We will start off with the face, because the face is the

most important part of any portrait. There are por-

traits created by photographers that have the face in silhouette or

obscured from view in one form or another, but this is usually an

artistic exercise for the photographer, not a portrait that would be

salable to the average client.

The Connection to Lighting.

In the same way that the posing of the body is linked to clothing,

the posing of the face is linked to lighting. Posing that will work

with soft lighting and a low lighting ratio will look ridiculous with a

harder light source or a high lighting ratio.

Light from Below.As previously noted, my lighting has more

of a glamour/fashion look than most traditional portrait lighting.

For example, I like to have a light come from underneath the sub-

ject, whether it is for a head-and-shoulders-, three-quarter-, or full-

length portrait. For everything up to three-quarter-length poses, we

use a trifold reflector to create this light; for full-length poses, this

reflector is replaced by a light on the floor in order to achieve the

same lighting effect.

This light coming from underneath the subject adds an addi-

tional catchlight in the eyes, brings out more of the eye color,

reduces the darkness under the eyes that most people have, and

smooths the complexion. For our images of seniors, it has worked

out very well. Because my clients are younger, they like the more

fashionable look of this lighting.

POSING THE FACE 35

3. POSING THE FACE.

This light coming from underneath

the subject adds an additional

catchlight in the eyes...