No matter how silly you might feel
demonstrating variations, it is the
most important part of the learning
process. You can look at all the poses
shown in this book, get clippings from
magazines, and go to seminars, but
until you practice them daily in the
same situation as you will actually use
them, designing flattering poses will
always be a challenge to you.Be Observant.
The key to good posing is being ob-
servant. Many photographers are in
too much of a hurry to start snapping
off pictures. I tell my young photog-
raphers to take one shot and wait for
that image to completely download
and be visible on the screen. At that
point, I want them to study the image
for at least ten seconds. By forcing
them to take the time to notice prob-
lems in posing, lighting, and expres-
sion, the number of obvious problems
have gone down considerably.
Many photographers find that they
don’t have an eye for detail. They con-
stantly find problems (problems they
should have picked up on before the
portrait was taken) coming out in the
final proofs when they show them to
the client. If this is your shortcoming,
hire someone with a good eye for detail to assist you in your sessions. Their
eyes and focus on detail will save you the cost of their salary in lost or reduced
orders.
We have a photographer who has been with us for some time. He, like most
mature men, has no idea what makes one hair style look good and one look
messy. So, I pair him up with one of our younger posers/set movers, who acts
like she is a member of the fashion police. She can spot a stray hair or a bad out-
fit from across the studio. Between the two of them, we have excellent portraits
for clients.POSING 97ABOVE AND FACING PAGE—Attention to de-
tail is one of the factors that ensures good
posing.