Jowling – Photography Fun For a Rainy Day
Note: File this one under ‘bizarre’, ’silly’ or ‘things to do on a boring rainy day’…
Looking to take a portraits with a quirky twist? Try ‘jowling‘ (also sometimes known as slap n’ flap).
How do you do it? Get your subject to relax their facial muscles completely (to the point that they have no facial expression)…. open their eyes and mouth (try to keep them open)… then to shake their head from side to side as fast as they can. Start snapping (use a flash and fast shutter speed to freeze the ‘action’)! Here’s what jowling looks like:
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OK – so I suspect that most of these shots are taken at parties when the facial muscle relaxation is aided by a drink or four – but this jowling thing is bigger than you might think – it even has it’s own website – jowlers.com – complete with it’s own ‘how to’ page, galleries and more!
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A couple of other things to try with Jowling
- Experiment with slow sync flash to freeze the face but also capture a little movements.
- Also try using a wide angle lens which can add to the distortion in your shots.
Share Your Jowling Photos With Us
Now you know how to take Jowling shots – why not take some and head over to our forum and share them in a Jowling Thread that I just set up.
44 Responses to “Jowling – Photography Fun For a Rainy Day” - Add Yours
June 25th, 2008 at 12:43 am
Is #2 Homer?? Look at that mouth, it must be Homer(in a younger and better shape though)
June 25th, 2008 at 1:23 am
I don’t think I’ve seen that before. What fun. Unique portraits are always great for the portfolio.
Rosh
http://www.newmediaphotographer.com
June 25th, 2008 at 1:46 am
Funny. I’ll have to try this with my son.
http://www.petelanglois.net
June 25th, 2008 at 1:50 am
lol! This looks so interesting to capture. The shot of the last guy looked as though he was er.. punched. Thanks for sharing!
http://chanraymond.net
June 25th, 2008 at 2:02 am
Now this is just weird – but looks like a ton of fun!
June 25th, 2008 at 2:32 am
I am definitely going to try this – Live caricatures are timeless
June 25th, 2008 at 2:59 am
This is awesome. I can’t wait to try it. LOL.
June 25th, 2008 at 4:01 am
Okay. That was stinkin’ hilarious.
June 25th, 2008 at 7:29 am
Can you imagine how cool it would be if you were to throw water on him while he was shaking his head? Great idea I am going to give it a try!
June 25th, 2008 at 8:37 am
Funny that it’s all dudes :)
June 25th, 2008 at 9:18 am
I can hardly wait to get my (young adult) kids and their friends to do this for me!
June 25th, 2008 at 11:07 am
My wife studied economics and one of the theories involved the “invisible hand”. I guess this is what happens when the “invisible hand” gets ticked off…
June 25th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
Way too cool. I am so doing one of those tomorrow for my 365 days Flickr group.
June 25th, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Fish face much? ;)
Thanks for sharing.
June 25th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
It is like the wheels fell off the wagon. I want the 2.5 minutes of my life back that it took me to read this waste of time. This isn’t funny or entertaining. How can this possibly help readers learn and hone photographic skills? I can certainly understand a diversion but this is out and out junk.
June 25th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
Get a life Bilka,even though you are at the bottom of the fun tree, others do like a break from the norm,and playing around with different lenses and speeds and lighting isn’t learning?
June 25th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Very funny. Just think what you could do if you used PS too!
June 25th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Jowling at a wedding reception:
http://www.dterryphotography.com/gallery/5014672_os2fk#301045953_BKsyJ
June 25th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
If you put someone’s fist into frame it can look like the subject has just received a sock to the chops. :-)
June 25th, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Thnaks for the smile on my rainy day. 8)
June 26th, 2008 at 5:12 am
OMG. :O
June 26th, 2008 at 8:23 am
Ahahaha! I’ll have to try this. Thanks.
June 26th, 2008 at 8:46 am
What a hoot! I’m going to have to try that. This is why I like this website so much. You guys are always coming up with so many interesting ideas.
June 26th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Looks like they where hit in the face with a http://crapcannon.com
June 26th, 2008 at 9:31 am
We call this “Shaker Faces”. Awesome.
June 26th, 2008 at 9:38 am
This is really old!
Common’
June 26th, 2008 at 9:40 am
we do this all the time… we call it shakey face! the trick is to keep your eyes open and your mouth loose!
June 26th, 2008 at 9:58 am
Why don’t you save them have a loose retina and have them stand with their mouths open and photoshop or gimp them into the same contortion
June 26th, 2008 at 10:24 am
I’ve seen this before, but it was called a ghost punch. *shrug*
June 26th, 2008 at 10:41 am
jowling..???
the technique is called “punch face”
because it looks like you have just been punched in the face
and has been a favorite pastime for 5 or so years..
June 26th, 2008 at 11:14 am
LOL, that is the funniest thing I have ever seen. Hilarious!
JT
http://www.FireMe.To/udi
June 26th, 2008 at 11:56 am
It should read flash OR fast shutter speed. Not both. Although with new digital cameras that may no longer matter. It used to be that you only used one shutter speed with a flash. Does digital change that?
June 26th, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Fantastic, Superb
Thanks
June 26th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
SHAKE FACE
June 26th, 2008 at 9:26 pm
Wooh cool idea to cure my boredom.
Gonna go try this now.
June 26th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Heres my attempt: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kunaldaswani/2613031742/ – Good fun!
June 27th, 2008 at 11:58 am
i’m gonna try this for sure …
July 3rd, 2008 at 4:54 am
These are great! Thanks for the giggles!
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Funny! I want to try making pictures of my girlfriend like this…. How can I get her to agree…?
July 5th, 2008 at 5:07 am
This looks like a great starter exercise to get kids comfortable in front of the camera. Thanks for the great fun tip.
July 7th, 2008 at 8:09 am
Hmmm… Really only for a heavy rain day.
July 7th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Great photos! At first glance, I thought they were taken in a wind tunnel or in front of a fan.
January 10th, 2009 at 7:44 am
I just cut out my jowling picture and added it to a painting my wife is working on..
March 8th, 2009 at 11:06 am
I I’ll try it. For sure!!!
BTW, I noticed that photographing eople while they are speakig can have great results. Some time ago I did it with my sister and her lips were so big in the picture that I like to say that photography made her look like Angelina Jolie… It’s so funny!!!!
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