Hey guys. Happy Friday! Hope all is fantastic for you!!
I wanted to talk a little bit about how to pose your subjects. We will start with alot of what not to do and then move onto the what to do. Although it is best to find your style here are a few pointers that will help you when posing subjects. It is wise to not crop of joints, of course its all up for debate in certain areas of your style. It is a bit distracting to the eye. you do not get a leading line in and out of the photo.
I not telling you what to do to your images , its just a good rule to start practicing. If you start doing weddings and portraits, its my opinion that you need to photograph a little traditional along with your style. I say all the time when I photograph weddings, I photograph for the bride, mothers, and myself, making my wedding style , contemporary, traditional and journalistic. Most of the time your reprints are going to come from family members wanting traditional portraits and styles that they can frame and show off to their friends. I have ALMOST ALWAYS reprinted 8x10's- being portrait of a group or couple's traditional shot in my wedding packaging. Just something to chew on while you begin to work for clients.
My rule is to take the traditional shot, then move on to the creative things I like to do and what makes me the type of photographer I am.
When photographing large groups, It is best to use what they call the triangle approach if possible. This leads the eye in, up to the "pinnacle point" and flow to the other side. Normally your pinnacle point is either the tallest person standing or can be the head of household type situation when putting family together, again, no direct rules, just a way to start and practice, practice. Remember art in any of its form is your interpretation.
When posing human subjects, its best to not allow their shoulders to be straight to the camera, turn them into your center point of focus and move their face back to the camera. The Feet Up approach I have mentioned before allows your subject to be more stationary, Once you place the forward facing foot to the camera and heel it to the arch of the other foot it does several things for you. It controls gaps between the legs, steadies them and then you can move them by torso or shoulders/head and they keep the same placement.
Keep men in the "C" shape position to look more masculine and put women in a "S" shape to keep flowing lines and femininity present.
Below is what is called a classic "C" Shape. This is a portrait of my husband. notice starting at the top flowind down to the postion of his arms and hands that this is how the shape is created.
Notice that his elbow is cropped a little. My interpretation for this photo is in the idea of a musician, who also has a creative style, normally a style when playing a guitar that is suggestive and not always the same. I liked the light hitting his face and I decided to take this shot as he was playing.
Another shot - band member with out instrument- I went with traditional portraiture and posing.
The feminine "S" shape is called the Aphordite Pose. A greek goddess of love and beauty. Almost all statues and photos of her show her and her body language in this flowing leading feminine pose.
You can duplicate this in your portraits , starting with the feet up approach. Shoulders facing the direction of the back foot and then turning the torso to the camera and finish the subject's face in coordination. Below are some shots with strong and not so strong "S" shaped poses.
In this shot, im using leading lines into the direction of where her face is pointing, if you place an imaginary starting part and pretend to draw and 'S' you will see that the train leads you out of the frame.
In this Maternity Portrait, the head tilt starts you 'S' with the back hand ending it. Start using this concept and have fun. Not all photos are strong in this style and very easy to see but if your subject and image come across the way you want it to... it is right for you!
Have a great weekend and dont forget to add me to skype and check out other links to find me! Hope to hear from you soon.
Stacey
