Lessons

Lesson Info

Shoot: Portrait Posing Part 1

Today I'm going to be going over opposing I know that lauren who did this morning so I'm going to be going over a little bit more about how I pose my model and how I work with my model during my fashion shoot my fashion she's air a little bit different than my celebrity issues usually when they come in it a lot is a little bit of a different approach to it because they're not used to being in front of the camera so today I'll be doing a little bit of both showing you guys what I bring in and how I would move move the model the subject so I'll be going through some of my work and showing you what I like about some of the images and what I don't like or what I would change so in just a minute I'll be going through mikey no with that so the first thing that I do whenever I have a new model is when the agency since mia they send packages so a package from a model agency is several different girls and you go through and look at their book so their book is a set of photos that other photogra...

phers have taken of them so I always go through when I have a model and look at the different angles the models have because every girl is so different so you have to go through and just study that model look at what angles work really well for her maybe having a long neck or side angles are straight on every girl has a different kind of phase so just really learning what kind of pose would work well with that face or that body type is what I always do before I start shooting my model the second thing that I look for is the clothing so say I'm shooting for a designer that has really long dresses then I want to really show off those dresses so one thing that is really important is maybe not to have their hands up have the hands kind of to the side you don't wantto cut off the dress in the center so is looking for for a different ways to shoot that piece if it say it's something definite outdoors and they won't just a whimsical story then it could be a little bit more creative with posing I'd like to get a lot of movement and have the girls move around today I'm shooting without a wide open aperture like I normally deal so I'm going to show you guys some tips with that whenever my model comes out here because I have to be really careful about the model is coming out of the plane because if she steps a little bit forward or jumps around sometimes the image becomes blurry so I have to make sure she stays in the same plane it goes, moves back to fourth and said, affront to that, so I'll show you guys that just a moment, I also like to get a lot of emotion, so I if I'm doing unedited oriole or I'm planning to submit something later, same doing a look book, I really liketo have a lot of different emotions from the model, so they don't all look the same, so I don't want just the model just staring into the camera the whole time, I like to get her looking away, so I do a lot of I'll say, look over here in my hand or turn around and look off into the horizon so it's really important just to tell her that plane, because if you just say, look away from the camera, then sometimes it doesn't work as well, so I try to give her a point focus toe look at I also like to get her closing our eyes, turning around, just just really working to create a mood in a story. The other thing is compass that I'm looking for when I'm shooting its composition. So say, I'm shooting a long dress, just making sure that I'm not cutting off the feet or if I want cutting off a different places, I don't like to cut off linds, I wouldn't want to cut right, right on the ankle but maybe I could do it below the knees or mid thigh so just looking looking at my composition and being aware of that as well so I'm going to go ahead and have shawnee come out here this is my trainee back today wearing clothing by susan let pekka fury very controller she was here the other day and the makeup was by samantha gone she did the hair and the makeup for today we did kind of ah whimsical pretty style so so we'll be opposing her in this so if you'd like to come over here so the first thing that we're going to do it, what I normally do especially doing test shoots are something in my studio work I like to get full body shots and then I get upper body shots than portrait and I'll have the model sit on a stool and then on the floor so that's kind of how I go through so that I could make sure you get different angles studios obviously is a lot different than working outdoors I I usually prefer outdoors up more of my kind of style so al george, of course you have a lot of different natural element so you can have the model working with but in studio if I'm doing a fashion story, I want to make sure that I don't have the same post throughout so that's my work flow is having the model stand having some movement, especially if you see in these images. Over here I had a really large dress. I wantedto see how I could can make the most of that and make it look pretty and creative. I did use a little bit of I wanted a little bit of blur in there, so I did some motion blur later in post as well in a couple of the images. So it was more about the creativity and the art of the images. So I'm going to we're going todo, just a little bit of motion and that, like I told you guys before in these photos, I had the first one I always like getting just the kind of a standstill shot, so since the dress was really flow away, just had her polar arms up and show it off a little bit. Then I had her move around, but I had her just moved kind of in a constant, just a little stop, like to the size that she would go off to the side instead of going forward or backward. So she and I just had her throw it up or pick up or foot I always have the model sometimes would be like start walking, but they go too far so I just they just take a little step so we're going to do something like that right now with shaunie over here today, I'm using them below the same night I was yesterday. Just one light with a little more dramatic. So show me forget major let's go ahead and play with a dress. Maybe some like think like a ballerina movement since it's really whimsical stuff. Look, so maybe yeah, maybe standing on your toes. I'm going to get start with a full body shot so let me get back a little bit and adjust my lighting. And like I told you guys yesterday, I always like to get a low angle for my full body shots. Perfect, gorgeous. Let me change it just a little bit. So for those interested just in my in the my setting today, I met one, two hundred and my apertures at one point two in my s o is it to fifty? They haven't andy filter won and that's the reason my area. So it was a little bit higher. So let's, do something a little bit different with your feet charmy let's put one foot in a little closer, so also with the models, chinese has a lot of experience. Modeling so she's pretty easy to work with but I always I once they have a new model come in I like to test them