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Shoot: Fashion Posing Part 1

I'm really excited for today because this is something I haven't really covered in detail on creative life before on dh we're talking about fashion photography pose in now I had so many emails on a daily basis on my workshops how do I pose my model? And the reason is because most people work with new faces now I'll say I'm lucky within the industry, simon, where I've built myself to where I am in my career today because I get to work with great models that means and that friend since you see how we did yesterday, I'm set I just kind of go or move that way pitching down, but it's like now and again, it's like every ten poses I do that where some people have to continuously guide their model on every pose it's frustrating because we want to be creative, we want to just have a flow going, so I think as soon as you start not having that flow on set things can get a little queer in the model feels uncomfortable, it suddenly goes from being this really inspiring place to like, oh, I really k...

now what I'm doing and, you know, I'm really excited about the shoot, but it's kind of not how I thought it would work out and I was there, I used to pose models, you know, back when I was self portrait artist even posing myself like using hands and honing my skills that way kind of taught me not in a way it was like, you know, I could see myself in that position where I was the model at that point, so by using poses on myself, I kind of understood how I could work with models and other subjects. Now the thing comes with when you were working with fashion model sorry is that you're not just posing real girls fashion models, you know, they need a little bit of help, they're not going to do everything for you, but you need to give them something they need to know ahead of time. What you going to give them? So even if I went with a girl that moves, I'm constantly like, okay, here's, the theme here's the mood board and making the stylist aware of what I'm doing. I'm kind of keeping that confidence. I'm keeping the music gone. I'm keepin, you know so she's comfortable and set a swell so whenever I talk about posing it's always really hard, like when I get that question is how do I pose? Meddle with this scenario and every pose in fashion, photography comes down to the theme there's no one way suits or pose I will say that the some poses that you just don't want to do that I say would be a little cliche that you start off early in your career and then if you start researching fashion magazines you start to see that oh yeah that's a pose that I did you know back a few years ago and it doesn't quite suit the thing most of you will know that poses there belly ache poise that whenever I try and pose a model I'm trying to flatter that girl whether she's a real girl and I should've portrait wherever I shoot a celebrity whether I'm shooting model I don't want them to kind of extend indeed this ugly pulled in like looking really sick look what I'm trying to look for is bali hand softness I'm going back into like old paintings masters in photography kind of seen the way that they would pose their subjects who would want this cheryle models and why is it attractive to the eye because posing isn't just about you know getting a great photo it's about someone being visually attracted to it and as we were saying yesterday on set when I was shooting it's about the way that the image looks within like the model owns the image if you get a bad shot it's usually because something's off within the image and a lot of it comes down to pose in now I want to show you with the model I'm working with today, how I'm going to be posing her. I'm going to kind of go for a flow of how I would work with, you know, she is experienced at what she does, but I'm going to talk to her and kind of pose here and show you how I would generally do it on a set and you a lot of you that kind of tuned in. Yesterday noon, the audience saw how I kind of work with that, but I want to kind of go over a little bit more in detail about things like expression kind of like the shapes I look for the do's and don'ts I'm going to get her to do a few of those say, why wouldn't do that? And then sue is going to come on and see prices going come on a little later as well, and we're going to do a shoot off so she's going to shoot a real girl and I'm going to be shooting the model and you can kind of compare the difference between those as well, but first I would love to introduce again. Felix over here he was going to be so felix is going to be helping once again with the lighting because today is opposing segment I'm going to quickly go over the setup just for those out there that curious about what we're doing but you want to explain a little bit more about what within and a bit about you as well yeah I think so the biggest thing is was spelling of my name it's felix like the cat and then couldn't qet you and the dot com on dh lower linx me on her facebook page every now and again so that's really easy right what we're doing today well I'm going to take the lighting off laura's hands today because she's going to focus on the posing you know and it's good advertising segment with your camera operator I'm going yeah yeah so that's what we're doing today I'm going to we have set up the same similar set up to what we had yesterday with the lights flashing at the beginning when soo comes in we'll change it around a little bit and you'll see that we're going to shoot just on the modeling light it makes it simple sue is the natural light photographers so you know we've got that set up so that it works even leave both so same we have the brown color the score's sixteen sixteen hundred remembered didn't exactly said exactly the same way we had yesterday again we're just going to start see where we're at, how it looks with the model, how it looks with the clothes and tweak it from there the b flat in the middle you'll see later why it's where it is on again we've got the pocket wizard on the camera same settings is yesterday which is we ended up at after eight point zero shot to speed one hundred twenty fifty second on the issue is that one hundred so pretty simple? Okay, great. So next that would love to introduce our lovely model again rachel rachel, wait photogenic cinema and those attuned in yes sitting in the audience who saw