T

he human form can be shaped and proportioned to be one of the most
beautiful subjects on earth. Conversely, it can be arranged in a such way
that it makes even the most attractive person look disfigured. Further
complicating this arrangement of the human form are all the different shapes
and sizes of people that we, as profes-
sional photographers, must work with.
It is one thing to make a perfect model
look good during a test session or sem-
inar—but use the same poses on a good
portion of our average customer base,
and you will end up with an unsalable
portrait.
So, what is it that makes one arrange-
ment of body parts look so graceful,
while another arrangement looks so
awkward? I believe there are two parts
to posing: the basic mechanics of pos-
ing each part of a person’s body in a flat-
tering way, and the creative vision to see
how this arrangement establishes the
basic look or style of the portrait. Both
of these subjects will be explored in this
book.
Specifically, we will be exploring
techniques for location portraits. As you
might guess (or have learned from ex-
perience), posing on location requires a
different approach than posing in the
studio. In the studio you have chairs,
couches, props, and posing aids. Out-
doors, you typically have to work with

6 JEFF SMITH’S POSING TECHNIQUES FOR LOCATION PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY

Introduction.

Flattering poses arise from a solid under-

standing of the human body as well as from

the creative vision to make the right choices

for the setting.