A series of photos from the archives - a studio photo session with one of my favorite models, Claudia. I reposted these photos on my Instagram account, as a quiet celebration because Claudia has decided to re-enter as a model after a hiatus of a few years.
When I use models during workshops, it is with the intent of teaching lighting techniques. There is also the strong underlying message that posing and lighting are interconnected. With that, there is a to-and-fro interaction between the model and myself (and the people attending a Read more inside...
Tips for posing your subject during a photo session
Too often, when I am being photographed, I notice one major flaw in how the other photographer interacts with me during the photo session -- they lose connection. They will take a shot, and then spend too long checking the image. Then after that, every other shot is interrupted by looking at the playback screen. Not only is it annoying to the person being photographed - the continuity is lost.
Using this photo of Rozalinda as an example - while she looks magnificent, and is supremely easy to pose and interact with, it depends on Read more inside...
One of the best tips I can give you when photographing a professional model - wait for your model to "give" you the photo. Time your photos - don't just arbitrarily fire the shutter.
Most models need a moment to settle into position. Watch their movements and pose. At some point they are likely to go through a little mental routine where they might breathe out a bit and then look at the camera. That's the moment. Not the inbetween settling-into-the-pose moments.
Photographing a model, Adrienne, for her Daily Fashionista blog, I could again quickly Read more inside...
Similar to the recent post with Jessica J as the model, where I placed her feet in an asymmetrical position for a more dynamic pose, I did the same when posing Anita DeBauch's hands during a photo session.
In the companion photograph, you will notice that her hands are symmetrical around her face. While the pose does look cute, an asymmetrical positioning of her hands and fingers improved the pose. Read more inside...
In posing, a good tip is to have the wrists and hands form a kind of S-curve instead of being straight. While this photograph works for me, and I really like the composition and her direct gaze into the camera ... I should've guided Anelisa to bend her left wrist (the hand closer to her cheek), a bit more. That would've made her gesture a touch more elegant in this photograph at the top.
Of course, in analyzing your photographs closely, there is (nearly) always something to pick up on how you could've improved the final image.
Here is Read more inside...
Advice for photographers from models - how to work with models
An article by UK model, Jen Brook, caught my eye. She wrote a long piece where she gives advice on how models would like to be treated during a photo shoot - Dear Photographer - kindest regards, Model. xxx
You'd think that this advice is just common sense, but from my own experience, I have realized that some photographers just lack people skills ... or disregard models and don't realize that a photo shoot really is a collaborative process.
This also reminds me of something that Ulorin Vex said about how a Read more inside...
Off-camera flash photography: Short lighting vs. Broad lighting
"Short Lighting" is when the side of the face turned away from the camera, is better lit than the side of the face closest to the camera. (top image)
"Broad Lighting" is when the side of the face closest to the camera, is better lit. (second image)
This has as much to do with the position of the light, as with how your subject is posed into the light. This is true for studio photography and off-camera flash on location, and for when you photograph a subject with just the available light. As shown in a previous Read more inside...
When you work with models, or subjects who are used to presenting themselves to the camera or an audience, it is much easier for the photographer to pose them. The challenge though is how to pose people who aren't used to pose in front of the camera. Then it is up to the photographer to guide them, and give clear instruction how they should pose for the camera. The question just came up in the Tangents forum - how to pose everyday normal people.
The photograph above is of me as I was showing a model at the After Dark photography workshops how I Read more inside...
So you have a great camera and lens; and someone who is willing to be photographed and willing to work with you; and you have a great idea for a setting or backdrop ... but now what? Posing your subject is something that can be quite intimidating to a newer photographer. The pressure is now on YOU to create magic .. or at least an arresting image. Leaving everything up to the model or your subject to do, or for them to come up with ideas ... while you just click the shutter, makes you just an owner of a camera, and not a Read more inside...
