Legs.
To a woman, the appearance of her legs is just as important as that of her
bustline. The standard of beauty dictates to women that their legs must be
long and lean.
Ankles.This area is not a problem for most guys, but it can be a real issue
for many women. The “cankle” (or the appearance of not having an ankle,
but the calf of the leg just connecting to the foot) is a look that many women
have and most could live without. This affliction is best handled by suggest-
ing pants, looking for tall grass to camouflage the area, or taking the photo-
graphs from the waist up.
Muscle Tone.Legs appear toned when the muscles that run along the
outside of the thigh and calf are flexed and visible. (If the client’s legs are
very heavy, however, the muscles won’t be visible even when flexed and the
leg won’t look toned.) These muscles usually become more readily apparent
when the heels are raised, as they are in high-heeled shoes or when the client
is posed with her heels elevated.
Legs are one of those areas of the body (like cleavage) that a woman ei-
ther has, or doesn’t. Let me make this clear: I am not saying that most of
your clients don’t have legs, but many of your clients shouldn’t show them.
Just because a woman is the correct gender, doesn’t mean she looks good
wearing a dress. When this is the case, it’s time for some tough (but tactful)
love.
Color and Nylons.If any part of the legs show, they should appear to
have color—porcelain skin doesn’t work on legs. If the subject’s legs are very
pale, suggest that she bring nylons (obviously, this is not an option with some
outfits, however). Darker nylons tend to look more elegant, while the flesh-
toned ones look more “everyday.”
Posing Techniques.When posing the legs, there is one simple rule that
will help demystify the whole process: you have two legs to work with—one
leg is the support leg, which holds up the body weight, the other leg is the
accent leg. The accent leg is separated from the support leg and adds inter-
est to the portrait. This accent leg visually lengthens the legs and gives the ap-
pearance of muscle tone. If you use this strategy, you will have cut your work
in half, since you’ll only need to pose one leg instead of two.
There are numerous ways the accent leg can be posed, as you can see in
the photos on the facing page. Take the classic “James Bond” pose. In this
stance, the weight is put on one leg and the accent leg is crossed over with
the toe pointing down (facing page, bottom right). Turning the accent leg
to the side (rather than having the toes pointing at the camera) will make the
pose look even more interesting and further flatter the legs.
Even in a seated pose, one leg normally extends to the floor in order to,
for lack of a better word, “ground” the pose. Have you have seen a person
60 JEFF SMITH’S POSING TECHNIQUES FOR LOCATION PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
ABOVE AND FACING PAGE—In standing poses,
having the legs side by side (above) is not
flattering. Instead, one leg should support
the body while the other leg acts as the ac-
cent leg. It should be separate from the sup-
port leg. The role of the accent leg is to
show the shape and tone of the legs and to
create interest in the portrait.