how great she was within the set we put her in for reasons of posing I've kind of sleep her hair back and made it really easy with the outfit feet of sea but it's still within my style of how I would shoot that kind of death really kind of beauty and yeah, I looked outside and kind of working from that and again if there's any questions from you guys in the audience I would love to take them as imposing as well okay, what you want? Eighty five um yes that's good for the eighty five some reason I'm choosing the eighty five for this is for reasons I'm doing a lot of portraiture posen here yesterday we discussed about how seventy mill or above is pretty much a true toa I so that's when I try and get in like a portrait, if I did the fifty, it would be a little distorted. Some people like that any fashion photography, we can break the rules a little bit, so I'm going to start with the eighty five and they kind of go from there and see we have the light kind of flat on right now just to make it a little more commercial. So it's not too moody, I want the background lit just for reasons of so you can see exactly how imposing and how that's still aware of her outfit kind of contrast id on the background, so the first thing I would usually do when I'm on set is kind of just start off like front on, I just want some straight poses that kind of just want to judge the light in so I'm going to do that first and then you can kind of see where were you? And then that first shot is kind of that judgment of where, how that outfit looks, you know, if it if it needs tweaking with the light in time back to the front again need may be too tall, feather this just slightly for me feather it so the light is a little more diffused on her there so we've got the act one other change we did we made it we didn't put the extra screaming on the front because we wanted a bit more commercial light today. Um okay, all right, so I'm immediately noticed in the everything is very straight so that's indicated me where I want to take the next step for me now I'm thinking okay, so it needs some kind of shape to it so what I'm seeing is especially when you come to fashion photography always comes down to the team number one and then it comes down to the clothing it comes down to the girl and it also comes down teo you know what I want within the background? How does that work? Is it a busy location? Is it necessary or shoot? Is it something with the emotion I want to play with? But I often do that point where I know what I want with go, but the outfit will change initially what I had in mind so I can see this kind of triangle shape here, but I can see that the rest is quite straight. So I want some kind of shape going on in the middle so if you just put your hands up to the middle of your body just kind of touch your hands like that yeah, when I have hands held or on arms I don't want to see this ever I want this finger pointed slightly in the rest, relax and somewhat also great with hands, and some just don't know howto work with them so it's like that kind of sometimes you get lucky and they're really graceful with the hands and feet and sometimes it's like grip and you're like no and it's still this so that's when you kind of have to give a little bit more direction, but she's pretty good with her hands from what I can see. So I always kind of try and start with something like this given shape to the body on the outside of the arms, just lower your hands just a little bit more and again, we talked about the triangles yesterday. It just makes it more visually pleasing to look at, just drop your elbows a little, okay? So there's that point where I try out different like things with this and pretty much what I'm seeing from this is rachel has a really good price fall. So yesterday you saw how I kind of focused on that when she was, like, facing this way, but she also looks really good with tunis, slightly up in a mouth open as well, so that's something I wouldn't notice. Without like seeing her in person and trying out pose in so you can see like models books and you can see how they pose but when you get unset it could be like something that really stands out to you and changes your whole outlook of everything so for expressions this is the point where I would have a move around a bit and then I would say we have some music going like something of your preference and then if her mouth is quite close I'd ask you just to breathe our opening bell just slightly not so you'll see a lot of teeth I wanted just to be relaxed and then the eyes kind of like wide like wider than they are sometimes like people tend to close them a little for this in a portrait I'm trying to engage with the eyes so I want to see that catch alight I want to see that expression through the triangle idea again for those of us yesterday well I'm going to go over that again in a stack with a few of the poses that putting which one I'm talking about triangles and it's a really obvious thing that sometimes we don't think about like when I'm pose and I never have set rules because in fashion photography is said there's no like every theme is different every model is different you can break the rules the certain poses not to do but I think visually pleasing poses especially important teacher come from that try and go actually, I'm going to stand with him so for triangles things like mirror my poses because often I'll stand in front of the model I'm going to show you in a bit as well, but like things like triangles like this things kind of like on the body like this, so you get like a triangle here things kind of like this see you got all these different shapes, even if she was like, facing from this side, I kind of want this kind of triangle going on, but every point my hands kind of flat all kind of up so that's why I'm always looking at always looking for this finger pointed very delicate with the hands a triangle shape, but even if she is like from a price or from the side, this doesn't often work because there's nothing engaging from that shot but having that kind of death if like coming back and put in the arms back or even looking every sometimes really nice as well could you try? Remember yesterday we didn't really and I suppose it was yeah drop your arms a little pull around to the side yet great chin down just a little more yet and just engagement to me I'm always looking for that catch light