Picture Perfect Posing Flashcards
Spine
Cervical (neck)
Thoracic (back)
Lumbar (hips)
My words:When tipping head use the entire neck (Cervical) so it’s more of a lean from base of neck. Tipping just the head from a higher point not as good mostly?
My words: Keep the back straight. You can creat angles and leans while keeping it straight.
My words: Hips/booty (lumbar) part of spine can and should be where the spine curves. In a way I could argue we only want the spine straight until we get down to the Lumbar part of it. It adds nice curves to make and female. Especially important for females and appeal.
Weight
Weight Distribution
For uncrossed feet:
Weight on back foot.
Lines of feet should not connect or be parallel.
Bend front knee in the direction over the foot.
For crossed feet:
Weight on back foot.
Lines of feet should connect/intersect.
Joints angles
Bend joints to avoid stiffness.
My thought: It’s OK to use 90 degree angles but only if you really want to pull attention there or the subjects face is so compelling it still draws the attention?
Three-point check
Eye
Chin
Collarbone
Facing camera strong.
Weak if not.
Strong vs Weak is more about connection level with viewer.
Gaps
Creating gaps with lower back and
elbows
Walls: upper back and buttocks should almost be touching or touching the wall.
HCS
Hand/arm context system
Only eight things to remember!
Three Key Execution Concepts:
- Only one hand/arm needs to be posed.
- Hands/arms can work together or balance out.
- Hands can be inviting or defensive.
Five options for giving hands context:
- Hands resting or part of the body resting on the hands
- Framing/pointing
- Holding (keep in mind more effort reads as more important in image. Viewer subconsciously asks what is worth this discomfort and is compelled to look at the product. Less than 90 degree arm angle draws attention and shows effort with purse for example)
- Pointing
- Connecting
Stylizing hands and fingers: advanced techniques
Distance between thumb and index finger 1 to 2 inches. Any more distracting and may look tense.
Five suggestions for women’s hands:
1. Elongated, graceful, and relaxed.
My thought: remember fist, relax, put it back.
2. Fingers visible to the camera should be shown knuckles to fingertips and be elegantly curved.
3. All fingers should point in the same direction with a subtle gap equally spaced between them.
4. Wrists should not appear broken. Either straight or naturally curved.
5. When possible it’s preferred that the side of the subjects hands face the camera. The back of the hand especially when fingers aren’t visible can look like a fist.
Tip for elegantly holding veils/dresses. Hold it with your thumb and middle finger. Relax the others fingers.
Notes for guys:
Guys can make soft fists and more of the back of the hand is OK too. It shouldn’t be tense though.
For hand in pocket Roberto recommends all fingers including thumb be inserted. His sample pic is a close up of a hand in a pocket well past the knuckles.
Couples:
How to shoot fingers piled on top of one another. The strategy is to cover the fingers with the hands of the client on top.
How to shoot hand holding. Should be loose not gripped. If they were to step away from one another the hands should come apart effortlessly.
Origin of hands and fingers
Avoid disembodied hands from behind.
If space between subjects then an otherwise disembodied hand has a believable origin if we see the arm that belongs to it.
Mirroring
Avoid hands on same horizontal plane. Vertical too.
Not just hands. Feet, flowers, ETC.
This chapter needs review.
Interaction and placement of subjects
Make it believable.
Typically couples don’t stare directly in to one another’s eye’s when they are in each other’s close personal space. If you do have their heads close have one of them look away.
Point of Contact Check
Generally the eyes should be closest point of contact with the camera. Portraits. Adjust subject or camera angle as desired to do this.
The part of the body closest to the camera will have the most visual importance and importance in an image. For a portrait the eyes. If you are selling shoes maybe it would place the foot that wears them closest to the camera.
Tip: when hugging ask that elbows point to the floor (this minimizes elbows poking out closer to the camera).
Tip from Nadia: Change what you ask for. She did agree elbows down is good request but also shares “Place your elbows on his shoulders and your hands right behind his head”
The nose x-factor
Noses should not be parallel
Subject emphasis
Subject should be the brightest or as bright as other parts of the composition.
Compound or simple subject emphasis:
Simple would be shooting on solid seamless with no other elements or distractions just a solid background.
Compound subject emphasis would entail using things like leading lines, repetition, size, framing.
The final touches
Posing wth movement, feeling, expression
Three parts of the eye:
Sclera (whites)
Iris (colored part)
Eyelids
Sclera can move horizontally independent of the eyelids. Vertical changes in the iris will cause eyelids to react change. My thought: it can look weird very quickly if you have eyelids slightly closed and move iris to far vertically.
Iris and eyelids.
Eyelids fully open conveys fully focused almost like a hunter. Partly open is more seductive, glamorous, or romantic. Completely closed could symbolize soft or vulnerable. Shy looking down laugh with eyes almost closed.
