I should note that I have been asked by some photographers why there is a
hint of glamour even in my traditional poses. To me, this is part of appearing
attractive in a portrait. I am a man in mid-life, not as young or as fit as I used
to be, and I take great pride in being a good husband and father. However,
when I take a portrait of myself for business, book covers, or articles, I try to
make myself look as appealing as possible—at least as appealing as a middle-
aged father and husband can look! While I don’t fool myself into thinking that
twenty-year-old women are going to look at my photograph and think “Oh,
baby!”, it is nice to make my wife look twice when she first sees the portraits.
If we were honest, this is what all of us want to look like in our portraits. Call
it glamorous or alluring, this look or feeling adds life to a portrait. I consider it
an important part of every image I create.
Show More of the Background.
One posing technique we have found helpful, especially in this age of larger
clients, is showing more of the background. We encourage clients to bring in
personal items to reflect a little more of themselves in their portraits. Yet, while
many clients do want to include personal items, a growing number of clients
don’t want to show enough of themselves to include larger personal items. This
By putting some distance between the sub-
ject and the background, large back-
ground objects can be included in what is,
basically, a head and shoulders portrait.