As you get beyond basic posing, you will first need to

identify the reason the client wants the portrait taken.
Imagine that a young woman comes to your studio for a session. All
you know is she wants a portrait of herself. Without finding out the
purpose of the portrait, you are shooting in the dark. She might
want a business portrait, a portrait for her husband or boyfriend, or
an image for her parents or grandparents.
The posing of a portrait that is to be given to a parent would be
much different than a portrait that would be given to a husband or
boyfriend. A business portrait would be taken with a different look
than a portrait that reflected the person as she is in her “off-duty”
hours. Although there are many reasons why a portrait might be
taken, most photographers approach the posing of a client in the
exact same way, no matter what the purpose of the portrait.

Types of Poses

Once you find out the purpose of the portrait, then you need to
select a posing style that will be appropriate for the final portrait.
Basically there are four posing styles to work with: traditional pos-
ing, casual posing, journalistic posing, and glamorous posing.
Within a single person’s session you may use a variety of posing
styles. This is a business decision you must make. But to learn pos-
ing you need to be able to distinguish between the various types of
posing and know what type of situation each is suited for.
Traditional Posing.Traditional posing is used for portraits for
business, yearbooks, people of power, and people of distinction.

24 POSING FOR PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY

2. DEFINING

THE POSE

Without finding out the purpose

of the portrait, you are shooting

in the dark.