tographer would consider traditional. This is because, as human beings, I
think we all want to appear attractive. People who say they don’t care how
they look are the same people who say they don’t care about money—and I
think that people who would say things like that would lie about other things,
too!
Practical Example.
With the clothing, scene, and lighting selected, it now is time to pose the
subject. I show the client the poses by posing myself first. Yes, I get some
very strange looks—especially when I demonstrate an elegant, full-length
feminine pose—but if you can’t poseyourselfto look good in a pose, you
have no chance of posing yourclient.
The second step is something I call variations. In every basic pose, there
are variations that can be created simply by changing the hands or arms the
angle of the head, the expression, or (in the case of full-length poses) the feet
and legs. While clients do get a laugh at me as I model these variations for
them, it helps them select the pose they like best. It is also good posing prac-
tice for me. Believe me, after running through poses for a few clients, you
won’t forget the most popular ones—and knowing all the poses in the world
26 JEFF SMITH’S POSING TECHNIQUES FOR LOCATION PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
ABOVE—The rocky scenes may be somewhat
similar, but the poses and clothing are quite
different. As a result the portrait on the left
has a fun, casual feel, while the image on
the right is more glamorous.FACING PAGE—
Simple changes can totally change the look
of a basic pose.