Portrait Photography’s Power Posing Part I: The Components
This post is written by a portrait photographer from Portland Oregon. Christina Nichole is an instructor with The Institute in Photographic Studies. Her work can be found at ChristinaNicholePhotography.com.
On location portrait photographers find summer the perfect season to book their portrait schedule. It’s beautiful outside and many people want to take advantage of the weather for their pictures.
Regardless of season however one thing remains the same. Your job as a portrait photographer is simple: Make your subject look fantastic.
Critical components of dynamic portrait photography include indoor or outdoor lighting, creative locations, stellar composition, capturing your subjects personality and, last but certainly not the least: Posing.
Posing is nothing more than “body language”. Pointed fingers. Sagged shoulders. Head down. Each of these “say something’ about the person to you. Essentially, posing is simply learning how to demonstrate and guide your subject’s personality through their body language.
Think about it: A confident person will not sit with hunched over shoulders and head down. Most likely, they will stand tall and excited about life. Someone who is quiet probably will not be the quickest to dance in the middle of the street, but someone who is extremely expressive? Bring on the music!
Think about anatomy for a moment: Each body part will speak volumes about someone’s personality depending on how it is posed. You need to study how to pose each component to best communicate personality, and flatter your subject.
Here are some general basics for posing anatomically. Study these and learn them well. From here, you can mix and match the components to truly “express” your subject’s personality in your portraits.
1. Hands:
- Girl’s fingers should be long and elegant.
- Guys should have hands lightly fisted (like they are holding a small rock).
2. Feet:
- Feet hip width apart will give a look of strength
- Feet at different angles or heights (on a step, chair etc) will give better “balance” to depth.
3. Arms
- Elbows bent express a comfortable casualness.
- Arms straight give a feeling of formality and often stiffness (to be used with much caution)
4. Head / Chin
- Head tipped back slightly will generally give an attitude of “punk” (especially for guys, think, “bring it on”)
- Head tipped back to the “high” shoulder will feel fun and flirty
- Head down toward the “low” shoulder can express power or position (especially when shooting up at the subject).
5. Legs
- Legs spread hip width apart while standing will give an air of strength.
- Generally while standing, one leg should hold the body weight; the other leg can be bent, or extended behind like a graceful dancer
6. Shoulders
- Should be on different “planes” (i.e. one slightly higher or lower than the other)
- Shoulders square on will express a strong attitude.
7. Joints
- One rule: If it bends, bend it. This goes for elbows, knees, wrists, etc.
8. Hips
- Girls who stand with hips tilted forward will appear more slender
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Wow, excellent tips! I never paid much attention to these things as I never did any form of posed portrait shooting. But this list will help me once I will endeavor into that direction. It’s also a good list to keep in mind when shooting people in general.
Wow. This is certainly what I need at this stage. Thanks so much for these tips, definitely a “starter-kit” to posing amateurs like myself! Cheers!
Nice tips guys. Quick, to the point, and very applicable. I wish I has had good quickies like this when I started, but even so it’s a good way to keep me thinking about how to handle situations.
Gavin
SeimEffects.com
ProPhotoshow.net
I dread portraits so this is a great set of tips. Great post!
http://www.petelanglois.net/Macro
This is a great description of the science of portrait photography! People don’t realize how much work and forethought goes in to it.
Good tips. Quick, simple and easy to remember. I always wonder what to do with body parts when taking photographing people.
gr8…one more lesson learned…
-r.p.t
Thanks for the tips. I’m off to practice with them.
Fantastic tips! I’m trying to do more and more portraiture these days (much to the chagrin of my family and immediate friends) and need all of the help that I can get!
What the doctor ordered. I’m just starting and this will be printed and inserted in my camera bag.
I love the inclusion of my alma mater in that bottom black and white photo. (Lower Campus at Lewis & Clark College for those looking to replicate the shot.)
What does ‘high’ shoulders and ‘low’ shoulders mean?
i can see some great photographers in here! well am hoping to connect with the good ones and share ideas! ill b back with my shots soon :)
Craig: The high shoulder is the should that is the highest from the photographer point of view. Shoulders should never (at least rarely) be at the same height, hence the notion of high and low shoulders.
I would also add another tip:
- make sure the back is straight
- look straight into the lens and open the eyes as wide as they can while still looking natural
- clean and cut your nails. I have seen too many good pictures ruined this way to not be careful about it anymore
- never stop moving, always be in motion, even if it is very slow
I always suggest to women to always have a S shape going on from their hips to their shoulders. Being very straight on a woman is usually not flattering.
http://cameradojo.com
There are some good tips here but some are a little too…expected. Girls should have long elegant fingers? A head tipped back equals a “punk” attitude? common, these are really silly and stereotypical attitudes and poses. what’s wrong with having a punker look vulnerable or a beautiful woman look depressed or a not so slim woman look sexy. Posing and attitude rules should be broken to make your photography have it’s own feel and style.
A photographer friend has this topic dialed in! He is a fantastic photographer.
http://stellerphoto.com/blog/
Wow, excellent! This is defiantly going to guide all beginners photographers like me
Excellent tips, thanks.
It is always good to be reminded of the basics and learn some new stuff along the way…
This is great thanks alot!
Thanks so much for these great tips!
Excellent article! It could take many hours behind the camera to learn these tricks. This is like a speed course in portraiture. These 8 tips can get one running with the pros in no time.
Bilka
can someone explain #8? maybe with an example?
Another stellar article - thank you!
Thank you. Looking at portraits with poses you explained to make use of always leave you with a glimpse of an insight of a persons character, but I never thought about what poses give the portrait the strength of expression.
What a great list. Thank you so much! I’ll be able to use these suggestions for sure.
You often find tips on portraits that talk about the technical aspects of the shot - the lens, the lighting, etc. This is a great resource for thinking beyond the technique and focusing on the artistic qualities of our portraits. Thanks!
straight to the point XOXO
Great tips!! In this particular photo, I would have had her lose the flip flops, but at least they’re very colorful and definitely go with the shot…I’m just a bare foot type of guy. ;)
thank you for the quick tips. I’ve just printed this to carry with me. Thanks’!