Lessons

Lesson Info

Beauty Shoot: Erica and Annette

Two reasons I shoot in bare feet I can't shoot issues because I were really high shoes all the time so when I shoot I kicked them off and then when I finished shooting I put them back on again and everyone says, why don't you wear flats and I kind of go just wait I don't know why you would say that maybe it anyway so the idea of course is that I may help toward my client is they need to be in defeat because or I need stand on a soap box which is fine but when the hell the foot is extended and I know that people tell me two things but my butt looks better when I'm in heels my legs look better when I'm in heels or I feel six year in hills I don't I beg to differ because when somebody's in an extended caf position like this, they can't do any of these because they're already up extended on the caf so they can't do that they can't do it the same way in it ends up looking a little constipated, so if I'm not gonna see shoes, I don't see the point of wearing them, okay? It'll it'll so I'm goi...

ng tio do exactly what I did with susan, but I'm going to choose different a different pose thiss color is amazing, okay? I'm the person that his spent an hour to an hour and a half waiting for here and make up um I think it's more about me than the makeup artist so when my makeup at us take too long and this part I'm like that's enough out like I kicked them out of a shot old time I don't need kicks my name she knows and I'm gonna tell her to get up that check and go erica what I would like you to do is I would like you to stand all my side onto me so with your back against it well that's exactly right I want teo I'll take a shot of you like that so bring that light up for me okay? So exactly the same rules apply when the arms beside the body in the body is flat then obviously it stands to reason that it's not very flattering to the front of the camera so what I'm gonna do is I'm going to turn here and I still need to see if they if they took it. So what I'm gonna do is first of all take this hand back to the back of your just sort of back of yur pocket in a bit lower and all that does all I'm trying to achieve here is to get that get between the back of her arm in the back of the wall if you have a looking out that transition you just see it opens up her body line now if somebody's and it's a significant difference if you have a look at the arm again the body and then create that line it's such a significant difference to the body and it just looked so good all I'm going to do is a real simple move here I'm gonna put your thumb into jeans this one good mirror could gil and all I'm gonna do is this I'm going to get you to open your shoulders to me like that yeah that's exactly right now drop that front shoulder for because you pinned it up right then what I'm gonna do is I'm going to get you to push your chin all the way it's mine it is a little bit of here spouting out the back but I don't want you to tilt backwards I want you to straighten up your head and bring your chin this way engaged there and then drop down okay, now all I want you to do now very gently is dropped this shoulder in the front that's it stay there okay, now what I see now is just a tiny little wee bit attention in the mouth straight in your head up to may bring your chin this way and down this way that two girls day there there it iss and re election mouth now bring your chin down towards your shoulder back that way said and pull that bottom of the reflector out of but I can just see it chin down to that shoulder now there it is I can see as soon as the chin locks down on the shoulder look at this difference here she's straight up and down their chins predicted forward but can you see that can you see that connection goes straight into the chin on the shoulder and it makes such a beautiful difference such a beautiful difference right there okay your thumbs in two teens and I want this handout now what I want you to do is I just want you to swap the weight onto this foot that's it I want you teo drop down even further it's the one and then I want you to bring it should that stop not that far let's it america straight on up bring your chin that way don't move down down down down down stop bring your chin stop stop this way up just up fits it now straighten your head up bring your chin that way see how she follows that direction really really well hold that and turn your whole body away so when they get too close to the wall I moved the whole body stay there okay? Straighten your head up and bring your chin dea straighten your head up this way and now just bring it stop now down okay people reese it they have like a defaulted in k and they re sit to the same thing every time so I just reset the pose stadia I don't know I just reset the pose and do it again and if I have to give the same direction over and over again I don't mind doing it. Some people get really frustrated because you're saying the same thing over and over and they get really annoyed but you know it's actually really, really easy okay? Stadium now what I want you to do is I want you teo swap wait on your feet that's it I want you to kick your hip out towards tiffany which is what susan did good girl I want you to drop down a little bit more stop stay there and I'll bring your chin around don't move okay, now chin down touch I want you to relax your bottom lip good girl that was beautiful. I want you to bring you a chin this way I want you to just give me a tiny little smile in the eyes you could look at that. So this eyes just uh, that whole connection all I'm trying to do is crop to the