This image (facing page) is a little more posed than most of my relationship work. It is sometimes necessary to create a pose if one doesn’t evolve naturally.
Posing
The women were sitting on a bench; the sister in back was sitting on a block to elevate her so their heads were not on the same level. Both heads have strong diagonal lines, which gave me a sense of movement.
Skin Tone
I want to dispel the myth that, before having a portrait made, the subject has to tan for better color. There is no better color than natural skin tone. We also advise women who use makeup to be sure that it is translucent and not matte; matte makeup will make them look pasty. These beautiful young ladies’ skin has a luminous glow—almost as if they were lit from within.
Background Selection
I used a more stylized background because the portrait had the feeling of Renaissance art rather than a spontaneous feel. On simpler backgrounds, I can be spontaneous without needing to worry about posing around the lighter or darker areas. With a more controlled pose like this, the soft clouds, trees, and bridge on this background worked well. The touch, the eyes looking down, and their expressions gave this a relationship feel—but the pose, lighting, and structure make it more of a classic painterly portrait.
Lighting and Posing
In my portraits, the subjects’ faces are rarely directly toward the camera; they are usually at a three-quarter angle. This allows me to use a short light pattern, putting the shadow on the side of the face that is closer to the camera. That helps bring the viewer’s eyes to the mask of the face. Additionally, turning the face tends to slim it; positioning the face directly toward the camera tends to widen it. This face position also moves the eyes off center when the subject looks back toward the camera (as with the seated sister here), giving greater depth to the subject’s expression.
Another image from the same session.