Posing for Portrait Photography

Decreasing the lighting ratio produces a flat look in the portrait.

I call this “mall lighting,” because the inexperienced photographers

employed by most national and mall photography studios tend to

use this very flat lighting to avoid shadows if the face isn’t posed

properly.

If, instead, you turn the face toward the main light source,

whether in the studio or outdoors, you light the mask of the face

without increasing shadowing in areas of the face where it shouldn’t

be. An added bonus: turning the head also stretches out the neck

and reduces the appearance of a double chin, if the subject has one.

Waist, and Hips. Number Two: The Shoulders,

The widest view of any person is when the person is squared off

to the camera. By turning the shoulders, waist, and hips to a side

view, preferably toward the shadow side of the frame, you create

the thinnest view of the body—and we all want to look as thin as

possible.

SIX THINGS YOU SHOULD NEVER DO 17

When the hips and shoulders are square to the camera (left), the body looks wide. Turning the body to an angled view (right) is much more flat-
tering to the figure.

Decreasing the lighting ratio

produces a flat look

in the portrait.