top of the head get that connections through that expression that gorgeous little hint of a smile and just really make it work now you can see from this camera I know you're this angle you can actually see how uncomfortable effect I could even shoot that how uncomfortable she actually is in this pose and I think if you um it's kind of weird but when you look at her body line in this image there is absolutely no slimming or anything needed in postproduction because her body line is so beautiful but that's actually how she standing do you get that so that sculpting and camera is worth a thousand flat shots on the wall if you could just get that simple movement it just it's not only sells portrait's because it's beautiful you can focus on the face you fled to the body and it just is just simply simply gorgeous okay go straight back against this wall and did anybody see erica skaff? She dropped it along the way samantha can you soften her curls and make them bigger? Thank you now I want to change up the pose enough teo um sell more portrait without having to change her top okay so I'm going to be doing so much styling over the next five days but this is how I can change it from the left side of the wall to the back side of the wall and create two different sequences of portrait without having to change her top and I think this is really really gorgeous I'm gonna add a scarf and make the here a little bit bigger um, I want just just gonna try we play, sometimes we play and then take it away. It doesn't work it all, but mostly we just play. And you know what? If you can see his face right now, that is a typical face of a woman getting confused and pampered for some reason when we touch them, they are whole energy seems to go from being I'm getting photographed too a preening I watched women do it all the time. It seems to me that it's, one of the nicest feelings is to, you know, experience there and feel that so I try and make sure my makeup artists know how to make people look and feel good but know how to make them feel good because of people feel good, they just have such a great experience and it's so so different. What I want you to do now is you can't lean on that war because it's not got no support behind it, but I want you to come into the light just a little weed that more. I want you to come up onto this toe here, that's it go back a little bit too touching the war, but you can't lean on it that it want you to put your thumbs into your jeans. That's exactly right and I want you to kick your booty out that way towards tiffany good girl this elbow here I want you to hug around your body line all the way around yeah now drop that shoulder down good gil so straight away what it does is it creates this beautiful hourglass in nice symmetry in the body I want you to cross this knee that's it and lift up his told us you can throw your neck and shoulders because the city is you give me naked shoulders you just got a whole lot towler and skinnier x k now straight away from here um I want you to stay in this post really kick it out over extended good girl I want you to kick your booty back like this and I want you to come towards may stop she just did what everybody does don't move in this pose she pushed her upper body forward intact to chinon. Okay, everybody does the same thing I told her to kick it out here it was fine. I told her that hourglass it was fine then I told her to come forward and she went like this. Did you see that? Okay, now everybody does that so what I do is I sit the fate I set the hip you can leave this handout yeah, no out like better and then I said that booty and then I dropped the shoulders and then not good back here tonight you're leaning get there, take a girl now lift up and push your chin forward and down. Stop! Okay, not that far. You just came too far so I bring you a chin this way and then down this way, just your chin, ok, not your neck. Now, this is something a lot of people have a problem with that I've been teaching. They're like, how do you get the ten fourteen down? That looks weird. It looks weird and I'm like no. If they go chin forward and down with the unique then they're going to look weird. But what I want them to do is just this excess here. Ok, so you lift up through the back of your shoulders and it's just your chin forward and down. Okay. It's not unique. Forward and down. Somebody's gonna facebook picture I just know ok, nice and tall. Okay, bring your chin this way just to chen. Give me till stop, stop! Okay. And then on the guy here it is and I can see it from the front. As soon as she brings and engages the chin, I see it straightaway into me it's absolutely perfect, so I'll just take a shot here okay this arm is pinned back so just keep it out and put your thumb and two james because I want that shape so I really want you to kick into that pretty good girl okay and from there bring your chin towards me and down down down stop not that fire that's it relax your mouth and give me that gorgeous little smile in your eyes you got it give me that big killer smile go chin down stop good girls from there don't move anything just rotate this way not yet mermaid that's it keep going keep going keep going keep going stop put this hand behind that goes around like that yeah that's it long chin to the end of your shoulder that's the one soon as I see that chin come to the end of the shoulder I know I've got it and bring it around a bit more give me a tilt in life a tilt in that state chin around ten and shoulder together okay you don't put the shoulder up you don't put the shop up you put it forward and then you locked down the