Jeff Smith's Guide to Head and Shoulders Portrait Photography

To learn how to pose the arms, watch people as they are relaxing. They fold
their arms, they lean back and relax on one elbow, they lay on their stomachs
and relax on both elbows, or they will use their arms to rest their chin and head.
However, any time weight is put onto the arms (by resting them on the back
of a chair, the knee, etc.) it should be placed on the bone of the elbow. If weight
is put on the forearm or biceps area, it will cause the area to mushroom and

68 JEFF SMITH’S GUIDE TO HEAD AND SHOULDERS PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY

LEFT AND FACING PAGE—The variations in

posing that can be created with the arms

are just about limitless.

To learn how to pose

the arms, watch people

as they are relaxing.