Introduction

The Purpose of Posing

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines “pose” in the following ways:

• to put or set in place
• to place (as a model) in a studied attitude
• to assume a posture or attitude usually for artistic purposes
• to affect an attitude or character usually to deceive or impress

Well, I believe what we do as photographers is capture our subjects as they are or as they wish to be. I love the last line of the definition, “to affect an attitude or character.” That is what our subjects want us to do. If we are not good with our—for the lack of a better description—“bedside manner,” we can cause our subjects to look stiff or unnatural. In addition to learning how to use our camera’s features, ensuring great lighting, and carefully composing our images, we need to learn how to make our subjects feel comfortable, so they will look natural when posed in front of the camera. There is as much psychology in making great photographs as there is science. We will talk about all of that in this book.

In the chapters that follow, we will look at the art and science of posing. You’ll learn how to present the body to flatter your subject’s physique and how the composition and lighting should work with the pose to draw and hold the portrait viewer’s attention. You’ll learn tips and tricks for working with individuals, couples, and groups—as well as strategies for finessing photos of men, women, and children. The book features a wide array of images of a variety of subjects—posed indoors and out. Let the images seen in these pages inspire your work with your own clients.

A great pose helps to make the subjects look their best and adds visual interest in the portrait. In group portraits, the pose also helps to describe the relationship between the subjects.

The Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa is the most famous, most beautiful, and most valuable portrait in the world. So, should we use it as a standard for all portraits? I submit several of my images each year in contests. I wonder what the judges would say if this image was entered today. Some might say, “Lovely subject, nice direction of light, good composition.” Others might say, “The background is too busy, the artist is showing the back of the hand (the edge of the hand is a more pleasing angle to show), and there is no flow to the pose.” But how do you argue with the success of this masterpiece? There is an old saying in the portrait photography business, “Beauty is in the eyes of the checkbook holder!”

My thinking is, if you like the portrait and the subject, or your client likes the portrait, it is a beautiful portrait.

Traditional or contemporary? Casual or formal? A great pose captures the “essence” of the subject and helps to establish the mood of the portrait.