air don't move now give me a the usual awful big smile could kill it's gorgeous from there I want you to straight and you heat up yeah stop give me a tilt this way long chin towards me and straight down this is where if I've got scarf or a jury. If I've got gorgeous here like this with its framing the face, I'll bring it right into here like this. I get a gorgeous body line that's a nice long neck lifting up. I come right into the shop, tin down, chin down that, sir. And I take this shot right up in here because this is a shot that all my clients by when I take a shot that's nice and close. Nice and cover, gil. Beautiful face shot. Nice calf. It always works, and it always looks beautiful. Okay, from there, I want you to go squid. I want you to open your shoulder up. Stop! You want to get nice and tall with your neck and shoulders like a bring your chin for? I just try without them, see if I can. If it makes your neck look longer without having a scarf on. I want a nice big here around the face like this framing you. So I want this to be a real magazine cover. So, it's, just a simple beauty. Charlotte so ride up in here. I'm shooting this close to here. I'm talking to here, and I want you to just bring your nick hi. Chin down a touch good girl and relax at mouth okay, chin down a touch more that's it a little bit more okay, I want that again but this time I want you to really give it to me through the eyes I want youto I want you to just bring that tin ford and down and give me a tiny little smile through the eyes gorgeous, beautiful perfect. Okay, stay there. I want one more from you because I won't put you on the green and the one more I want from you is come back to this wall again. Teo beauty is pain my fabulous pains I want youto hold on. Do you um babe? A boat there exactly right I want you not to lift your boobs up there celibate for that's the one I want you to kick your beauty back to the walk a girl nice shape. Now what I want you to do is bring it and long into the end that set stay right there. Now when I say long and to the end I want you to tilt in not that far and I want her to bring her chin as far as she can to the end of his shoulder and bring her shoulder for just a tickle so that's it because as soon as I see that beautiful connection I get that beautiful connection between the eyes and the shoulder and I know I've got it so right there I want teo just do a tiny little gorgeous smile in the eyes good girl that's beautiful now I want you to do for election mouth completely relaxed with that shoulder forward chin down towards that shoulder with that to go they had to go there to go back sorry one more and I want you to do this with a big smile go okay, stay there and I am taking a shot of the wall you're that all right? You look so beautiful. Okay, come in. Come in. Come in come in. So I'm taking the same shots of the girls because they're all different clients and I repeat everything. In fact, the more you repeat your poses, the better you get them and the more money you make because you end up with a process or a system that works a lot better than if you are not working. Um if you are trying to reinvent the wheel every time you shoot I have a really strong system to shooting. I stand on the walls a different ways I stand on the back wall eight different ways and I'll show you all of those ways over the next week but the idea is that you can repeat every one of these poses with every one of these people so on day three in the afternoon, I have, um, ages from living to sixty five from little took the opportunity to curvy, and I'm going to pose a ll six girls and exactly the same pose individually differently for the age and body type. So you get to see how I repeat the same process. But I changed out for different bodies, different styles and it's such a neat, such a neat thing to watch on my end if you be needing the lips, dig I have no secrets out there for years with eighty five why not a ninety five? Why did you choose thirty five? Just because of, um, my close quarter shooting, I would rather shoot on twenty four one five then in eighty five, I know that eighty five is a beautiful lantern, it's sharp and all the rest of it. But I am never, ever, ever, in a big enough space on this is very unusual for me to be in a space is big. I'm usually in a three by three meter room. So curie very unusual. Nine foot by nine foot. Um, I want you to teo teo, take this hand and put it here, okay, now I can't see that space through here on in it because she's wearing a top that doesn't allow it, but she's also wearing something that's very pretty and very decorative. So it doesn't really matter. I don't need to create space right here to see her black back line also. And it's what I call elegant portrait. So as soon as I start getting sort of over fifty five, I start just creating beautiful images. You fifty five years twenty, fifty five, fifty seven. I kind of dying. Make them arch the bodies out too much. What I want is just a beautiful slumming portrait and I use, um, the arms and exactly the same way. So relax his hand what did they want you to do is put this hand up to here? Yeah, so a little bit higher just when you're hit by next. Now, first thing I want you to do is to tuck your elbow a ll the way back like that. And, well, I want you to do is drop forward towards me now, I just need this hand to go down low enough. Yeah, so that I can get you back towards that war. Okay, little bit more. Now bring your foot up here on the front that's exactly, right now, and it just did something that also most people doing, she threw him back, okay, so that's called