Table Of ContentPosing Portrait photography
for
A Head-to-Toe Guide
for Digital Photographers
S e c o n d e d i t i o n
Jeff Smith
Amherst Media®
publisher of photogrAphy books
About the Author
Jeff Smith is a professional photographer and the owner of two very successful studios in central California. his
numerous articles have appeared in Rangefinder, Professional Photographer, and Studio Photography and Design maga-
zines. Jeff has been a featured speaker at the Senior photographers Inter national Convention, as well as at numer-
ous seminars for professional photographers. he has written seven books, including Outdoor and Location Portrait
Photography; Corrective Lighting, Posing, and Retouching Techniques for Portrait Photographers; Professional Digital
Portrait Photography; and Success in Portrait Photography (all from amherst Media®). his common-sense approach
to photography and business makes the information he presents both practical and very easy to understand.
Copyright © 2011 by Jeff Smith.
all rights reserved.
all photographs by the author unless otherwise noted.
published by:
amherst Media, Inc.
p.o. Box 586
Buffalo, N.y. 14226
Fax: 716-874-4508
www.amherstMedia.com
publisher: Craig alesse
Senior Editor/production Manager: Michelle perkins
assistant Editor: Barbara a. Lynch-Johnt
Editorial assistance from: Chris gallant, Sally Jarzab, John S. Loder
ISBN-13: 978-1-60895-314-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010916875
printed in Korea.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, me-
chanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher.
Notice of Disclaimer: the information contained in this book is based on the author’s experience and opinions. the
author and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book.
Check out Amherst Media’s blogs at: http://portrait-photographer.blogspot.com/
http://weddingphotographer-amherstmedia.blogspot.com/
Table of ConTenTs
Introduction..............................7 3. Posing the Face........................32
a Comprehensive approach....................7 Identify problems, But Don’t go too Far ........32
posing for real people........................8 Camera height ............................33
a personalized approach......................9 Framing the Face...........................33
Salable posing .............................10 Consider the type of pose....................33
obstacles to Salable posing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 the Connection to Lighting ..................34
the Client Knows Best ....................13 the Eyes .................................35
how to Make Clients happy..................14 Catchlights .............................35
Learning posing............................15 position of the Eyes.......................35
Show, Don’t tell.........................15 Eye Contact ............................36
Update your pose Book ...................16
about this Book...........................17
1. Six Things You Should Never Do..........18
1. the angle of the Face .....................18
2. the Shoulders, Waist, and hips..............19
3. the arms ..............................19
4. Lower the Chin, Lose the Catchlights .........19
5. the Spine and Shoulders ...................20
6. your Expression..........................20
an additional Factor: the tilt of the head .......22
2. Defining the Pose......................23
the purpose of the portrait...................23
Delivering What Clients actually Want...........24
types of poses.............................25
traditional posing........................26
Slice-of-Life posing.......................27
glamorous posing........................27
Settings, Clothing, and posing.................28
Settings................................28
Make the pose Suit the Clothing.............30
Capturing the “real” person..................31
table of contentS 3
4 poSing for portrait photography: a head-to-to guide
reflective poses and profiles...................39
Eyes Follow the Nose .....................39
one Eye or two.........................41
Lighting ...............................41
the Nose.................................42
the Ears .................................42
Mouth, Lips, and Expression..................42
the tilt..................................45
the traditional rules .....................45
the real rule...........................46
Don’t go too Far........................46
hair ..................................46
guys..................................46
the Neck.................................46
hair (and the Lack of It!) ....................48
Long hair..............................50
thinning hair...........................51
4. Posing the Shoulders, Arms, and Hands...53
Finishing off the Frame......................53
the Shoulders.............................55
Clothing...............................55
arms....................................58 Unevenness...............................72
Long Sleeves............................58 the Waistline..............................72
Don’t rely on Digital Fixes.................60 angle to the Camera......................72
Explaining problems with tact ..............60 Seated Subjects ..........................72
posing the arms .........................60 Lying poses.............................73
Using the arms to Conceal problems .........62 the Emotional Factors ......................75
observe the Details.......................62 technical Skills vs. people Skills..............75
the hands ...............................64 Interpreting Emotions.....................76
Show It or hide It .......................64 Lasting Value ...........................78
age Spots, Scars, and Calluses...............66
Bend Every Joint?........................66 6. Posing the Hips and Thighs..............81
give them Something to hold..............66 avoiding Full-Length poses...................81
Fists ..................................68 Explaining with tact......................81
hands in pockets ........................68 providing options........................82
Before Moving on to Full-Length poses .........68 posing for proportion .......................83
Slimming the hips and thighs.................83
5. Posing the Bustline and the Waistline ....70 Standing poses ..........................83
Enhance or Conceal?........................70 Seated poses ............................85
Lighting and posing ......................71 Lying Down poses .......................87
table of contentS 5
Look for obstructions.......................89 plan an approach for any Full-Length Shots...105
In the Studio............................90 refine the Setup ........................106
outdoors ..............................90 Design a Full-Length pose ................106
groups ................................91 refine the pose for other portrait Lengths ....107
analyze the Lines..........................107
7. Posing the Feet and Legs ...............92 take Control.............................108
Feet.....................................92
Bare Feet...............................93 9. Posing Multiple Clients ................111
Minimizing the apparent Size...............93 Composition .............................113
posing the toes..........................93 proximity................................113
Shoe Selection...........................93 head placement ..........................114
Legs ....................................96 your Best Work for Every Client ..............115
ankles.................................97
Muscle tone............................99 10. Posing Variations ....................118
hosiery and tanning......................99 practicing with Variations....................118
getting New Ideas .......................99 Demonstrating Variations....................121
Leg Length............................100 Keep poses in your Mind....................121
posing techniques ......................100 helping your Client relax...................121
Shifting the Weight......................102
the “Deadly Sins” of Leg posing ...........103 In Closing ..............................123
8. Bringing It All Together................104 Index ..................................124
approach the Session Systematically............104
observe the Client and Start Simple .........104
6 poSing for portrait photography: a head-to-to guide
InTroduCTIon
Posing the human body for portraiture is one of the most challenging as-
pects of professional photography. a well-designed pose can do more to
improve the appearance of your client than almost any other factor. on the
flip side, the body can be arranged in a such way that it makes even the most
attractive person look disfigured.
