Jeff Smith. Posing Techniques for Location Portrait Photography. 2008

into a complete profile, showing only one eye, or bring the face back to pro-

vide a clear view of both eyes.

Catchlights.Outdoors, the single biggest mistake I see photographers

make is not having the proper catchlights in the subject’s eyes. This usually

comes from working with light that has no direction. In almost all of my por-

traits, I use a small reflector near the subject to ensure there are beautiful

catchlights in both eyes. If you evaluate the catchlights, you can often diag-

nose any problems with your lighting. If each eye shows a distinct catchlight

in the proper position, your main light is good; if the catchlights aren’t right,

neither is your main light. Usually, this means your light lacks direction, in-

dicating that the main light source is too large and too soft.

FLATTER THE CLIENT 39

With no direction to the light, catchlights are absent and the eyes
have a dull look.

On-camera flash creates a tiny catchlight in the center of the eye. This

is not the ideal position.

The top catchlights are in the proper position and a reflector below the
subject has produced a second catchlight. This smooths the skin, soft-
ens any darkness under the eyes, and produces a glamorous look.

In this final image, the catchlights are strong, well defined, and lo-

cated in the proper position on the eye. This is the result you want in

a professional-quality portrait.