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A good portrait begins with preparation.
This usually involves evaluating your client’s portrait needs, or what
your needs are if you are shooting for a portfolio piece. You must also evaluate
how to maximize your sitter’s strengths and minimize their flaws.
When posing sitters, comfort is essential, unless you are purposely trying to
make an image that shows tension. Both the photographer and model should be
comfortable with the setting and pose chosen, or it will read in the images.
Here are a few tips to help you when planning poses for your subjects.
1. Start With a Concept
There’s nothing worse for a portrait sitter than having the photographer
look at them blankly at the outset of a shoot because the photographer is struggling
for an idea. A model’s energy can dissipate quickly if a photographer
doesn’t get things moving quickly. For this reason, it’s always
a good idea to have at least one concept idea to start off with before your
model arrives at the location or studio. In this case, the subject of the photo
is actor Joseph Zaso, who has made a name for himself appearing in low-budget
horror films. I wanted a shot of Joe that paid homage to his status as “King
of the B-Movies,” but I didn’t want to use something as obvious
as horror make-up. Joe has had enough of those kinds of shots taken on movie
sets during production anyway. The concept evolved into a mysterious shot of
Joe in a window with a patch of light streaking across his face. It was important
that the light highlighted his eyes, because it’s almost always essential
to see the eyes in a portrait. They’re the “window to the soul.”
2. We Need a
Hug
How many family portraits have you seen with mom and dad in a chair surrounded
by their very stiff-looking offspring? A photo like that may be a good record
of what a family looked like, but it tells us nothing about the love felt between
the subjects. Use your intuition and pose families based on the closeness you
sense from them. Don’t be afraid to pose family members in an unconventional
way, perhaps with them hugging or sharing a joke. You might even ask them to
tell a funny family story and get your shot at the moment of the punch line.
3. Fake a Fashion Shoot
In fashion photography, there are no rules. If you’re feeling hemmed in
by the constraints of shooting a portrait, have your subject bring a few changes
of clothes with them. Try to tailor the images as if you’re shooting
a fashion editorial for a magazine. If you need inspiration, it’s always
a good idea to look at fashion magazines for the latest trends in the way images
are being made.
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