as a component of the final com-
position. Only when you can
consistently make each part of
the upper body look good and
natural (and can do it quickly)
should you start learning about
posing the rest of the body.
Most photographers prefer
practicing full-length poses,
because they feel these are more
artistic and offer more creative
possibilities. I will tell you what
I tell my photographers who are
in a hurry to get into the main
studio areas where the full-
length poses are taken: You have
to crawl before you walk, and
walk before you can run. If you
don’t understand the elements
of posing well enough to consis-
tently make five areas of the
body look great (face, neck,
shoulders, arms, and hands) you
have no chance of making the
entire body look good.
Taking on the task of posing
the entire body is overwhelming
to young photographers. This is
why young photographers in my
studio start out with basic year-
book posing—they only have to deal with the face and shoulders.
Then, as they master these basic poses, they move on to photo-
graphing head-and-shoulders poses that include the hands and
require posing of the arms.
After they can confidently show clients five to eight variations on
whatever pose they have selected, they are ready to start posing in
the full-length areas. This process usually takes at least two years, so
don’t feel that, after reading this first section, you are going to nail
the posing on your first test session. Posing is a discipline, so give
yourself a break and allow yourself time to learn and develop a rou-
tine that works for you.POSING THE SHOULDERS, ARMS, AND HANDS 67When you master the basic poses, move on
to photographing head-and-shoulders poses
that include the hands and require posing of
the arms.