Lessons

Lesson Info

Live Posing: Covergirl Shot

this would be one of my really most popular shots that I use in the studio it's called cover girl and the reason I call it cover girl that's front and back is for me most women want an image that looks like they've been in a magazine that for may the bottom line would be how I describe my work magazine start portrait they want to look like they're on the cover of a magazine and the cover of a magazine has one composition really and that composition is from here to here doesn't it okay so has like a half body composition so really there's only two compositions there's just about the eyebrows and to the brace line which is about there that's that really type category crop and then there's the top of the head to the waist line so you can start to see with the way starts going out again which gives you a nice taper and then there's the top of the head up a little higher to mid thigh those are my three type those in my three compositions one two three so the idea with covergirl is that it i...

s the shot here and you can see with these four I don't have a lot of room to move here this is not a multiple shot pose but it is a guarantee buyer which means what you nail it you've sold it if they have long here then obviously we blow the here if we can now something that you're not going to see because I can't tip the camera or can I is headed this way can you remind us see what lend your using this is the twenty four when I five thank you because that hair thing cut typing did you just do that at a really tight uh can you come and fix it she squeezed okay I don't shoot on a tripod and this why question free then yeah uh from wonderful I can't see use a tripod that's not the question when composing in camera what crop ratio are you typically thinking about for print I crop in camera constantly I only crop in camera I'm really guilty of that that is not necessarily good thing um I crop in camera because um I don't know maybe it's a habit but the problem is it's actually a negative if I need more space I want often bring my camera crop in uh right into that titus crop just above the eyebrows and if my clients apartness is you cut a hit off I'm screwed that's it there is no option to go back there I've learned as I got older to come back a bit because in the early days I would just bounce straight and crop everything as tight as I could and it does work against you but at the same time I never cropped any of my images I've done I do it all in camera because I think that angle changes quite significantly all rights and it's looking all right just keep asking uh specifically for print then are you printing then the same ratio that you're shooting yes eight twelve generally great thank yu always okay so the cava girl pose obviously you can see that so minus slim and when she's gotta hands down both sides it does nothing for her body the first thing I do with covergirl is either put the feet apart like this the the feet apart are really good solid base because they can move their hips left and right I'm quite significantly when they feed her apart and not feel like they're falling over um a lot of girls you'll say push your hip out and they'll push they're about to hear and then I go okay now push it out and they do this okay so that it's the tea part down to the sides or even bid it push yur hips out to the side and then they come forward okay the idea with with my style of photography your notice is the body is always quite square to the camera because that's fashion okay tuning halfway you only two and a half way on the dip and then the faces turned back to the camera so I'm very square to the camera so when you move your body just move sideways okay you move this way or this way but never ford and back unless I ask you to you never bring your bottom carriage forward anyway and you never take your bet carriage back and this you're laughing because there's really no reason that you'd stand like this so it stands and also if your booties kicking out it stands to reason that your putting it out there for a reason not that you tipped forward this way because that's kind of not a posey there is it so the idea then is that you take the middle half of the body and that you can move it like this and kick it out to define shape in your body and this post is the perfect way of doing that so if she put two feet apart and then kicks out to the left or the right and then she takes his hand here and then drops the albert around and then take is this one out then straight away she's defining her waist now if she brings her chin forward and down and engaging her eyes on face into the camera than already she's locked in and all I have to do is get their little twinkle in her eye that little magic and she's won everybody over so by the way at the break t y just announced that with that twinkle in her eye she's going to take over nigeria she's got a twinkle that everybody's going to twinkle at the cab drivers he's going twinkle in trade okay so that's all about there so if I go hands onto may hips here and then I go a little bit higher and then I go in okay and then I kicked the booty out so either way straight away I quickly define where my waistline is and the cava girl shot for me not only tape is the waste but the beautiful aspect of covergirl is if you have curbs and you put your hands up into your waist it's significantly changes where your waistline is so come and be my kid's model sandra jacket off so no quite quite the opposite actually the jacket works in your favor okay put your hands go back against the wall flat against the wall put your hands inside your jacket and put your hands out in two ways to inside your jacket and out into your waist okay that is where we instantly put our hands in our waist movement so the up one moment ok so that's where we put our ways because that's how it works for everybody now what I want you to do is create a four way so you're going to lift your hands up into here instead higher higher and then inside into your waistline more more more more okay now straightaway we change with the wasters and this is such a great one in my kid's manual you see such a significant changes where we see the waist line go because if I stand beside you so scooch over so I can fit into the frame if I stand beside you and that my hit by arms out here and then I bring them into here and then I work my hips and waste this way and then my chin forward then straightaway I'm changing I'm shifting the focus of where my waistline is and so I'm always trying to get people to create a faux way so higher than the normal waste in further and if you're wearing a jacket or a rap like that it works in your favor because the further you bring it in the food that you can create a waste away sign that tapers straightaway okay so my category shot back to cover gil simi thank sandra back to my cabin girls shot being a one hit wonder um interestingly enough about this shot is I'm