Posing for Portrait Photography

this, any woman who worries about weight will automatically

choose to take everything from the waist up.

With carefully chosen words,

clients can easily be led in the

proper direction. As I’ve noted

previously, we have clients pre-

select the poses and background

they want done in their session.

Then, I will pose myself show-

ing them the pose they have

selected and additional poses

that would also look good

for the clothing and the back-

ground they have selected. If I

know one of the poses would be

best suited for the client, I use

the same tactic described above.

When I get to the pose that will

slim their hips, I simply say,

“Most woman worry about

their hips and thighs looking as

thin as possible, in posing this

way, the hips and thighs look

thinner. Now, which pose would

you like to do?” Without excep-

tion, the slimming pose is the

one that every woman will

select—unless the subject is very

thin.

Slimming the Hips and Thighs.

Standing Poses. The first basic

rule is never to square off the

hips to the camera. This is obvi-

ously the widest view. In standing posing, rotate the hips to show a

side view, turning them toward the shadow side of the frame if

weight is at all an issue.

In standing poses, photographers often shift the weight of the

hip to accent the hip closest to the camera. This works with a very

thin or very curvy woman, but it enlarges the bottom and thigh,

which isn’t salable for 90 percent of women.

Just as the arms shouldn’t be posed next to the body, legs (at the

thighs) should never be posed right next to each other in standing

HIPS AND THIGHS 79

Most women are at least a little worried
about the way their hips and thighs will look
in their portraits. A simple solution? Don’t
shoot images that show them.