Posing for Portrait Photography

in you and trust that the pose will be flattering to the problem areas
that all of us worry about.

Our Changing Bodies.

As a society, we have become larger people. Fast food and little time
to exercise have lead to a nation of overweight people. At the same
time, our standard for beauty has become smaller. In the 1950s and
’60s, women were “allowed” to have thick hips and thighs, but the
current standard of beauty says that women should have the same
body frame that most girls have when they are twelve to fifteen years
old. Men aren’t much better off. The standard has been raised, sug-
gesting that every man should look like a model who has nothing
better to do than work on his washboard stomach and tan.
We are all trying to reach the impossible dream, and creating
that dream is what a photographer’s job truly is. No photographer
can make an overweight father or mother look like a swimsuit
model, but if you understand the human side of this business and
take the basic steps in effective posing, you can create something a
client will be proud of—it won’t be reality, but it will be a version of
reality that the client’s ego can live with.
In turn, you will have the gratitude of a very happy client, and
that gratitude can be deposited, invested, and used to provide you
and your family with a very comfortable lifestyle.

88 POSING FOR PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY

We’re all under pressure to live up to the cur-

rent standard of beauty. Being sensitive to

that will help you make all of your clients look

their best.

It won’t be reality, but it will be

a version of reality that

the client’s ego can live with.