Photographers learn how to gauge the needs of their clients before placing them into a stale, preconceived women’s,” men’s,” or children’s” pose that hardly fits the client’s personality or preferences. Provided with a two-pronged approach to fail-safe posing, photographers learn first to determine what the mood of the portrait should be and how to use an appropriate posing genretraditional, casual, glamour, or journalistic. Photographers are then shown how that genre can be used as a basis to produce a pose that best suits the client, allowing them to create dynamic yet natural-looking pose that the subjectand the intended recipientwill love.
Author(s): Jeff Smith
Publisher: Amherst Media, Inc.
Year: 2004
Language: English
Pages: 128
Copyright
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
Salable Posing
Obstacles to Salable Posing
The Client Knows Best
Learning Posing
Show, Don’t Tell
Update Your Pose Book
About This Book
1. SIX THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER DO
Number One: The Angle of the Face
Number Two: The Shoulders, Waist, and Hips
Number Three: The Arms
Number Four: Lower the Chin, Lose the Catchlights
Number Five: The Spine and Shoulders
Number Six: Your Expression
An Additional Factor: The Tilt of the Head
2. DEFINING THE POSE
Types of Poses
Traditional Posing
Casual Posing
Journalistic Posing
Glamorous Posing
Settings, Clothing, and Posing
Settings
Taking Your Cue from Clothing
Capturing the “Real” Person
3. POSING THE FACE
The Connection to Lighting
Light from Below
Consistency
Hardness or Softness of the Source
The Eyes
Catchlights
Position of the Eyes
Eye Contact
Reflective Poses and Profiles
Eyes Follow the Nose
One Eye or Two
Lighting
The Tilt
The Traditional Rules
The Real Rule
Hair
Guys
The Neck
4. POSING THE SHOULDERS, ARMS, AND HANDS
Triangular Composition
The Shoulders
Arms
Long Sleeves
Don’t Rely on Digital Fixes
Explaining Problems with Tact
Posing the Arms
Using the Arms to Conceal Problems
Observe the Details
The Hands
Bend Every Joint?
Give Them Something to Hold
Before Moving On to the Full-Length Poses
5. THE BUSTLINE AND THE WAISTLINE
Enhance or Conceal?
Lighting and Posing
The Waistline
Angle to the Camera
Seated Subjects
The Emotional Factors
Technical Skills vs. People Skills
Interpreting Emotions
Lasting Value
6. HIPS AND THIGHS
Avoiding Full-Length Poses
Slimming the Hips and Thighs
Standing Poses
Seated Poses
Look for Obstructions
In the Studio
Outdoors
Groups
Purpose of the Portrait
Unusual Poses
Our Changing Bodies
7. THE FEET AND LEGS
Feet
Bare Feet
Minimizing the Apparent Size
Posing the Toes
Shoe Selection
Legs
Ankles
Muscle Tone
Color and Nylons
Getting New Ideas
Leg Length
Posing Techniques
The “Deadly Sins” of Leg Posing
8. BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
Pose Every Image as a Full-Length Portrait
Analyze the Lines
Take Control
9. POSING MULTIPLE CLIENTS
Proximity and Composition
Head Placement
Start with the Core
Your Best Work for Every Client
10. VARIATIONS
Practicing with Variations
Demonstrating Variations
Keep Poses in Your Mind
Helping Your Client Relax
IN CLOSING
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
INDEX
Other Books from Amherst Media
