There is no surefire pose that works for everyone. A pose that makes one person look awesome wont always work on another person.
This is an area that many people from photographers to models have issues with. They seem to forget that just because a pose looks good in one picture from someone else, it may look bad on your current subject. Same with people modeling, just because it looks good on a model in a magazine, it may look bad on you.
Photographer need to also understand that not only is the posing extremely important, the lighting also must be right too.
People that want to look good in pictures should practice posing in front of a mirror. Facial expressions to hands and everything else. Although many men seem to like cleavage so much you really don't want to have a photographer photographing from above you looking down your shirt. Be natural, Don't try to sexualize your posing. A good photographer will make you look fantastic.
I like to start off with my client/subjects doing a pose naturally then changing the parts of the body posing to get the image I am looking for. Some people are very natural at posing and are very photogenic. Some are not.
Just about anyone can take a picture of a beautiful woman or man and people will like it because they like to see the beautiful person. If your not so perfect then angles, posing and lighting will be key in getting the best picture you can.
Not everyone will like every picture or pose you do. If the client/subject likes it, then you as a photographer did your job and they did theirs.
One big thing to help is props. Anything from a purse to a cup and so on. This gives the client/subject something to pose around and not look so awkward.
Photographers should direct the client to where they want them to stand, give them an emotion to try and keep directing until you have an awesome pose for everyone. I would suggest the photographer always have a bunch of props in the car to help out in posing when needed. Also ask the client/subject to bring along some props too.
Remember tilts and turns of head, neck, shoulders, eyes, legs, feet and everything can change a picture so much. From attitude to just plane fun.
Keep the photo shoot fun and relaxed and everyone should have a great time making awesome images.
