Smith J. Jeff Smith's Posing Techniques for Location Portrait Photography

AmherstMedia, Inc., 2008 — 129 p.Portrait photography guide with illustrations.
The human form can be shaped and proportioned to be one of the most beautiful subjects on earth. Conversely, it can be arranged in a such way that it makes even the most attractive person look disfigured. Further complicating this arrangement of the human form are all the different shapes and sizes of people that we, as professional photographers, must work with.
It is one thing to make a perfect model look good during a test session or seminar — but use the same poses on a good portion of our average customer base, and you will end up with an unsalable portrait.
So, what is it that makes one arrangement of body parts look so graceful, while another arrangement looks so awkward? I believe there are two parts to posing: the basic mechanics of posing each part of a person’s body in a flattering way, and the creative vision to see how this arrangement establishes the basic look or style of the portrait. Both of these subjects will be explored in this book.
Specifically, we will be exploring techniques for location portraits. As you might guess (or have learned from experience), posing on location requires a different approach than posing in the studio. In the studio you have chairs, couches, props, and posing aids. Outdoors, you typically have to work with what the scene has given you. Even at indoor locations, you will not have the total flexibility that you would in your studio. In both situations, you have to use your imagination and sometimes hunt for posing aids that will allow the subject to pose in the way you envision.
Although working on location can be challenging, I find that it produces some of my most creative portraits. This is because it allows me to tailor a portrait specifically to my client’s needs, by selecting a location that has meaning to them or reflects their style and vision for their portrait.
As the title implies, this book is on posing. I will talk briefly about other aspects of portraiture on location, but only as they apply to posing. For a more in-depth study of all the other aspects of location photography, please refer to two of my other books: Outdoor and Location Portrait Photography and Jeff Smith’s Lighting Techniques for Outdoor&Location Portrait Photography, both from Amherst Media