the inner thighs nor the knees should touch. Legs are more appealing and
appear more relaxed when they are at least slightly separated. It’s this sep-
aration that differentiates the legs, thus creating a natural slimming of the
lower body and the legs themselves. Even in seated or laying poses, the
legs are usually separately articulated. This creates more visual interest and
generally makes the legs look slimmer because each is individually defined.
Bend It.The general rule of thumb is this: if it’s meant to be bent,
bend it. Even short legs look longer when they are bent. This is because
the bent legs form diagonal lines in the frame. These lines create a much
stronger visual statement than horizontal or vertical lines. They can also
help, in some cases, to frame the subject. (Note:Of course, rules are made
to be broken. If you want to create an image with a very assertive look, you
might have the model stand with her feet a little wider than shoulder width
and her legs very straight.)
Slimming the Legs.In glamour and nude photography, the legs look
best when they appear longer and thinner. With shorter subjects, this ef-
fect is accomplished by shooting from a lower angle and up toward the
subject. (Note:Be careful not to emphasize the nostrils when shooting
from a low angle. If necessary, a bit of butterfly or Paramount lighting
creates shadows under the nose that can help subdue the nostrils.) If the“If it’s meant to be bent, bend it.” That’s
the old adage when it comes to posing,
and in this image we strive to achieve it
with the bent legs and arms. Obviously,
when a model is posing on a 5-inch-wide
infinity-pool ledge, this is a careful bal-
ancing act—as Tess demonstrates beau-
tifully in this image. Sometimes I like to
add my own form of instability to an
image to accentuate the pose. In this
case, as the camera’s shutter fired, I
jerked the camera to the right to get the
action smear in the image. (Camera:
Canon 5D;Lens:Canon 85mm f/1.2L,
USM lens, effective focal length 85mm;
ISO:100;Shutter speed:^1 / 4 second;
Aperture:f/1.2;Lighting:Hensel Inte-
gra 500 Pro Plus monolight with a
Hensel beauty dish; Rosco #3411 CTO
gel placed over the beauty dish to con-
vert it to 3200K light;White balance:
3700K)