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...
Direction of light - Using available light in the studio
This striking portrait of Rozalinda was lit by big window light in the studio. In using light - whether studio lighting or available light - you need to consider the direction of the light. You need to figure out how you want to place yourself and your subject in relation to where the light is coming from. Your own position in relation to the light and your subject, will significantly change the way the light appears on your subject. Check this article for an example: Change your position, change the direction of light.
With Read more inside...
This portrait of my friend Christy, was shot in my studio - the lighting entirely from the globes circling the make-up table. In fact, if you look closely, you can see the ring of lights circling the iris of her eyes.
Now, as drop-dead gorgeous as Christy is, it is also a running joke between us that she is tough to pose. She isn't a model, so hasn't built up the experience or repertoire of poses yet to naturally glide into a pose in front of the camera. So it needs me to pose her or adjust her pose along the way.
In the case of her hands, it needed Read more inside...
Posing people: Tips for improving your portrait photos
Throughout the numerous articles on the Tangents blog, I'm often asked about how I go about posing people. I've described some of it in the article, adjusting a pose with incremental changes. Instead of a traditional way of posing, it's mostly a "feel" thing, looking at my subject and seeing if there are elements that could be better balanced. This studio portrait of a model, Adrienne, doesn't follow rigid guidelines of formal portraiture. Her shoulder is a little scrunched up, and her head is tilted to the side. Yet, to my eyes, Read more inside...
I love this photo! I also like how it came together. This was within minutes of meeting DaWeon and Toban for their engagement photo session in Philadelphia. We had only chatted on Skype before. Embarrassingly enough, I arrived late to the meeting place for their engagement session through my misunderstanding about the address. No excuses there. But it did mean I had to work fast - the setting sun was lighting up the Philadelphia skyline, and I had to nail a series of photos very quickly.
DaWeon and Toban had said they Read more inside...
book review: Roberto Valenzuela - Picture Perfect Posing
I've noticed that articles on Tangents which deal with the topic of how to pose people, gets a lot of attention. Posing is a challenging topic for most photographers except the very best who seem to have an innate gift for it.
Books on posing tend to approach the topic as a list of suggestions - the kind of "1,000 poses" type books. Another alternative offered is flow posing where you maneuver a couple through a number of poses mechanically. Both of these approaches means you have to memorize poses by rote, instead of Read more inside...
Posing technique - Adjusting a pose with incremental changes
I'm not a huge fan of "flow posing" where someone is rigidly posed according to formula. I feel this doesn't allow as much for personality and individuality as a more organic approach. I much more prefer a low-stress approach where a pose is adjusted, to where it looks good, and looks flattering. This does mean that I have to find that balance between allowing "faults" and finessing a pose. Sometimes it just works better for the flow of a photo session to not micro-adjust to the point where your subject might feel it as Read more inside...
How to confidently pose people for portraits, is likely as big a challenge for new photographers, as how to use light. Even a model as professional and inventive as Ulorin Vex has told me that one of her biggest frustrations with photographers is when the photographer expects her to drive the shoot, and pose herself and come up with ideas. So yes, even when working with professional models, you need to guide them.
For me, the first step in becoming more confident in posing people was to practice. And practice by posing 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...
Even when you're photographing a bride as graceful as Patricia, there's still a need to adjust and guide the pose. I liked the roughness and color of this gate, and I also knew the background would be an out-of-focus mush behind her.
When you ask someone to lean against something, they tend to fall back onto the wall or object, with both shoulders and their back flat agains the surface.
My starting point with this pose, is that I show what I want. Remember, people don't usually know what you're after, and they most definitely don't Read more inside...
