is running perfectly vertical
in the frame, the person in
the portrait appears stiff.
Visually, you are telling
everyone who sees this por-
trait that your client is up-
tight and very rigid.
By posing the person
reclining slightly backwards
or leaning slightly forward,
the shoulders and spine go
diagonally through the frame
and achieve a more relaxed
look. The portrait will have a
professional look and it will
be more visually appealing.It
will also create a more flatter-
ing impression of the sub-
ject’s personality.
Number Six: Your Expression.
This is by far the most
important of the rules. The
first “photography saying” I
heard was “expression sells
photographs”—and it’s true! You can have the perfect pose and the
perfect lighting, but if the expression doesn’t meet the client’s
expectations, you won’t sell the portrait.
Again, this is another area where photographers think they know
best. Most photographers like serious expressions with the lips
together or glamorous expressions with the lips slightly separated.
Among the public, however, mothers are the dominant buyers of
professional photography, and they like smiles. Women tend to be
the decision makers about photography, and they generally like por-
traits where the subjects (whether it’s their kids, their parents, or
their neighbors) look happy. Happy sells—and if you want to profit
from your work, you had better produce what sells.
Many photographers have a problem getting a subject to achieve
a pleasant expression. Most of the time the problem comes from the
photographer not realizing an important concept called “mirror-
20 POSING FOR PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
If the subject’s body is perfectly vertical in
the frame, they will look rigid and uptight.