So what is it that makes one arrangement of body parts look so graceful,
while another arrangement looks so awkward? that is the subject of this
book. Before we look at the mechanics of posing, however, there are a few
other things to keep in mind if we hope to successfully work with our clients
and sell our images. these are detailed below.
A Comprehensive Approach
Many times, an image with an overall nice pose starts to fall apart as you look
at each part of the body and start to notice problems that should have been
dealt with as the pose was being achieved. My approach is to pose every part
Every client is an individual—and your
of the body to make it looks its best, then combine the all the body parts that
approach to posing them should be just
as unique. will be showing in the frame into a complete pose. Basically, the whole pose
this is the reason why I think it’s important to teach
Self-Image vs. Reality
you not just how to design a pose, but also why certain
Have you ever had a client get mad at you because she
posing decisions may be right for one client and wrong
looks overweight in a photograph—and had to wonder if
for another.
she had looked in the mirror lately? I have photographed
have you ever learned a new pose by looking at a
men with no more than ten hairs on the tops of their heads
book or attending a seminar? Chances are, when you
who were completely amazed that you could see their scalp
tried that pose out, you found that it worked for some
through those sparse hairs curled around their scalps. It
people but not for others. this is the reason that learn-
must be trick photography that made them look bald—it
ing posing in the traditional manner, learning an entire
couldn’t be the fact they are actually bald!
pose and replicating it, simply doesn’t work most of the
Our minds work to save us from having to deal with
time. In this country, you photograph clients who over-
changes caused by weight gain and age. A woman will go
eat, overwork, don’t exercise, and probably have partied
from a size 3 to a size 12 and think she is a little heavier
just a little too much in their lives. Most of us won’t
but basically looks the same. Every time she sees a mirror,
have many of those “perfect” people that you see in
she’ll stand up straight and hold everything in. Often, it
print competitions, lectures, classes, and seminars come
isn’t until we see ourselves in pictures that reality rears its
through our doors. how many size 2 brides have you
ugly, overweight, and/or balding head.
worked with lately? I work with high school seniors—at
The funny part is, we all do it. When I look in the mirror,
a time in most people’s lives when they are as fit and
I don’t see the approaching-50 me, I see the 25-year-old
attractive as they will ever be—and only about 20 per-
me. This is something that we photographers must under-
cent of them are thin enough to be successfully photo-
stand to be successful. People don’t come to us for reality;
graphed using the “entire pose” posing process.
they come to us for a version of reality that their egos can
Learning the whys of posing will help you understand
handle. They want a view of themselves that is closer to
why this is the case—and, more importantly, to custom-
what their minds have allowed them to see—no matter how
ize your poses to make these real people look their best.
far from reality that is.
Learning to build poses rather than to replicate poses
will enable you to address problem areas and flaws that
is ultimately a sum of its perfectly posed parts. Whether need to be hidden or softened. Learning how to pose
you work from the top down or the base up, whether each part of the subject to make it look its best, then
you get a person into a pose then refine each area or understanding how to put it all together, will help you to
build the pose one area at a time, you must pay attention achieve complete poses that your clients will be thrilled
to each area of the body as you build the perfect pose. to buy. I admit that building a pose is a little more dif-
ficult than memorizing a pose—but things that are easy
Posing for Real People rarely make you successful or even good. happily, the
Complicating the inherent challenge of arranging the more you practice, the better and faster you will become.
many parts of the human form is the reality that we, and just so you know that I practice what I preach,
as professional photographers, work with people of all I’d like to point out that each person you see in this
different shapes and sizes. you might be able to make a book (and, in fact, in all my books) is an actual paying
perfect model look great during a test session or semi- client of my studio. they came to me complete with all
nar, but if you use those same poses on a good portion the less-than-perfect choices that clients make—the issue
of your average customer base you will end up with un- that we, as photographers, must overcome to create a
salable portraits. salable portrait.
8 poSing for portrait photography: a head-to-to guide
A Personalized Approach
We work in a creative profession and there is not just one way to do any-
thing. If you see a pose in this book and think your clients won’t like it, try
it—see if maybe they will. If you see a pose and you don’t like it, then you
really have to try it. If nothing else, it will open your mind.
a few weeks before writing this book, I added a post to my blog about
the new edition of my book Corrective Lighting, Posing, and Retouching for
Digital Portrait Photographers (also from amherst Media), which deals with
strategies for hiding the flaws of our average clients. For this post, I was writ-
ing about hiding the less-than-flat tummy and wider hips that many of my
paying clients worry about.
there were many positive comments left by photographers who appreci-
ated how I made a particular woman look. She was a mother of three and
very concerned about her weight—particularly her tummy and the size of
her hips. the pose I used hid her tummy and much of her hips and thighs,
while still achieving a full-length composition. She looked amazing!
there was one older photographer, however, who left a comment and
qualified his remarks by stating he had been a print judge. he made a few
critical remarks about some of her choices. one comment was that her arms
looked large because she wore a sleeveless top when she should have worn
long sleeves. While I agree, I also happen to live in a climate where it can get
Everyone sees images differently—but
to 110 degrees in summer. getting women to wear long sleeves is a constant
the client’s opinion is the only one that
really matters. challenge.
introduction 9