for maybe like five or ten minutes get to know them and it's kind of see what their level is. Some girls need a lot of a lot of direction and other girls are just really easy maybe it's just move a little bit to the right or touch your face or something just just a little more simple so let's put your feet up a little bit higher it is really important when you're doing a full body shot to watch the feet you don't want the feet like straight on just maybe moving just a little bit putting the feet together let's try shawny just kind of throwing your skirt up a little bit how about yeah about throw it up let go and kind of drop your arms though quicker than the skirt prove it or just do that one more time and this time I want you to look right over here so what kind of away? And tell your face a little to the side perfect we'll do a couple more full body shots do that one more time I love how your hand was down and I want you this timeto look straight over my head perfect gorgeous so usually I love starting off with movement then after that I was like getting a little bit of a side shots they're just changing the angle little bit so shiny I just have your kind of looking I want your side a little bit more towards me and just your face that kind of with your shoulder a little bit higher I don't want it crossing your face sticks in your neck a little bit and how about lean your face the opposite way perfect another thing you really want to be aware of his hand so show me how about let's put your hands a little bit to your left side instead of your right side and just really soft yeah there you go perfect with just and let's have you walk right over to that corner great so I always like to get full body shots and I go up just a little bit and I'm going to get I'm going to get kind of an upper body shot so for this shot I dough I wanna have the hands in so I like to start off getting a full body shot than having one so it's kind of a cross above the knee or right below the knee but not directly on the knee so right now I'm going going to get it just a little bit below her hand I'll go up a little bit further and look slightly away again like right over here yeah and take one step over here were just a light so there's not quite as my shadow okay and see how her hand is right now it's a little bit tight so just straighten out your fingers just a little bit and put on a little closer together just really soft perfect great so now I want to get her just kind of moving around so I want youto take just a little hot to the left and take one tiny step back for the shot and I'm gonna be back here I want to get a couple more full body shots like this like I said earlier I wanted to stay in the same plane because I'm shooting at one point to right now so I don't want her moving forward or backward okay so let me cut you off shotty wine till three pretty and let's let's do it again try to stay I want you to stay in the light as well so just really a little tiny hot to the side and adjusted I'm yeah this thing okay one filthy pretty perfect knife and just be a little bit aware of your feet since you're we have you barefoot today just kind of go a little to the side yeah putting them out like a big valentina k y until three perfect gorgeous and now I want you to go to the opposite way so you're jumping more into the light one teo three and a little less of the hops just right next year for that gorgeous in one more time one, two, three prove it so I also have to be where I should be with the one point two lends a lot, so I want to make sure that I'm getting the dress in or I am cropping it a little bit tighter on her, so I usually have tohave shooting a large space to get really nice, full body shot and make sure that either and cropping in if the dress is really large or getting everything and it's it's a little bit smaller another thing that I like to do, I really like ballerina kind of poses, so I always have the girls just kind of out there tell them to put our arms up. I wanted to show these two images I think they're one on the right I really liked it, but she looked a little too much like she was stretching because their arms are so straight. So it's just important to be aware that the model has soft arms and that she's bending around and moving so I love the one on the left I love you that her feeder teo peter together and a little bit to the she's moving a little to the right in our arms, they're just kind of like a ballerina she showing or what both of the girls they're closing their eyes and showing emotions in the faith so that's something that I'm always trying to do is get a lot of emotions from the girls cesar's a few more examples just of my kind of full body shots I always like getting a shot like the one on the right that's just the girl standing really stagnant kind of shot I think it shows they say I like that it shows the face having her look aways kind of moody and emotional the one in the middle was quite because I asked the model I love playing with their hands so I love having the hands up having it shapes kind of far away from the model just to add a little bit of of whims, of coolness to the to the images and then on the last one I had the model just barely walking like shaunie was doing earlier these air a little bit similar you guys saw the one on the right of shawnee yesterday I always tried to get a few shots of the model closing their eyes just because that adds a lot to the stories that I create so it shows just a little bit of emotion and create creativeness s so I like having the kind of touching their face not not quite you just always have to be sure that their hands are saw so maybe whenever they are don't you don't want them like pressing in or anything that you would have skin works and maybe just a really soft hand around the faith is what I like to do and then having just a shot of the model looking through the camera too well, I just wantto hands air so challenging for so many people s o there are there any words that you use or teo for people to or do you show them how do you address him? So I really like hitting the side I don't want a palm because that's pretty ugly, so I like having just sorry in the maquis, rhoda, I like having something kind of to the side, not really to the front just a really soft hand, so you just have to watch their fingers and and I just tell them I like, we just saw in that just a little bit hands are really hard because we like when I'm shooting actors, I can tell that they're nervous, they're kind of clinching their hands and really test I have to be like looking at hands like, just let me just lay them there and just be calm with them, so so whenever you're working with your client teo, you just have to really talk with them throughout this shoe and make sure that you have that connection throughout throughout your entire photo show without looking question thank you. Also, when you're shooting with one point to you won the hands close to the