doesn’t mushroom. Alternately, I may have the subject laying flat on their
stomach, because many people with less-than-flat stomachs want full length
poses taken—and, as the saying goes, out of sight, out of mind!
When creating a pose on the ground, I also look for natural obstructions
to hide the problem areas that paying clients have. Tall grass, bushes, logs,
wagon wheels, columns and the lower limbs of trees are amazing at making
the ordinary client look extraordinary. Any of these elements can hide or
soften a large bottom or hips, a not-so-flat tummy, or large arms.
Choose Resting Poses.
Since the ground implies comfort, we use what I call resting posing. In this
type of pose, the arms rest on the ground or the knees, and the head or chin
rests on the hands or arms. In addition to looking very natural, resting poses
give you a great opportunity to hide the flaws and problem areas that many
clients have. When the chin rests on the hands or arms, it hides any double
chin or saggy skin in this area. When the arms rest on the knees, it hides the
tummy area from the view of the camera. With the body resting on one arm,
the other arm can be posed to hide a problem area such as the waist.
68 JEFF SMITH’S POSING TECHNIQUES FOR LOCATION PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
ABOVE—Posing in areas where the grass is a
little taller will help to conceal some of the
body, creating a slimming effect. FACING
PAGE—There are any number of obstructions
that can help conceal the lower body when
the subject is posed on the ground.