ABOVE AND FACING PAGE—In this series of
photographs of model Shauna, I pho-
tographed her in all four possible pose
crops: full-length, three-quarter-length,
bust-up, and a headshot. Many photog-
raphers mark an imaginary “X” on the
floor when shooting and never move,
some even try to compensate with a
zoom lens to further anchor themselves
to one shooting spot. This is the sign of
an inexperienced photographer. For this
series of images, both the model and I
moved to different locations within the
same area to provide for various angles
while still keeping the same basic look
in the images—as if to create a photo
story or essay. (Camera:Olympus E-500;
Lens:effective focal lengths from 50mm
to 100mm during the shoot;ISO:100;
Shutter speed:^1 / 60 second (^1 / 100 second
for full-length);Aperture:f/8 (f/6.3 for
full-length);White balance:3700K)108POSINGTECHNIQUESFORGLAMOURPHOTOGRAPHY
In this type of pose, it’s important to keep the eyes looking at the cam-
era and nowhere else; the viewer must connect with the model, and this
happens through direct eye contact. Normally I’ll point the nose forward
as well, but sometimes the face can turn slightly away from the camera—
especially with models who have small noses.
A slight shift of the eyes toward the camera will cause the iris to shift
off center and create the illusion of large eyes—which works great for
models with small eyes. As noted in chapter 5, you should also ensure that
the smallest eye of the model is closest to the camera to keep the eyes in
equal perspective.
As the model is being photographed and holding a pose I like, I’ll ask
her to simply give me different facial expressions without moving anything
but her eyes and lips—and sometimes just the lips. Occasionally, if I feel
there are other possibilities to try, I’ll ask for a slight turn of the face
and/or neck and start over again till I get the facial expression that makes
the shot. I don’t take a minimum or maximum amount of shots; I just
shoot, one shot at a time, until I feel I’ve obtained the headshot I was
looking to capture.