The thighs are not directly next to each other (or posed identically) and
one leg supports the body while the second leg is the accent leg. The feet are
in high heels, or at least the accent leg has the heel pushed up to flex the leg
muscles and make the feet appear smaller. The accent leg could be crossed
over the support leg, extended out, or placed to form what I call a stepping
pose. The pose is just what the name implies: you have the subject step into
a typical position to rest their foot on some element in the scene. This gives
the body a forward angle, creating a diagonal through the frame. Stepping
poses look very natural because they provide a good base for the upper body.Corrective Techniques.
Although standing poses (especially full-length ones) are designed to show off
the body, you can still use elements in the foreground to hide or soften prob-
lem areas. When necessary, I will use the “peek-a-boo” pose, placing the ma-
jority of the body behind an obstruction and just letting a portion of the
shoulder, the side of the body, and one leg show in the photo. While this
posing isn’t ideal, it is a way to provide a standing full-length pose for a de-
termined client—a way to give them an image that their ego can handle.STANDING POSES 91LEFT—In standing poses, one leg is the sup-
port leg, while the other leg is the accent
leg. The accent leg is bent and often shown
from the side to reveal its shape.RIGHT—In
a stepping pose, the raised accent leg cre-
ates a good base for the portrait.