Another thing I like to take advantage of when my model is in a re-
clining position is a very high camera angle. I simply climb a ladder and
shoot down while the model changes her poses. I will often turn the cam-
era as I’m shooting to create dramatic lines and an enhanced sense of di-
rection in the image. Most often, I’ll have the lower part of the body lined
up with one bottom corner of the frame while the upper part of the body
will line up with the opposite, upper corner of the frame. This type of
framing will create imaginary diagonals that are pleasing to the human eye
and keep the viewer going round and round in the image frame—the
viewer becomes more intrigued with the image, too!AmericanIdolstar Amy Davis strikes a natural pose that complements the warmth created by the natural light. When a model is
going to pose laying down and extended, it’s normally best to keep the body more parallel to the camera and not extend it out-
ward. In this pose, though, the legs are extended away from the camera, which allows the lower body to “fade out” gracefully.
The point furthest from the camera is the toes and the point closest to the camera is the shoulder, thus the geometric plane cre-
ated from point to point is wide. Normally this is not recommended—especially if the body protrudes out toward the camera, be-
cause of unflattering distortion. Again, it works well here because the body is extended away from the camera and then floats
toward the light from the window. (Camera:Canon 5D;Lens:Canon 85mm f/1.2L, USM lens, effective focal length 85mm;ISO:
100;Shutter speed:^1 / 400 second;Aperture:f/1.2;Lighting:natural window light and only the modeling lamp [3200K] from a
Hensel Integra Pro Plus 500 monolight fitted 7-inch reflector and a 30-degree grid [flash was not triggered];White balance:
3900K)
SIT,STAND,ORLIEDOWN79