Posing for Portrait Photography

An overwhelming majority of our senior clients prefer the inti-
mate feeling of eye contact as opposed to the more reflective por-
traits where the eyes look off-camera, but this isourclients. You
need to offer both styles of portraits and discuss with yourclients
what is right for them.

Reflective Poses and Profiles.

If the eyes are to look away from the camera, there a few rules that
need to be followed. They are really simple rules, but ones that I see
broken often.
Eyes Follow the Nose. First of all, the eyes should follow the
same line as that of the nose. It looks ridiculous to have the eyes
looking in a different direction than the nose is pointing. This goes
for poses with the subject looking just off-camera, as well as for
complete profiles.
One Eye or Two.As you turn the face away from the camera,
there comes a point where the bridge of the nose starts to obscure
the eye farthest from the camera. At this point, you have gone too
far. Either you go into a complete profile, showing only one eye, or
you bring the face back to provide a clear view of both eyes.
Lighting. Another common mistake with this type of posing is
with the lighting. Many photographers don’t move their main light
as they rotate the subject away from the camera. However, your
main light should remain at a consistent angle to the subject as you
turn the subject toward the profile position. If you normally work
with the main light at a 45- to 50-degree angle to the subject’s nose,
the main light should stay at that same angle relative to the nose as
you rotate the face away from the camera. This keeps the lighting
consistent and doesn’t destroy the shadowing on the face.

The Tilt.

How I wish that every college teaching photography would just
avoid this one subject. I have never seen one aspect of photography
that so many photographers leave school doing so badly. I have seen
everything from young ladies who look completely awkward, to
guys who look like they were just involved in a car crash that broke
their neck.
The Traditional Rules.While many college students will accept
that there are different ways to light, pose, and photograph a sub-
ject, a lot of them are convinced that there is only one way to tilt the
head of each gender—and it’s precisely the way their teacher told
them! I have had some truly talented photographers work for me,
and that is the one obstacle I have had to overcome with almost
every one of them.

46 POSING FOR PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY

Many photographers don’t move

their main light as they rotate the

subject away from the camera.