Click the WWW button below and look in the TOC for the tutorial on shooting groups, analyzing faces, feet-up posing, and posing hands.
Poses are just the conscious replication of body language we react to subconsciously. All standing poses, even H&S shots, start with the feet on the ground. A portrait photographer in NJ named Joe Zeltsman noticed how shifting weight between the feet has a domino effect, shifting the angle of the hips and shoulders. My mentor Monte Zucker studied with Joe and used the same technique.
A group of 100 can be posed in about 30 sec. by standing in the middle, turning both sides to the middle, asking them to point their front foot at the camera, then shift weight to the back foot and hip. Then tell them to put their inside hand over their back pocket so the guy behind doesn't steal their wallet. That will get the hands out of the horrible looking "fig leaf" pose and get 100 smiles. The other outside arm hangs to the side. The weight shift will angle all the shoulders in towards the center. Its a relaxed comfortable posture and that comes across in the photo.
All the same things work for couples or a solo portrait.
The best way to learn posing its to try the pose yourself in a mirror. That will help you understand what it feels like in terms of weight shift and hip/shoulder/eyeline angles. Once you grasp the "feet up" method by trying it yourself in front of a mirror you should be able to reverse engineer any pose you see in a photo.
Its not rocket science, just getting in touch consciously with how you react subconsciously to body language in real life and when you see it in media.
cgardner wrote:
Click the WWW button below and look in the TOC for the tutorial on shooting groups, analyzing faces, feet-up posing, and posing hands.
Poses are just the conscious replication of body language we react to subconsciously. All standing poses, even H&S shots, start with the feet on the ground. A portrait photographer in NJ named Joe Zeltsman noticed how shifting weight between the feet has a domino effect, shifting the angle of the hips and shoulders. My mentor Monte Zucker studied with Joe and used the same technique.
A group of 100 can be posed in about 30 sec. by standing in the middle, turning both sides to the middle, asking them to point their front foot at the camera, then shift weight to the back foot and hip. Then tell them to put their inside hand over their back pocket so the guy behind doesn't steal their wallet. That will get the hands out of the horrible looking "fig leaf" pose and get 100 smiles. The other outside arm hangs to the side. The weight shift will angle all the shoulders in towards the center. Its a relaxed comfortable posture and that comes across in the photo.
All the same things work for couples or a solo portrait.
The best way to learn posing its to try the pose yourself in a mirror. That will help you understand what it feels like in terms of weight shift and hip/shoulder/eyeline angles. Once you grasp the "feet up" method by trying it yourself in front of a mirror you should be able to reverse engineer any pose you see in a photo.
Its not rocket science, just getting in touch consciously with how you react subconsciously to body language in real life and when you see it in media.
briandaly wrote:
I'm looking for references to books or web sites containing tutorials on posing for formal portraits (individuals and groups).
I would like something that concentrates on the posing aspect rather than simply the lighting.
Hi, Brian.
Chuck mentioned the late Monte Zucker, and if there's one book I'd recommend above others it would be Monte Zucker's Portrait Photography Handbook. There is a chapter on lighting, but it comes after the chapters on clothing, seating, facial analysis, and so on. It should be very helpful to you.
I can also suggest Jeff Smith's Posing Techniques for Location Portrait Photography. Although I don't like all of the examples shown (sometimes the arms and legs of his subjects look tortured and awkward to me), it can serve as a foundation on which to build your own style.
One I don't have, but have looked at and may add to my library is Professional Portrait Posing: Techniques and Images from Master Photographers, a look at a dozen different photographers' selected images with descriptions of how and why they were created.
BrianO, I've read the Monte Zucker book you mention and although it contains a lot of good advice, I found the descriptions of the basic poses a little unclear.
I've started reading Zetlsman's online guide. Although the web presentation looks quite dated, but the content is what I'm after - instruction on the basics of formal posing. Here's the link: http://jzportraits.home.att.net/
