Tutorial : Direct the model's pose.

Today's cameras have become so sophisticated that anyone can take good photos from a technical point of view. However, there are two things that make the difference for the experienced photographer: light management and subject pose. These two things are independent of the equipment used.

Why pose the subject?

Live (unprepared) posing involves people who are unaware that they are being photographed: this cannot be the case in a studio. Of course, if you use an experienced model, he or she will be able to strike a natural pose without any prompting from you. But we don't only photograph experienced models.

It is difficult for the person being photographed to realise what is wrong with their pose, unless, I repeat, they are an experienced model. Being positioned in front of the subject, the photographer is in the best position to spot bad positions and correct them. Photographers who want to shoot in the studio therefore need to learn how to pose their subjects. It's not that complicated, and it starts with knowing the pitfalls to avoid. This tutorial lists some of them. Obviously, the wider the shot, the more difficult it is to get the right pose: in a full-length frame, you have to pose the whole body.

The advice you'll find in this tutorial will be useful for posed photos, in the studio or on location. There's always a moment when you have to forget about "on the spot" and build the photo in collaboration with the model.

You'll probably find that the following advice is the opposite of most you'll find on the Internet. That's simply because they're set in different contexts: there's not much in common between family photos (or taken at an evening out with friends) and photos taken in a studio.

Portrait or fashion photography?

The purpose of the photo also influences the way you pose the model.

In the case of a portrait, all the attention must be focused on the person themselves, and this must be felt in the final image. The aim should therefore be to achieve a 'real' expression that doesn't come across as posed. Any accessories that don't match the model's personality should be eliminated. Some photographers even go so far as to have the subject bare-chested for a head-and-shoulders portrait, so that no clothing is visible in the image. Framing should be done with the face as the main focus of the image. The pose should be chosen to emphasise the face: front or profile? And if so, which profile?

In fashion photography, the subject becomes the clothes, the jewellery, the hairstyle and so on. The framing will be constructed with this in mind, based on considerations such as: what is the garment to be photographed (the top, the trousers or the whole dress)? Should the belt be seen? Should the shoes be included in the frame? The lighting will also depend on the outfit to be photographed: should the texture stand out? Does the garment have folds or reflections?

A few tips to help you manage the model:

Tutorial - Posing a model. The head and the face.

Most faces have asymmetries that go unnoticed in everyday life, but become obvious when photographed from the front. For example, many people's noses or chins are not perfectly aligned, one eyebrow is slightly higher than the other, sometimes one eye seems slightly larger or more open than the other, etc. This is why most portraits are taken with the face slightly turned three-quarters.

Tutorial : Direct the posing of your model. Shoulder orientation.

This tutorial will help you improve the shoulder pose of the models you photograph. Shoulders facing the lens give an impression of strength and power. This suits subjects such as lorry drivers, removal workers, or, more commonly, sportspeople. Good results can also be obtained with the shoulders facing the lens on particularly thin people, or with children.

Tutorial : Direct the posing of the model. A few tips about hands.

When in front of a camera, most people don't know how to position their hands. Faced with this problem, the photographer can opt for a tight framing, not showing the hands, but it's a pity to deprive oneself of the contribution of the hands to the expression of the photograph. This tutorial will give you some tips on how to position the hands correctly.

Tutorial - Direct the posing of the model.

When one part of the body is resting against another (the most frequent situation is the head resting on a hand), it is preferable to simulate the support, as real support can cause inelegant deformations. This mini-tutorial for portrait artists gives a few examples of poses to avoid.

Tutorial - Directing the pose of your model. Arms and legs.

This tutorial, which is more of a series of tips and tricks, is aimed at portrait and fashion photographers: how to position the model's arms and legs to avoid distortion?

Tutorial : Improving the pose of your model.

It's up to the photographer to make sure that the model's pose is correct, and in particular to spot the little mistakes that can spoil a portrait: a badly placed hand, too much support, too static a pose, etc. Once the problem has been spotted, it will be easy to correct, but the difficulty lies in identifying the problem quickly. This series of diptychs shows you, in the image on the left, a common fault and, in the image on the right, how to correct it.