in the eye and if you look profile to this way just want to try that and your noticed I do this a lot and that's because I manually focus and once I've got it and if I see something needs doing I'm like okay I mean that way into the light and often or talk like that around mirror and go hands like this beautiful turned to the front again for me yeah it's beautiful okay can we just do hands down and then go back to that again? I just want to show them the comparison of this kind of clothes but how nice it is to kind of bring in those arms they're green and then put your arms up for me yet and she came down to that way beautiful yeah just be aware of your hands like yet and what I like generally is I like a model to give me something to be ableto work from it too so you're really good at that you kind of stand there I kind of tell you what I want but you move and try things and then I kind of coming with suggestions which is often I suppose a lot of photographers work with you that way like they don't expect you to do everything but they always come in with my little hints of things to do plus like good models will be aware of where they're being licked for example so some models understand that this big upto, scary looking thing means soft light and a big bearable strobe means that, you know, you're going to be flashed out and it's going to be like and, well, commercial shoot, for example. So I think it's good that when you've got a model like that, who has experienced, they tend to understand the ins and outs of equipment and how no the mood board works of what you want from them, but they're always going to expect some kind of compliment or when you took a shot like, oh, beautiful let's, try that again, let's move! So you always want that hint of something to know that you're on the right path? Quick question a lot of people that we have talked about wanting to pose people without the camera in front of their eyes to maintain the connection when they're working with a nonprofessional, you were saying that you usually have the camera up in your focusing, and then you're directing from there. So with a professional, do not worry about having that camera between your connection while you're posing them. Oh, do you mean like if I didn't have the camera imposing that way, I prefer just to pose with camera, it depends on he would days like wanna wear compression models they're gonna work a lot more and move a lot more so I tend to have the camera here but I shoot a lot and I try to get moments sometimes our mr moment if I might no wait, you know I shoot say between a thousand to fifteen hundred images when I do an editorial because it's required that at least eight to ten of those shots are going to be amazing shots that's going to please the client or editor so I need to know be able to miss that moment when that models just got that great expression it's really engage in so I usually am like this and I kind of look over or I'll be like okay, chin up like that I don't just kind of lean out I'll be like head too that way or try that way and sometimes I'll take more of a flow posing which essentially is the model stands like this and okay go to the right, go to the left, try that on the opposite side so and then she'll start to kind of give movements from that as well because you don't always know what you want initially and no one does I think when you got a model and set like certain factors can change, the light could look totally different from what you want so you have to do change the way you're thinking of posen but I always go in with that set of might ideas of okay visually pleasing poses triangles bali hands and I've only been aware of that actually in my work since the last two years before that I was always trying to figure out like what is that I like about posing and why is that I like the girls that you know I cast in that something I've become aware of overtime but I feel it's important to have in your mind set idea of a few things and that's for me making the model feel comfortable like breathing out through the mouth like making sure the eyes aren't too squinted like you want to engage the view with the catch light so it's not just about her posen it's about the placement of the light in that sense and it's also about like the way that the arms opposed the way that you don't want to make like a weed kind of composition with like arms kind of played in one area or legs kind of this way and even if I'm shooting into if you just hold that even if I'm just shooting into like here like this sometimes it's nice to kind of throw a leg off because it changes the body's position so if you do that and just crossed you like over and then kind of clothes you can see how it kind of changes that area at the bottom or like step him back a little bit into a pose and kind of turning that way as well. So it's just nice to kind of I know how that works on a model or even like if you don't have a model to practice, we have practice with a friend and kind of see how it works as well. All right, let's, try that. So if you put your leg kind of over like that that's kind of pulled in with one arm yet that hand where it's nice it's nice like that just kind of keep that finger pointed yep and down like that and breathe out for your mouth a little let's try some with china someone came down so your notice I do a lot without the camera as well, so sometimes I'm here and I've got that shot and like great that's beautiful but if I want to completely change the pose on mirror and say, how about we try something like this okay chin down a little and then straight on for me very symmetrical look straight down the camera great a little and that's another thing like I always try and make the model of where where cropping into safes are coming to hear or say I'm crapping into here so she knows that then it's going to be about shoulders and know about arms because you get with a farmer as well and that's another thing there actually is a really good thing that I've become aware I do a lot didn't realize again two years ago that I did that in my portfolio. It's not just about the hands and the triangle shapes in the way the kind of fingers opposed it's about the way the shoulders kind of come into play too often, you don't need hands if you crop in him to about here, like if you do the same thing as me kind of pull into that way on, like face over here