Portrait Photography’s Power Posing – Part II: The Poses

by Christina N Dickson

Christina Dickson is a portrait photographer and instructor for the

As we discussed previously in Portrait Photography Power Posing Part I, posing is no simple matter. It requires great attention to detail in subject’s personality and artistic use of body language. A pose will speak for itself, but remember, facial expression also will give character to the pose.

The following are examples of basic poses that will work for a large variety of masculine personalities and body types and between both sexes.

Pose I – Standing Tall: Give an air of confident ability and self-assurance.

a. Shoulders Square
b. Feet shoulder width apart
c. Thumbs in pocket or on hip
d. Head slightly tipped back

Pose II – Casual Seated: Express an easygoing attitude

a. Sitting down on chair
b. Back leg bent at knee
c. Front leg extended slightly
d. Lean back hand on knee
e. Back straight

Pose III – The Wall Chill: Describes natural and casual expression

a. Lean with back to wall
b. Front foot slightly against wall
c. Front hand in pocket

Are all these attention to details really necessary? Doesn’t posing make a person unnatural? This argument is given all the time against detailed posing. Think about this: why do models look so good? It isn’t because they “just stand there” or “sit”. Every part of their body is perfectly posed.

You say, “but I don’t want my subjects to look stiff!” Absolutely. But guess what? It is entirely possible to pose your subject and avoid the stiffness factor. Don’t take the picture immediately after posing. Let them loosen up, shake out, and adapt the pose for them. Ask them to relax into the pose, and more often then not; your subject is completely capable of this.

So, now that you have some poses in your pocket, where do you go from here?

Dive into posing yourself.

Yes. You.

It is not uncommon to hear stories of professional portrait photographers taking a few classes at a modeling school. What better way to show your client the pose than for you to demonstrate it?

So, how do you become skilled in portrait posing?

1. Practice. Practice. Practice – Learn how to pose yourself. Stand in front of a mirror and go through each point of the following poses. Practice them until your comfortable.

2. Determine poses that match personalities or “moods”. Not every pose is for every person. Everyone has their least favorite body assets

3. Go for what is natural. Trust me. If your subject does not feel natural, your subject will not look natural – in the viewfinder or the prints. The objective is to use the pose to best communicate your subject. Don’t force them to strictly adhere to the pose you place them in. Ask them to relax. You will find they naturally adapt into the pose as most comfortable for them.

Once again, the best way to learn every pose is to go through each component and pose yourself, over and over, until you don’t need that cheat sheet anymore.

Lastly, be patient! Learning how to pose – be it yourself or others – is a process. But don’t give up! Be patient and persevere. Posing is more than possible with a little bit of practice.

Portrait Photography’s Power Posing Part I: The Components

by Christina N Dickson

On location portrait photographers find summer the perfect season to book their portrait schedule. It’s beautiful outside and many people want to take advantage of the weather for their pictures.

Regardless of season however one thing remains the same. Your job as a portrait photographer is simple: Make your subject look fantastic.

Critical components of dynamic portrait photography include indoor or outdoor lighting, creative locations, stellar composition, capturing your subjects personality and, last but certainly not the least: Posing.

Posing is nothing more than “body language”. Pointed fingers. Sagged shoulders. Head down. Each of these “say something’ about the person to you. Essentially, posing is simply learning how to demonstrate and guide your subject’s personality through their body language.

Think about it: A confident person will not sit with hunched over shoulders and head down. Most likely, they will stand tall and excited about life. Someone who is quiet probably will not be the quickest to dance in the middle of the street, but someone who is extremely expressive? Bring on the music!

Think about anatomy for a moment: Each body part will speak volumes about someone’s personality depending on how it is posed. You need to study how to pose each component to best communicate personality, and flatter your subject.

Here are some general basics for posing anatomically. Study these and learn them well. From here, you can mix and match the components to truly “express” your subject’s personality in your portraits.

1. Hands:

• Girl’s fingers should be long and elegant.
• Guys should have hands lightly fisted (like they are holding a small rock).

2. Feet:

• Feet hip width apart will give a look of strength
• Feet at different angles or heights (on a step, chair etc) will give better “balance” to depth.

3. Arms

• Elbows bent express a comfortable casualness.
• Arms straight give a feeling of formality and often stiffness (to be used with much caution)

4. Head / Chin

• Head tipped back slightly will generally give an attitude of “punk” (especially for guys, think, “bring it on”)
• Head tipped back to the “high” shoulder will feel fun and flirty
• Head down toward the “low” shoulder can express power or position (especially when shooting up at the subject).

5. Legs

• Legs spread hip width apart while standing will give an air of strength.
• Generally while standing, one leg should hold the body weight; the other leg can be bent, or extended behind like a graceful dancer

6. Shoulders

• Should be on different “planes” (i.e. one slightly higher or lower than the other)
• Shoulders square on will express a strong attitude.

7. Joints

• One rule: If it bends, bend it. This goes for elbows, knees, wrists, etc.

8. Hips

• Girls who stand with hips tilted forward will appear more slender

4 Quick Tips for Portraits

by Darren Rowse

Image by kk+

I met Pro Photographer George Tippet (no website… yet) at a function recently where he was the official photographer. I sidled up to him in a quiet moment, introduced myself and after chatting with him for a few minutes asked if he’d mind giving me a few ‘quick tips’ for portrait photography (his expertise). Here’s what he said (and what I managed to jot down quickly on a napkin).

1. Keep it Simple

The more complex your scene is the more unlikely you are to get a shot that is the X factor. Keep your backgrounds (and foregrounds) uncluttered, work with natural light where you can, if you have to use artificial light keep it simple and use as few lights as possible.

2. Set up the Shot before Introducing Your Subject to it

Be as prepared as possible before your subject arrives. If you’re shooting in a studio have your lighting ready and camera set up and ready to go. If you’re shooting on location know where you want to shoot. Have your camera’s settings ready to go and even do a few test shots before your subject arrives. This way you don’t keep them waiting around and get to photograph them when they are fresh.

Image by dogseat

3. Shoot into the Light

George was a big fan of back lighting – particularly when shooting outdoors. He talked about how this added interest, depth and sometimes color into an image. Lens hoods are a must if you’re doing this outside in bright environments though – you’ll also need fill flash.

Image by *Zara

4. Shoot from Slightly Below Your Subject’s Eyeline

One thing I noticed about George was that during the event he always seemed to be bending his knees slightly. He wasn’t that tall so I asked about it. He told me that he found that shooting from slightly below a person’s eyeline was something that he found to be quite flattering for most people. He used this both with shots where a subject was standing or sitting. Similarly – George recommended lighting from slightly below rather than above a subject also.