model, you don't want it out here or you don't want to elbow over here, you know you want to kind of to the side and just really pretty okay, you look right there here I want to get a couple, um, portrait of me, so also with one whenever I'm treating with a one point two aperture just a side note, I always have to go up a little bit higher the closer I get and so if I'm getting like a really close portrait, I'll go up to one point six or one point eight so that I focused in on the eyes but the skin's not too soft, I love it the hair's a little bit soft and it shows him boca, but I don't want it to look like it's over portraiture and that's, whenever I first started with one point to I had a couple of photos like that, so I tried to stay away from that. Okay, so let's dio something kind of yeah, just really soft hands. I want your fingers out to the side a little bit more and down for a little bit further, so you're not touching your face but it's right under me and go down a little further and let's put your palms a little together. Yeah, there you go and just really extend your fingers. Perfect. You're right, it seems like you didn't go up just a little bit of my aperture. Perfect and let's try one closing your eyes and then go a little bit to the side and I want to do in with their hands kind of outlook. Avi yeah, there you go, shaped in and looking straight through the camera for this one. I want the hand's a little closer together. So it's something really cool about working with models? I always have poses that I do every time. Like I told you guys, I have model standing, I have are sitting out have her sit on the floor of the clothing is appropriate, but I also will have references say I have a brand new model and I'm having a hard time communicating exactly what I want. It's great to bring references on sad too. So so I'll pull together some of my favorite images imposes and I can kind of show her and director through that. So you're always wanting to be able to direct the model, and if you have hasn't be the supplement if that helps you out, I definitely recommend doing that as well okay, so let's have you look like right over here? Little bit bright, beautiful, perfect let's put your hands on a little closer you look a little more towards the camera and now face your torso a little more towards me and I want you to drop one arm down and have have one up so you're crossing your arm on one side and just a really soft hand without side trip. Do you have any questions? We'll check online let's see if we have anybody that wants to grab if we can send a mike down the road there, give us stand up e I love your poses by the way they're they're like works of art every single one of them I was curious um why you use an end the filter? Yeah that's what your question is because I'm shooting at a low aperture and I'm firing my light so I'm sure so that I can go really low in my aperture otherwise the light would be too bright to fire. So since so I usually shoot it like one point to one point four in studio so that's the only reason it dawkins my entire scene one more looking right thrill beautiful so what this dress too I'm looking for more whimsical kind of photos say I had a more high fashion designer it was a swimsuit shoot I would go in, and I would look for I would come up with a mood, board or storyboard before the photo shell and know what I want for those kinds of clothing. So it's, always important, like I said earlier, that look at the clothing, look at the poses that will work with that as well. So these are these are similar photos, just a lot of movement. I love capturing the model in the moment, so I tell before I go to a shoot, I always send a storyboard, so if you're not familiar with that it's just a lot of images group together, referencing the style I want from the day, so I always make sure I go over that with the model, I'll tell them I want to really dreamy air flow. We are a lot of movement, and I like to try to catch her then in between poses so that's, what I was doing with these models, I just had them move around, I was shooting outdoors, I was shooting it with a low aperture, but I just explained to them that just to move really slowly and to kind of say it, stay within my frame, that's always important to look at the hands on the right one, I really like that it wasn't they the hands were a little bit off, so it wasn't completely centered the middle one too. I just had it just kind of throw our hands around, dance around, I love it when girls come in that have sometimes I have girls are used to just moving around and they don't mind they don't feel awkward about it just be like, just stay at one time I had a girl down through my entire shooting it was it was awesome. It was a little tough with one point to like something you have to tell them to slow down just a little bit, but but it works really well just to capture them in that moment these are a couple more example so this is after I do my full length shot I usually go in a little bit. I do this with each outfit, so if I had maybe six outfits I was shooting during the day I would do a couple of full body shots and I would go in and get clothes, get a little bit of ah closer crop and then I would go in and do my portrait and these are similar as well. You see on the two right ones I like having them, I wanted the model to look away, I also had really soft hands. I have the model just kind of touching her shoulders and then I had are playing with their hair so anything too that I can have them play with if I'm outside it's great to just work with your environment sometimes models are a little bit more tense and doors and I'll bring them outside and it just changes the shooter lives if they're not as comfortable in studio so that's a great way to work with your models as well if you're having a hard time in studio just bring them outside but I always try to even in doors I tried to catch a lot of emotions all se if I can have them work with their hair if I could give them something to hold onto sometimes it's easier for them just have had that thing to hold on to so it's not just them all by themselves so giving them some direction with movement or playing with their hair or or a cup or anything that you have is a prop okay about what supposes bring out emotion for their particular emotions that you're looking for that have certain well I think a lot of times I'll look I'll say like a sad face or close your eyes and extend your neck so with different kind of poses and I think that you could dio a lot of different expressions with with different poses so you could do the same thing if the model was just standing really stagnant you could have just I told her, head up, close your eyes. And that gives a really a lot of emotion in the shot as. And you could also do that if she was in a different post. So I think, it's, just really looking for the face. Facial expressions, rather than the exact pose. Just playing around with each one.