and then look over sometimes just having that crop and it's really nice for tests or say front covers, you have that kind of engagement, the shoulders that kind of throw into that kind of triangle and, like, really pleasing shape as well, but usually will take me like I'll test out a lot of things, and then I'll kind of be like, okay, that works after ten shots let's, try more of that or I'll try it with like a different outfit because you never know when you cut the story up to choose the images for an editorial what's gonna work best with each outfit as well. Quick question from a comment sort of from shoebox photo says, I've noticed that lara moves a lot when she shoots to get a new angle, but it's slight, she still not all over the place. So is that what you find yourself doing as you're posing people is getting them into a general position and then just tweaking or you're doing a lot more broad changes? I'm just tweak and I would say, I always try and capture the moment so sometimes it's like, okay, this is a really beautiful parties, but wait a minute, let me try it there because it might be better with the composition or with the lighting as well, so I'm always giving myself a cz many options as possible. So when I shoot a lot for editorial clients, remember that the more you shoot in different areas like this, the more options you're going to give yourself suman out a little just try and do here outfitted from shooting an editorial, I tend to get one about teo here I try and get one to around here. And then again, we were talking yesterday about shooting for front cover and that's really about just kind of leaving that gap that if you send to an editor, even though you're not shooting for front cover. They could potentially see the text there because it's right in front of them. And that could be a really good idea as well, but I tend to not like if the hands are down here, I would never crop a hand off. I would always try and keep cropping to about here, or kind of crop in a little lower to their hands about here is well, so always give yourself a little bit of space to work with. Too beautiful. Okay? Yep. With that with hands instead of, like, crap. Like that, just kind of yet again pull that shoulder back, yet it is all for me about shoulders, hands and I contact, turn to the front a little really reminds me of, you know, when you do the last bit of life and you have the great gatsby shoot and it all came together from the styling, actually, yeah, because the style I'm really kind of plays a part in it, like, for example, the gatsby theme, you think of themes, avery, elegant thinking, like, you know, a longing or an emotion like you think of them as, like, a character in a movie so immediately heard you start thinking, okay, I'm gonna pose you're in that kind of a motive like sad way for sixties, for example. I know this is a hard one because I'm not used to do in crazy jump imposes, but when you shoot into sixty it's all about the angle it's kind of shooting low shooting wide is all about, like stretched legs poses so that will affect the model you choose for cast in and it's all about, like if you used to shoot in something like this. Remembering fashion photography, these trends that come around all the time, you know, always just going to be shooting your preference. You know, I always going to be shooting ethical girl with valley hands, you're going to be shooting a sixty, shoot a seventy shoot. What were the poses that they did back in the day to make it relevant for the theme and the way I trained my eye to understand that it's simply free research, I researched what other photographers did. I made myself aware of themes I made myself aware of, no training myself when a model is in front of me, understanding. How they pose so that I know in my head okay, that's the way to do it on I don't think you're going to know that straightaway that's one thing that just how you have to train your eye and you have to research as much as possible to understand what works on what doesn't and I said yesterday, you'll see I've shot a lot, I've got many sheets you don't see in my port folio and this times where I've been a lingerie shoot and I haven't paid attention that that girl isn't model skinny, and I've tried to pose her on stairs with her legs in the air and unflattering poses and it's for a client, and I failed at that position because I haven't delivered the images because they haven't understood my subject. So I think first and foremost, understanding your subject before anything is so important, and even though I have fashion models in front of me and they do a lot for me and pretty lucky with that, I have to hint and give them something because that's, what makes it true to my style and that product that people pay to book me for a shoot for hey any questions? Uh yep, I know this really doesn't have anything to do with the posing, but I've noticed thing in this shots um I love the the highlights and it's just stunning the way it's shown up is that in the makeup or is that in the gathering of the lights in both so I knew I told samantha the makeup artist that I'm going to be used in a self light so I like to do a dewy skin so I always stayed in my makeup I don't want matt I'm using very soft light so when I use that feathered and it kind of comes through it gives that glow to the skin and obviously that goes along side with the theme I'm doing that three or is really beautiful kind of portrait that's a really good question getting a little bit more of that today because we didn't put that extra refuted but it's it's like so is there a highlight in the makeup on her skin there's a highlight it's kind of like a shim a powder and there's a highlight within those areas of the face that light would fall and also because we have it on an angle like this kind of coming down it kind of highlights in a way of it falls about here so you get the highlights around here and what you could do is if he was same doing a full length of the light was closer. You could always ask you make up person to do like body makeup and make the skin quite shiny so I've done that quite often why they've said what light unease. And today and I said, well, amusing or soft, light, it's going to be quite feathered, it's going to be quite soft, like a painterly feel, like. Okay, well, I understand that we're going to need some body makeup as well.