dle-aged men completely shocked by the fact they were bald. They had con-
vinced themselves that those three strands of hair twirled around their head
really had everything covered! The same sort of wishful thinking goes on in
everyone’s head. We “overlook” the effects age and weight gain because they
happen slowly over time. Before you know it, though, you don’t recognize
the fat, bald guy in the photo.
This is why we must try to understand it when a young lady with heavy
arms, a less-than-flat stomach, and thick ankles wants to wear a short, sleeve-
less dress with flat shoes. As a professional, you have to recognize that there
is no way this woman would be happy with her appearance given these cir-
cumstances. Then, you have to come up with a plan for achieving the look
she wants—while saving her ego from having to look at the harsh reality.
Three-Quarter-Length Standing Poses.
In many cases, a good compromise is to create a three-quarter-length stand-
ing pose. This is often enough to show off the subject’s outfit and the back-
ground, while still maintaining a larger face size in the frame. Best of all, you
can shoot this variation without having to adjust the subject’s position. Just
pose the subject for the full-length image (following all the guidelines we’ll
86 JEFF SMITH’S POSING TECHNIQUES FOR LOCATION PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY
A great location, a beautiful dress, and a
slim client all contribute to the success of
these full-length poses. Softening the back-
ground helped keep the emphasis on the
subject.