Posing for Portrait Photography

cute for little kids, a pose that is not grounded looks odd for an

adult. If you have someone whose feet don’t touch the ground, have

them sit on the edge of the chair so at least one foot touches the

ground, or have both feet brought up into the chair. This grounds

the pose by using the chair as the base.

In a seated pose where one leg is grounded, the other leg

becomes the accent leg. The accent leg can be “accented” by cross-

ing it over the other, bending it to raise the knee, or folding it over

the back of the head (just kidding)—but you need to do something

with it to give the pose some style and finish off the composition.

The “Deadly Sins” of Leg Posing. There are literally hundreds

of ways to make the legs (covered in pants or showing in a dress)

THE FEET AND LEGS 99

With one leg pulled up, extending a leg to the
floor makes the pose appear grounded.

Do something to give

the pose some style and

finish off the composition.