everybody's doing exactly what they meant to be doing so what I want you to do is just turn your body towards me okay, stay right there I'll show you something beautiful. I want you to stand back up right again yeah and I'm gonna take this shot and now I want you to go back sorry I didn't look at my let me do that again okay, now what I want you to do is exactly what you just did then kick this toe right out let to go and just bring this hand around to the back of your bum a little weed but that's right not so far that's it and drop that shoulder down a little bit more and now open your body up to me this way stop okay this hand goes onto the outside of your hip and your elbow goes back okay, now don't three back this straight not may that's and bring your chip good gil okay, so from here straight away the difference in that post just by lifting her foot up and dropping her shoulder out this way is already significant tilt so you could say to somebody I want you to put your foot out like this and kick your hip out this way and then I want you to put this hand up to here and what they do is assume she gives them a direction they do this and it's like we have a default sitting can generally our default setting is quite awkward and so it's like I want you to lift up really tall through your body I want youto work the knees that hits the hands I want youto work the shoulder kick the hip out lift up nice and tall push that chin forward this second you stopped commanding them they just go into either recent mode well the chain goes back into hits so bizarre and it's like what I do is I started the feet and I know that if I sit her feet I can sit that straightaway stop right there demo okay exactly how I like it that is perfect now this albert goes back good girl I want you to give me a long chin ok so not down but long towards me and I just want you to tune the back of your head now keep it there just tuning that's exactly right long chin as soon as I see her engaged this shoulder and I have to keep talking here through it now hold that position and bring your chin towards me more stop okay now don't cave in here just that your chin come forward and now long chin towards me and now work that shoulder so I would stay there stay there I will repeat that over and over and over again until I get until she can hold that pose and hold that pose and hold that pose and then when I see it working, when I see it hit that post where I'm just like that is perfect, I'm like, stop don't move and I'm quite, you know, I mean, I try not to be abrupt because I know that it can come across is don't move and if I have a wiggler or someone who just keeps resetting or someone that keeps talking, I need to get them it's still as soon as possible. So you know how people shoot? Mostly when I see people shoot, they're all like, work it, spin it, you will get all in there and do your thing and show me what you've got. I never let people do that, and they say, I'm doing a dancing shot and then I'm directing one movement, so every single one of my shoes is this directed and that's. Why I have such a high posing hit right in one shoot because I'm not just hoping for the best, but I don't like last time, really, you win and discussed a lot about the smiling with your eyes, but I still find that to be the one of the hardest things to get people to achieve, like do you tell them? Practice before they come to me. Oh, no. I show you. Um okay. So from there, I want you to bring your chin long and down towards your shoulder. Good girl and I she asked you to re election mouth straightaway. Dis reelect him out, innit? Good. Gil and then what I want you to do is give me a tiny little smile in the eyes. Everybody does the same thing. What they do is they go to smile with the mouth. Now, you didn't see that because the reflector was up. So do it one more time. Um, relent your mouth just completely reelection, malka girl and I want you to just do a tiny smile in your eyes. I see the mouth went and it's quite weird because people will go I will say just a tiny little smile and people go and everything lifts just one little weak little weave it up and I'm always looking at them the same way now face you look at marriage, your own so if I'm looking at you that way you're looking back at me that way and it's I find that quite easy to do some people have to practise their butt come here, I show you something if I imposing you it's something the camera can't see me if I'm posing you one of the first things I'm doing is this bring it in this way elektra mouth tiny smile your eyes could see that I do it because when I look in there I don't but you're looking at may your you're doing exactly back to me what I'm doing to you so I did that a lot okay we're back on there what I want to do now is gonna take just turned towards me not quite there not quite all that way that's it and then straight away I've got two things I've got a straight bloody line I've got no angles nothing looks fluttering about that show you this one this one's really cool tune this way so you're almost halfway good girl and I just want you to lean back with your upper body that's the one now I just tuck that hand now that's it now open your shoulder out to make stuff I want you to put this hand flat on tooth I slide it up and you're albert goes back that to go now I'm launching a ll the way to the front don't move and I won't need to dip down towards me stay there and beautiful big smile go ok I can also do this tune your body towards the window this way I want you to put your hands on the wall I want you to slide down so it's just below you blind