Directing the model

Learning goal

You will be able to take a model out of static poses and shoot them in a walk, a turn and an unbroken movement. You will set a line the model will walk again and again, and set the focus and framing according to that line. You will learn to catch the turn of a model looking back over their shoulder as they walk away, at the turn's most readable moment. You will try asking the model to pass from one pose to the next without stopping and shooting throughout this flow, and explaining this to the model with words, by showing, and without touching. By setting the turn toward the side the light comes from, you will make sure every skin tone stays lit at the peak of the turn.

The question

In the afternoon the wind picks up on the pier and your friend asks the models to walk and swing their scarves. The frames are odd: in one the model seems to stagger on one foot, in another the face is a blurred profile halfway through the turn, in another a forced stance frozen right in the middle. After every frame the models stop and ask what to do, and the movement starts over each time. How do you catch a pose in motion?

Context

In the posing lesson you used weight shifting, which brings a stance to life by putting the body's weight on the back foot (Lesson P.4). On the street you learned to wait for the stride moment, the short instant when a walking person's legs open and their body takes its most readable shape (Lesson S.4). In the focus modes lesson you met continuous focus, which follows the subject and keeps renewing the focus (Lesson 10.2).

On the street you wait for these moments and catch them; in a fashion shoot, though, you build them together with the model. The model can't see the picture in your head, can't know what you want unless you say it; describing the movement, showing it and having it repeated is the photographer's job. Once the movement is built, a good frame isn't luck but a moment chosen from inside a repetition.

Simple explanation

How is a walk built?

A walking line is a path with a set start and end point that the model walks again and again throughout a shoot. A line of boards on the pier, the edge of a footpath or two stones placed on the ground can mark this line. Once the line is clear, the photographer sets the focus and framing according to it; the model doesn't have to think about where to walk either, they just walk.

On the line a marker point is also chosen: the place where the model looks best in the frame and the light falls on their face. With continuous focus the focus is tracked along the line, and most shots are taken at this point. For a walk, to freeze the movement of the arms and skirts, a shutter speed between 1/250 and 1/500 is usually enough; a scarf and hair swept by the wind are faster and sometimes call for a shorter shutter speed. To catch the stride moment, burst shooting is used, and the frames are chosen afterward, in the frame where the legs and arms are most readable.

How is a look back caught?

An over-the-shoulder turn is the movement in which a model walking away or standing side-on turns their head and shoulder toward the camera and looks back. The turn has a start, a peak and an end: at the start the face doesn't show, at the peak the eye reaches the camera and the shoulder and chin form a line, at the end the model either turns too far or turns back. A model who makes the turn too fast squeezes the peak into a fraction of a frame.

That is why the model is asked to make the turn slowly and several times: count three steps as you walk, then turn slowly, look for a moment, turn back. The direction of the turn matters too: if the model turns toward the side the light comes from, their face is lit at the peak. A face turning to the opposite side goes into shadow, and dark skin loses its detail in this shadow before light skin does. On a cloudy day, the side the light comes from is the brightest part of the sky; the model is turned toward that direction.

How are poses linked together?

A movement flow is a way of working in which the model passes slowly and without a break from one pose to the next without stopping, and the photographer shoots throughout this transition. A model who stops after every frame and waits for a new instruction starts over each time, and their poses look forced. In a flow, though, the model moves from a weight shift to a hand movement, and from there to a look; good frames come from between these transitions.

To build a flow, the model is given short, clear instructions: put your weight on your back foot, let the scarf go slowly, now look into the wind. A movement that can't be explained in words is shown by the photographer themselves. If the model needs to be touched, for a strand of hair or a collar, they are asked first, and if possible this job is left to the makeup artist or the stylist. After a few flows the model can look at their own frames on the screen; seeing which movement worked tells them more than words.

Visual evidence

Your friend chooses a walking line along the pier's boards and places a small stone at its end. The models walk the line again and again; your friend shoots with continuous focus, at 1/500 and in bursts. On the screen, from among the frames, they choose the one where the stride opens, the scarf swings behind, and the face is lit at the marker point.

Then they ask the dark-skinned model to look back slowly over her shoulder at the end of the line. The first turn goes to the opposite side, the pier's shaded side; the face is dark, her eyes can't be picked out. Your friend asks the model to turn to the side facing the sea, where the sky is brightest. This time, at the peak of the turn, her face is lit with a soft light, and the detail of her dark skin and the glint in her eyes show.

The light-skinned model, meanwhile, struggles with static poses. Your friend asks her for a flow beside the railing: lean on the railing, let the scarf go, turn into the wind, come back. Your friend shoots while the model moves without stopping; after a few flows the model looks at the screen and finds her most relaxed movement herself.

Common mistakes

Summary

A fashion frame in motion is chosen from inside a repetition: the model walks a set walking line again and again, makes the over-the-shoulder turn slowly and toward the side the light comes from, and passes between poses without stopping in a movement flow. The photographer shoots with continuous focus and bursts, gives short instructions and asks before touching the model.

Mini assignment

In this assignment you will shoot a friend in motion, with their agreement; a loose jacket, a scarf or a skirt makes the movement more visible.

1. Choose a walking line and a marker point on it; with continuous focus and burst shooting, have your friend walk the line at least five times, and choose the frame where the stride is most readable.
2. At the end of the line, ask for a slow over-the-shoulder turn; have them turn once toward the light and once the opposite way, and compare the face in the two frames.
3. Build a one-minute movement flow with at least three instructions; after the flow, show your friend their frames and choose a frame together.

Check yourself

• In the walking frame you chose, are the stride, the arms and the garment readable?
• At the peak of the turn, is the face lit, and does the detail of their skin show?
• Does one of the flow frames look more natural than a static pose?

Glossary

Mini quiz

1. What does a walking line give the photographer?

• A) The model walking faster
• B) Setting the focus and framing in advance
• C) Shooting without flash
• D) No need for retouching

2. Why is the over-the-shoulder turn done slowly and repeatedly?

• A) So the model doesn't get tired
• B) So the wind dies down
• C) So the camera shoots fewer frames
• D) Because a fast turn squeezes the peak into a fraction of a frame

3. On a cloudy day, which way is the model turned?

• A) To the side where the sky is brightest
• B) To the shaded side
• C) Always to the north
• D) To the wall behind the photographer

4. What is done when a strand of hair needs fixing?

• A) The photographer fixes it at once
• B) The model is asked first, and if possible the makeup artist fixes it
• C) It is fixed in retouching
• D) It is never fixed

Answers

1. B — Because the model always walks the same path, the focus and framing are prepared for it.
2. D — A turn made slowly and several times gives several chances to catch the peak.
3. A — The face looks into the light at the peak of the turn, and every skin tone stays lit.
4. B — Asking before touching protects the model's trust, and the job is left to the right person.

Summary card

• A walking line and a marker point: focus and framing ready in advance.
• For a walk 1/250–1/500; shorter for a swinging scarf.
• Over-the-shoulder turn: slow, several times, toward the light.
• Movement flow: pass between poses without stopping, shoot in the transition.
• Short instructions, show it, ask before touching.

Bridge to the next lesson

When the pier series is done, the designer wants something else for the collection's cover frame: in the studio, in front of a dark background, a portrait where a face and a collar are drawn with sharp, dramatic light. The soft light of the cloudy sky doesn't give this. How is hard, dramatic light built? The next lesson takes up, in the fashion studio, the beauty light that makes a face glow and the rim light that draws the silhouette from behind.