make him look like he’s nine months along and expecting twins. In
this case, the prudent thing to do would be to hide his stomach
completely, which you can do with careful lighting and posing, and
by pairing dark-colored clothing with a dark background.
Lighting and Posing. Hiding or enhancing the bustline or
waistline really comes down to two factors: controlling highlights
and shadows, and finessing the
position of these body parts
with respect to the main light. If
the appearance of a large bust-
line would be completely inap-
propriate for the type of portrait
being taken, dark clothing will
help reduce the appearance of
size. This is also an effective
strategy for concealing a larger
stomach area. With black espe-
cially, the distinct contours (the
areas of highlight and shadow)
that shape a bustline or belly
don’t show, making them seem
smaller and flatter.
In the case of the bustline of
a woman, size is determined by
the appearance of shadow in the
cleavage area or the shadow cast
underneath the bustline. To
increase the shadow in the cleav-
age area, you simply turn the
subject away from the main
light until you achieve the
desired effect. To really make
this area stand out, skim a kick-
er light from the side of the sub-
ject over both breasts. You
won’t be able to miss this area of
the body when you look at the
portrait. Using logic, to reduce
the appearance of the bustline,
you would simply reduce or
eliminate the shadows in the
same areas. This can be done by
simply turning the body of the
subject toward the main light.
70 POSING FOR PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Simply turn the subject away from the main light to increase the shadows that enhance the shape
of the bust.