going to take this off again oh john how did you do that I got it I'm just going to show you how to do this I'm going to do this okay it's not for that I'm gonna take a still but I want to shoot this a slightly horizontal sorry horizontal slightly asymmetrical and the idea is see that okay what I'm trying to do here is I want to make it look like a magazine so I shoot it off to the side looks fantastic all the cameras and realize she did not just do that guy yes I did okay bloody hell might come and put this on here throw it up I think the last time here the tripod in the studio I might have done okay so the idea is I wanted to bay the only symmetrical hand pose in my manual is shot asymmetrically why because it's fashion okay there is fashion fashion is slightly off center and I love asymmetry and images cosima trainer just does not look cool any time the only two times my hands a symmetrical is when they're both on the waist or both on the face and either of them a shot slightly off center really really really important okay from the those are my two faves the only variation I would put into some minor here tci you muscle there I did it again titan not your type too tight okay leave it there so the only direction we can really give here is this let's put our okay oh okay let's put out hands onto our waste like there that's the one long chin ford dropping those shoulders don't push your office back pushing that chin forward eyes down election elf eyes up that to me is a cover girl shot that that to me is when you just do that quintessential type crops highly off cover shot from the air let's bring the feet together across your knee over and now I just want you to come towards me with your shoulders so that whole pose the whole point of this pose here is that wee shaping the body from front on we can only do that if we're kicking out booty out one way and then working our shoulders in the other so the shoulder movement that you get that rolling shoulder you've got to be careful that people don't roll them both forward because people will do this in fact he's quite a amazing fashion pose that you know it looks really intense like this you know that the inn it's so wrong don't ever do that okay so the idea is that we're trying to get some shape by moving our shoulders in their hips so this one's going up and down hips are going sideways shoulders are working then it stands to reason that she can come off the wall just ever so slightly so that she can do more of a moving laugh so it's kind of like this it's the way you would naturally move if you were perhaps laughing and being more animated now a lot of people won't do that because what they'll do is this I love doing this by the way if this ends up on facebook so I'm going to be so upset when people goes because when people crack out the tendency is to sit back into their neck not to push it forward and in local gorgeous and got this and personally chin forward so the idea is you're kind of faking it what you're doing is you're pushing the chin forward and then you're getting them to look down because that's the direction of their laughter and then you can make them laugh there and it's already there it's that gorgeous you know ah ha and that's the whole point of this shop so that was it really only there to hit wonders that I do with kava go because cava gil leads onto freestyling freestyling is tomorrow ok several freestyle to marry for now I want to move on from cover girl this is one of my biggest sellers in terms ofthe eye slimming they shooting a mother and daughter or a couple or sisters and what I've done here is I've taken this matt come and drop was down for me and I've taken the shot here and I've set my client here with her feet away from the camera and her body away from the couch so there's some space here and the album goes on to there so that there's a little bit of a recline okay and then this hand goes onto the thigh and then slides back so straight away I'm creating a beautiful shape in the body I'm connecting the front shoulder to the front where I am I'm slimming the arm by pulling it away from the body and I'm creating space here so that the knees khun stay together and the hourglass can just rock into here so if I put two minor in this position ok it's exactly right now the hand goes on to the fire and then slides back straight away I can shoot this in about eight different ways come on mac not that I doubt you can let me hand holding but now impressed about me and I'll show you where I'm gonna put it in there you can adjustable I'm sure ok so what I'm gonna do now is I'm gonna see where this is okay so here we are in this pose here the idea of this prize tak you feed into me the idea of course of this pose is that she can work her shoulder forward so that you've got that beautiful sixty line right there okay bring it in a round to the shoulder now to slim it down you shoot it above the eye line to make it more fashion we should it here okay can you see the difference nice and square they write okay so straight away did you have a look at the card that that's on that card is it yeah so what I did with this iss might become inside here I want you right here try some nice and still write the arms say it then yeah but they're okay what I didn't do is I put the other person in the shoots I said forward and they come forward with the league of heart and then the elbow then goes into here okay so they're reclined his gun from the couch so that's a great mother and daughter shot and then what I do is I get them to follow the hand line down and connect their hands here because the mother and daughter can hold hands and then they can connect this way into the shot so that's exactly what the card is doing they're doing the same recline but they're sitting behind them now at this time hit yeah engagement session with this isis would you put the man on top or the bottom okay so let's say some miners my fianc safe and anyway the kind of cooler thing is is you really should put the person that leaves most slimming on the floor because the idea is that I'm gonna be the one that's in the most recline and she's leaning forward towards may now if she's my partner we can connect here and the idea is the face comes down towards each other right so gender doesn't matter you're more wanting to slim well yeah I'd say the girl should really be on the inside but you can swap them around the idea is that if it's a couple they can connect through expression kissing and elect via but the other thing that she can do is the girl contain a round for the girls contain around and then connect they're and the guys are already sitting on and he's taken pull it right through into the waste nice and tight and she can put a round up on his body and either way they connect but just using the cheer forty five degrees still using the same slimming posers sir if it's a mother and daughter and I'm the man and I need more slimming than my daughter I'll put her behind may and