professional look and it will be more visually appealing. It will also create a more
flattering impression of the subject’s personality, making them look much less
rigid.
Women’s shoulders can be a very appealing part of a portrait if posed prop-
erly. 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; your client will 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.
The Arms. Like the shoulders, arms often have problems that are best hid-
den by clothing, which is why we suggest that everyone wear long sleeves. Mod-
els may have perfect arms, but our clients are plagued with a variety of
problems—arms that are too large or too boney, loose skin, hair appearing in
embarrassing places, stretch marks, bruises, veins, etc. The list is a long one, so
cover those things up.For slim subjects, the shoulders can be an
attractive element in the portrait.