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In the starting position of the snatch and clean, push your knees out as far as your arms will allow.
 
This does a few things:
 
Brings your hips closer to your feet for better pulling posture;
 
Moves the knees back to allow the bar to pass more easily and naturally;
 
And helps open the hips to allow you to brace with your back in the ideal position.
 
Keep the knees out this much in the pull until the bar has passed them, then allow the legs to move naturally as you continue driving through the top of the pull.
 
There’s typically no need to push the knees out as you pull even farther than they start, and doing so will tend to weaken the motion. An exception is lifters with long legs who may find pushing out slightly more until the bar is past the knees helpful.