On the Side - Mermaid Modeling Pose #3

Whether you’re a new mermaid seeking modeling guidance or an experienced mermaid looking for inspiration, this series is designed to help YOU reach your full mermaid modeling potential through a closer analysis of the top mermaid poses! Read on for more Mermaid Model FINspo.

“On the Side” is all about mastering fluke balance while sitting or laying on one side.

How to model “On-the-Side”

From Sitting Mermaid pose, roll onto your side stacking your hips and planting both hands in front of you for support, while you find balance in your fluke. You want it to stand tall for the camera to create that iconic mermaid silhouette.

Tips & Tricks:

If you’re having trouble balancing the fluke, you may want to save this pose for a location where there’s something to lean your fluke on.

You can also practice this pose in shallow water to take some of the weight off of your feet, ankles and legs.

mermaid-pose-model-on-the-side-pink-lights

mermaid-on-the-side-pose-rainbow-waterfall

Get Balanced and Play Around

Once you’re feeling confident about the fluke, you can begin leaning all your weight into the hand of the side you’re sitting on. Experiment with different heights to see what works for you; prop up tall on a straightened arm or take an elbow to lay about level with your fluke. Bring your arm closer or further from your body to try out different levels of sitting and laying down, lifting up from your hips, ribs, or neck

Use your Free Hand

With your free hand, you can play with your hair, reach down towards your fluke or out to the water in front of you.

Look Ma, No Hands!

If you’re feeling especially balanced, you can even try this pose with no hands!

Use your environment

Use your environment to your advantage, letting your fluke hang down when possible.

Bent Knees Variation

Try bending your knees for a fun variation that will also help square up your photo if you are shooting with multiple subjects.

Try it out with a friend or two!

Stretch out long, or scrunch up with bent knees to squeeze as many mermaids & flukes as possible into one square Instagram post!

Try “On-the-Side” pose and share your photos with me!

As you can see this pose can be done just about anywhere! In fact, the last photo was taken in a Bamboo Forrest in Japan- I was unable to bring a stiff monofin on the trip but the scenery worked out perfectly to prop up my fabric fluke for show. Explore different camera angles and share your favorite “On-the-Side” mermaid modeling photos to your IG stories while tagging me @mermaid_jules, for a chance to be featured in my guides!

Consider the following:

This pose is not for everyone, or every tail.

Some flukes without hard monofins cannot stand tall, and will flip and fold off to one side, ultimately requiring something to lean back on or a photographer’s assistant to manually hold the fluke up to achieve the same look.

While the mermaid silhouette is minimized, there is still a soft sort of beauty to a photo like this with a silky folded tail.

Silicone tails with a hard monofin built in can easily pull off this pose, but keep in mind the wear and tear this pose may have on your tail.

While I haven’t seen any adverse effects on my Finfolk fluke, keep in mind that not all tails are created equally. I have often envisioned my plastic monofin slicing right through it’s silicone surrounding, or worse, snapping in half from the pressure and weight of performing this pose. Only move your fluke gently into this position, use your ankle and leg strength to support your fluke and take as much weight off of the monofin as possible, and I don’t recommend holding this pose for extended periods of time.

If you are in a fabric tail with a hard monofin, you are in the best boat to perform this pose, safely and effectively.

The fluke should be fairly light and the stiff monofin should make balancing the fluke a breeze (but even still, you should practice on land before attempting this pose say on a paddle board in the open waters!)