Jeff Smith. Posing Techniques for Location Portrait Photography. 2008

Shoulders and Spine.

The widest view of any person is when the person is squared off to the cam-

era. By turning the shoulders, waist, and hips to a side view, preferably toward

the shadow side of the frame, you create the thinnest view of the body—and

we all want to look as thin as possible.

The shoulders of a man should appear broad and at less of an angle than

the shoulders of a woman. Women’s shoulders can be a very appealing part

of a portrait if posed properly. I like when my wife wears dresses that show

off her shoulders. However, my wife is thin and very fit, unlike the majority

of people we photograph each day.

For this reason, it is always a good idea to have the shoulders covered with

clothing if the subject’s weight is at all an issue. Clothing itself, however, can

create problems in this area of the body. Large shoulder pads in a jacket, for

example, will make just about any kind of posing impossible, making your

client look like a football player. As you can imagine, this is good for skinny

guys but not so good for larger guys or any woman.

By posing the person reclining slightly backwards or leaning slightly for-

ward, the shoulders and spine go diagonally through the frame and achieve

a more relaxed look. The portrait will have a professional look and it will be

more visually appealing. It will also create a more flattering impression of the

subject’s personality. This could be called the “anti-stiffness” rule. When you

see a portrait of a person in which their shoulders are running perfectly hor-

izontal through the frame, or in which the spine (if you could see it) is run-

ning perfectly vertical in the frame, the person appears stiff. Visually, you are

telling everyone who sees this portrait that your client is uptight and very

rigid.

Keep in mind that the subject’s shoulders also form the compositional base

for every head-and-shoulders pose you take. Therefore, the line of the shoul-

FLATTER THE CLIENT 45

Here seen from the side, the “turkey neck”
pose helps stretch out the area under the
chin for a more flattering appearance.