full-length images that they forget about the part of the session that gener-
ates almost three-quarters of their sales.Client Expectations.
While creativity in head-and-shoulders poses is vital to the success of your
business, there are times when creativity takes a back seat to the client’s ex-
pectations. If you are taking a portrait of a woman running for city council,
the classic, boring, head-and-shoulders shot might be what is wanted; it is
what’s expected. Again, the end use for the portrait must dictate all the
choices you make in the portrait’s creation.
We have each senior select their poses from over five hundred samples we
have collected into small albums. Usually, the senior selects nothing but full-
length portraits and extreme close ups; these are the images that are most
like what they see in the media and in magazine ads. The mother, trying to
be a trend-setting modern woman, says, “It’s okay. They’rehersenior por-
traits.” Of course, she onlystaysa trend-setter until she sees the previews—
that’s when she realizes that her daughter’s choices have left her with no
portraits that are suitable to give to her friends and family.
To solve this issue, we photograph in the full-length pose they have se-
lected, then we take a head-and-shoulders pose using the same background
and pose. This way the senior has her full length that shows her shoes and
outfit and the mom has the images that the majority of sales come from.HEAD-AND-SHOULDERS POSES 93In this image (and the one on the facing
page), the scene and posing were chosen to
conceal or soften the areas that I know any
woman would worry about.