she's also covering my arms you know and she's around may and I consider I need to be a bit higher or semi needs to drop down and so that you can see with it shudders and so that's what that captures and then you can connect hands here because the mother and daughter can connect that way and if they don't want to you can let hints just go but remember we're hands ah because it's very important the body language of hands when you're on your own but the body language of hands when you're with someone like a family member or loved one is very very important okay which leads me to what I call a simple boxing pose let's take that out and take the stool in thie idea with a simple box pose from actually gonna use that stool if it's ok is for may I want anything that I can get people to move around on okay so there are only so many things angles and shapes of human body can make but one of the coolest ones come over here and stand up a little and just hold it low one of the coolest things is on a simple box like this is that you can create these shapes so I'll do it with you because you're in jane's but the one that's in there she's got a hands on this thing and she's just working his shoulders so I'll take any pose that I can work my arms okay so if I can sit on a simple box like this user leagues if it's a guy I would bring him forward into this position so he's got his arms open if it's a girl I would have who working his shoulders and when rocking his shoulders this way but basically if it's a young girl I would get her to put her near so come and sit here sammy okay from there slide your bum to the back of the tear our office will do that the first post your hands are locked in and you're using your shoulder so if I'm gonna shoot that here I'll shoot that down the wall line I'll go straight down there bringing your chin around to that shoulder here I go into here I like anything so you get it I'm using the tear I'm using my arms I'm using my feet I'm always up on my toes I'm working my legs always constantly working the legs I'm working the shoulder in constantly chen shoulder hands hourglass is not really relevant for this one here if it's a guy feet apart drop down elbows out okay they don't need to bring their chin to the shoulder because it's too girly they could just sit up you can shoot that around different angles drop it nice and low if it's a young girl you can't sit here back and bring a foot out okay so trying to yeah yes if you were sitting a need and had the name so straight across on the name remember shutting down the body language so the idea is that she's not showing off to college taj she's sitting like a younger would just arms up on ivor hugging her knee smiling whatever and also she can be cute she can bring it arms up over any like that she can bring her chin forward she can rest her chin and do anything she wants here and all of these poses work ok any questions tonight we're going good going good okay I don't really want to stop now anything way probably have questions give us a second yeah actually kim hillis wondering when tucking the feet behind them this sitting leaning post actually it was the last one when you were showing the mother daughter are you concerned with the appearance of the lower leg slash feet being amputated after yes don'tyou amputees and they do look wrong when they tucked in you're not going to see it on that camera angle but basically the feet are either together and out further or tucked away together and I'm cropping at the knee but usually I can always see the feet I can always see the feet because they hate it when somebody creates that um that you know when they cut off the unlike their need to see an albert going into nowhere any going into nowhere definitely it's not a rule light even break even it's not even fashion it's just not cool yeah so yeah I do try and always get the feet in this way we still have forty five minutes before going to brake so okay cool uh so question from gen l g the model seems to take her shoes off often do you prefer you no shoes no shoes for anybody if I could photograph anybody without shoes on I get it but where in winning at all about shoes but mine is not I have no reason to photograph your fate unless they are up into the shot when they kicked back and that lying down position next generally for teenage girls I love bear feet I shouldn't defeat the first thing I do when I start cheating has put me here in a party talent take my shoes off so I think everybody I tell my clients when you come in for a shoot don't bother bringing shoes you will not see them and every now and then people bring in these beautiful shoes and I never see them so yeah I'm always chews off easy easy yeah yeah she's a very high heels I was like well he has a million photographs here like no you're good yeah like what cho the cute and I have a shoe fetish I should be photographing people shoes but now there's no need to any other christians perform avon if you could possibly demonstrate a little bit more about how to advise clients on how teo oppose their mouth and lips oh you say just relax maybe ok so let's all have a go it there so what I'll do is I'll get through this posing sequence and then I'll show you how every different person here has a different relaxed mouth and how each one of them has a normal because there are very very different andi I'll tell you why that they're all different because you're noticed something particularly because ice murder and I work together a lot and b I taught her how to shoot so we both have a very similar thing so without looking at each other looks great in here do I completely chin forward isa relax mouth okay okay go lips together tiny smoke smile in your eyes is it similar okay biggest mick more smile in the ice get gay easy median a smile with lots of tinkle in the eyes okay wait doing this okay say uh okay right shoulder forward big smile guy thanks mom uh eyes down to the right big peck out go okay so other than being trained to do it most people can't do that so that's what we are constantly trying to teach people the difference is is everybody has a different relaxed mouth so some people look really really nobody by the way in the world looks good like this nobody nobody somebody's told karen nightly she looks good like that and she doesn't it's not cool okay nobody looks good like this either even though a lot of people try and do that it's not a call up a relaxed mouth is where your mouth naturally sits now some people have bigger teeth some people you can see the front teeth when the mouth is in a relaxed position some people you can see the bottom tape the difference is is working out where your relax mouth is and who has it so I'll go through everyone can sit here and I'll show you all of the relax mouth and I'll talk you through how I got them all to do that little we smile and that little we relax now because it's a very big different and held the photograph was taken by how teens that mathis