Portraiture

Close-Up Feminine Pose
In #6, we see the classic feminine head-and-shoulders portrait. Our subject is seated on a small stool and her body is turned away from the key light. She is leaning slightly back from the camera with her right shoulder higher than the left.

#6

When posing your female subject, remind her to sit as tall as she can, to relax her shoulders, and to lean from the waist and from the back.

Just before taking this shot, I asked this model to pull her chin a bit forward toward the camera, turn her head a little toward the key light, and tilt the top of her head slightly toward her high shoulder.

Masculine Pose For Female
For a more authoritative look, you can position your female subject in a somewhat different manner. In #7, our subject’s body now faces the main light. Notice how she is leaning slightly forward with her low shoulder closest to the camera, and
that her head is more perpendicular to her shoulders. Also note that the camera is now tilted slightly to improve the composition.

#7

Posing The Male
Men tend not to be as receptive to posing direction as women, but if you can convince them that it will greatly improve the shot, you’ll get much better results. In #8, our subject is square on to the camera with equal weight on both feet. Kind of stiff and boring, don’t you think?

#8

After a little posing direction, we now see our subject in a more relaxed, natural-looking position (#9). Notice how the weight is shifted to the back leg, with the body turned a little to the main light. The head is perpendicular to the shoulders, which reflects a classic masculine pose.

#9

For a more corporate look, this shot could be further improved with a suit coat, allowing the shirtsleeve to peek out of each coat arm.

Close-Up Of A Male
Remember the classic female pose demonstrated in #6? Well, here’s the same pose with a male subject (#10). With the high shoulder forward and the head titled toward it, the overall look is not as flattering as it could be.

#10

However, #11 shows how much better the classic masculine pose works for this male subject. Notice how he is leaning toward the camera and a little away from the main light? With the lens tilted slightly, it makes for a nice composition.

#11

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