Would I Buy This Photography?

What a great Thursday! A new sessions starts with opportunities to learn and try new things!

I just finished watching a free Creative Live Seminar over the past three days with a Canon Explorer of Light Award Recipient, Clay Blackmore. I didn't get to watch too closely, but I enjoyed a Master Class with him in Italy last fall, so this was really review. I went back and reviewed my work since last fall, and I’m pleased to see that most of my portraits since that time have turned out great!

When you are photographing people, ask yourself, “Would I buy this photograph if it were me?” If we want to have successful photography businesses, we have to create images people want to pay for! Knowing how to light people and pose them to make them look good is extremely important. This posing chart for men and women done by Monte Zucker is available on his website at: http://www.photographeveryone.com/posing

There are two basic poses to remember: feminine and basic. Explained in very simplistic terms, the feminine pose turns the body at about 45° to the camera, drop the shoulder farthest away from the camera and has the female subject tip her head toward the higher shoulder. The light should cross the front of the body rather than come straight at it which will emphasize curves and details in clothing. This pose is excellent for women with thin to normal size bodies and youth to middle age. The basic pose works for men, and heavier and/or elderly women. The reason is the light is directed straight at the front of the body, and this will show less details and neck wrinkles or curves than the feminine pose. The head should be straight with body (like the line a tie creates) rather than tipped, especially in men.

Then there are three camera positions: front, 2/3s, and profile. If you turn your subject to create these different camera positions instead of moving your camera, remember that your lighting will need to move with them to create the same lighting pattern. (It may be easier to move your camera, if your background is suitable from the different angles.)

All of these use the Loop Lighting patterns. You will learn about different lighting patterns in Advanced Studio Lighting, but don’t be afraid to learn what they are and explore outside of class. A great book I got, after a seminar by the authors at WPPI convention, is The Portrait - Understanding Portrait Photography by Glenn Rand and Tim Meyer. (Sorry profs J, but it was much more helpful than the textbooks we used.)

Once you master these in the simple posing above, you can start using it in creative and fun posing situations and with multiple people in your image.

Now all you need to do is practice. I suggest you find a statue of large stuffed figure you can practice on. They don’t get tired or angry by being photographed over and over. Start there and when you feel confident enough, move to real people. Clay Blackmore said it takes about 10,000 hours of practice to be good, and 100,000 hours to be a master!

Do you have any portraits you would like to share with us?

Works Cited

Clay Blackmore. Explorers of Light. Canon, Inc. 2013. 1 Aug 2013. http://www.learn.usa.canon.com/resources/contributors/explorers/blackmore_bio.shtml#

Rand, Glenn. Meyer, Tim. The Portrait. Rocky Nook, Inc. Santa Barbara, CA. 2010. Print.

Zucker, Monte. Posing Guide. How to Photograph Everyone. 2013. 1 Aug 2013. http://www.photographeveryone.com/posing