yeah and I want your elbows to come into your body nice and close why don't you scooch fried in so that you right up against it well I just want youto maybe kick this knee caps that touches the wall that's a go and I want you to bring your chin all the way around to me this way so as far as you can this way that's exactly right and then I want you to open the shoulder acts this one into the wall a little bit more but no this one goes back in that's it now bring your chin this way like they're stadia I bring your hands lower lower lower stop okay bounce up into the a tiff and chin all the way around to me and down in it it's got to come I want this shoulder to come in don't lean backwards case data woods the wall sustain up nice and tall that's it and come in that's it stop lift up nice and tall with her neck that's it tempering your chin this way ok start this is what I do right now and this is absolutely perfect sometimes I go to post somebody in a pose and they can't do it okay and they just can't do it I can't get them into it I can't do it so I changed it up straightaway I don't stay with this I just move straight on so you know that feeling when you start shooting and you take a I'm not going to swear this whole week okay? He could have a swear jar so instead I'm gonna swap out a word and say sugar okay you know that that feeling that you get when you get somebody in there look good and you start to shoot them you look at the back of the camera straight away and you go sugar that did not occur this is not working and you're trying to hit that confident brave face and they're like do they look good and you're looking at the back of the camera go no it looks like sugar like sugar, sugar, sugar and then you keep taking credit and then it's like sugar and then it's like well, the difference being is I'm experienced enough to say that's not working for make look at this I got banged this out for us much as I want but I'm not going to make it look nice and I'm certainly gonna waste time on my chute and she's not gonna buy it so I am absolutely not going tio take his many shots as I can and oppose that I don't think is working for here for her body type so I can go sugar, sugar, sugar and what I used to do when you're younger is you're kind of really freaking out now is anybody experience that's such a great feeling, isn't it? And you are freaking out and then you're beyond sugar and your way into budge on and it's not working I ke straightaway I stop and I look for another problem. Okay, I straightaway look for cheer. I looked for a soapbox yet there sit on there, innit? And I switch it up straightaway. There is no point taking it. Sometimes I'll take the shot. So my client doesn't know that it's not working up. I'll take the shot and go right. Let's, change this up and straightaway. I wanna just put there when they're right up onto your toe right up front. You're tired and I want you to spin around towards tiffany. So let's put you this way. That's the one good girl. Okay, from here, let's, take this hand back and let's. Bring this chin line all the way to the front. So the first thing I want to do is open up this nick line right through here. Good girl. It's changed your hands over that's there right to here and come right up onto that tone it quick, okay, now what that means. And that's something else I did chin all the way this way to the front and work the shoulder forward more more good girl so see what she just did then assumed she connected her face through shoulder then that worked for may and I absolutely love that so lift up tall through your nick and push your chin towards may just her chin more chin pok start till this way a little and chin this way that's it don't move good girl and I do say good girl a lot I do realise this chain around your shoulder a lot that sir but remember I say good girl over stay there don't move anything in this way I say good girl over gorge darling sweetheart beautiful because I don't like it so I would rather say in it that works for me you know like I love that and so I'd rather go in it figure that's really called positive reinforcement is better than bull sugar bring your chin all the way around to me and give me that gorgeous little we smile with your eyes that's the land bring it all the way around may and give me that beautiful big grand go bring your chin away around to make so and its default setting is instantaneous she hits that shot and she's going straight back again bring your chin around to me that's it stay there don't move and okay, drop that shoulder down the chip shoulder goes forward not up bring your chin around this way that's the one and give me that beautiful big smile you've got it, you hang in there all right? So can I ask you a question? Yes, that was diane asked if you can ask that question, just go for it they those last two shots one of them she had really relaxed very a very pretty smile and assume it was up there I thought that is so gorgeous. And then when the big smile came on, it was like that's so gorgeous too would you show her both of those are not the same pose contempt or which one do you find that they end up liking more? The one I like more they like the one that I like because I know what beautiful looks like. So when she's going, if she smiles at me like this and goes and I think well that's gorgeous and then she goes and then it's better I'm like, wow, but when will be stronger? But no, I just don't see the point I want set with a client in my younger years for an hour going between do I do this shot here or the shot here and there was no change in the pose and I just did my hidden