness is intentional. Lighting varies throughout the set, some portraits are simple studio studies, others use high contrast lighting to carve the body into shadow, creating silhouettes and dramatic negative space. Mostly seated poses with 46 standing close ups.

Included are 25 dark background images with a wet floor surface, creating a subtle moody mirror like reflection beneath the figure. 

___

This pack was also shaped by something I read online, an artist commenting that there weren’t enough stock poses showing real tension, that too many models and poses were focused on looking pretty. That observation stayed with me.

This collection deliberately moves away from my familiar poses, away from the instinct to present something polished. Instead, I focused on what the body does when it is protecting itself, resisting and releasing.