Tips on How to Pose People - Photography Tips from BellaOra Studios
We had a blast this afternoon and met dozens of awesome Utah photographers while we gave a presentation at Photo Camp Utah today on Posing for Portraiture.
(Hey, If you were there and took pics, please send them to us and we will post them on this blog with a photo credit).
It was great to meet so many local photographers, and we were glad to have the opportunity to introduce ourselves and share some fun tips and preview some of our workshops.
We've uploaded a PDF file with the slides from the 60 min presentation to our website and it can be downloaded HERE.
Below we've also included the text from our speaker notes ... Enjoy!
GENERAL POSING TIPS:
Positive energy gets best poses/expressions
Be excited, show them pictures
Be patient with people. give them a break if they need one
Photographers confidence will help models have more confidence in themselves.
Getting smiles... some people are tough to get a natural smile. The best way to get a smile is to praise the model... simply saying "Smile" can create a "say cheese" portrait.
General Posing tips
Hands apart, hands on hips - works well for women.
Tilting people's heads can help create a dynamic and more interesting photograph.
Do not break nose from cheek on 3/4 portraits
Be natural - don't want to look too posed
Sometimes people can be stiff - have them relax!
Watch their shoulders, tell women to put them back and down (for posture)
When looking away from the camera have their eyes look straight out from chin... it looks funny if eyes are looking too far up and showing more white.
To avoid double chins, have model push chin away from neck slightly.Or shoot from higher viewpoint and have them look up at you.
*Angle the shoulders of your subject rather than to have them even or squared in your shot. Having them turn straight to the camera can make them look wider than they are and is commonly referred to as a "mug shot"
Masculine vs Feminine?
Masculine pose: tilt top of head toward far shoulder.
Feminine pose: tilt top of head toward near shoulder. Note: Women can typically pull off either of these two poses. Simply shifting weight on back foot can help angle shoulders, etc.
Angles and shooting angles
When shooting children sometimes it's fun to get down to their level
High Angle View (looking down) Small, flattering, feminine (but not always)
Low Angle View - can make model look more powerful and big
Shoot straight on - makes it more personal
Group Posing Tips:
Avoid space between faces as much as possible - space between people (keep same distance)
Light the Whole Group Evenly
Stagger heads - big group- make a whole head space vertically if possible. This helps with shadows
Create a triangle or a pyramid
Can have ends turn towards middle
Watch Depth of field issues.
Try not to have arms hand straight down - pockets, around shoulders, holding hands
Couples & Family
Good to keep close... I love shooting cheek to cheek.
Eyes of shorter subject should be at the same height as mouth on taller subject
Business Headshots:
Have women put hand on hip (especially when arm is not in picture)
Watch posture - This makes a huge difference when going back to review images.
Angle them to the right, then the left, and then center
Some people prefer to see both ears, so if they are angled, have them look at the camera
Use your hand to direct face
Men can put one elbow on their knee
Watch their suit and wrinkles
Watch double chins- women are super sensitive
Teaching models how to pose:
Start with one thing at a time: head, angle, arms
Let them be silly to lighten the mood (take myspace or personal pics to help them loosen up)
Let them pose, then make slight adjustments
Try to have them mimic some fashion poses cut out from magazines as practice
Tell them to go home and make expressions in the mirror
Here we are getting ready to give the presentation at Photo Camp Utah 2009. Photo by Mike Renlund.
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