Posing

Learning goal

You will be able to give a person a relaxed pose that looks like them by building the stance in a portrait not from the top down, but from the bottom up. You will choose the body's angle to the camera and which foot the weight rests on, and direct the position of the chin and head so as to bring out the line of the face and neck. You will take the hands out of being a load that weighs the frame down by giving them a job that comes from the person's life, and make the body's shape readable by leaving a small gap between the arms and the torso. You will see that these directions aren't rules, but tools chosen according to the effect you want. You will see that every movement of the chin and head changes the light falling on the face, and so after every pose you will check whether the eyes and the jawline read, whatever the skin tone.

The question

The master is laughing now, telling stories, his shoulders have dropped. But when what he is telling runs out, his body goes back to how it was: the arms come down to his sides again, his chest and shoulders turn square to the lens, his shoulders fill the frame like a wall. His hands join in front of him, then go into his pockets, then come down to his sides again. In every frame they are somewhere else and in every frame they draw a little more attention. Where should the hands go?

Context

In the communicating with the model lesson you learned to loosen up someone who tenses through conversation, to keep instructions short and doable, and when needed to show the movement yourself and have it mirrored (Lesson P.3). In the point of view lesson you saw that the camera's height says something about a person and changes the light falling on the face (Lesson 14.6). In the butterfly light lesson, too, you met how the shadow the chin casts on the neck separates the jawline from the neck (Lesson 20.3).

The pose is where this knowledge comes together. Posing someone isn't squeezing a person into a mold, but helping them find the most relaxed and most readable state of their own body. Professional models know how to pose; but most portrait photographers work with bakers, teachers and grandfathers who have never thought about posing. Knowing what to tell them, and in what order, changes the course of a shoot.

Simple explanation

Why does a pose start from the feet?

A pose is built from the bottom up, because where the feet and hips stand sets the shoulders, and the shoulders set the head. Body angle is the angle at which the person's torso turns relative to the camera. A torso turned square to the lens shows the shoulders wide and gives a direct, formal, sometimes defiant effect. Turning the torso a little away from the camera, often between thirty and forty-five degrees, narrows the shoulders, adds depth to the body and leaves a more relaxed impression. Then the head is turned back toward the camera; this small difference between the torso and the head keeps the pose lively.

Weight shift is the person putting their body weight on one foot, usually the back foot farther from the camera, instead of spreading it equally on both feet. When the weight moves to the back foot the hip slides slightly to the side, one of the shoulders drops and the body relaxes by itself. Putting the weight slightly forward, toward the camera, on the other hand, leaves an engaged and involved impression. The same holds for a seated person: instead of a torso leaning back against the chair and slumping, a torso sitting upright on the front half of the seat and leaning slightly forward looks more alive. These aren't rules; a person standing square on, upright and symmetrical, can also be a strong portrait. What matters is that the stance is a choice, not a habit.

Where do the chin and head go?

Chin forward is the person pushing their chin slightly forward, toward the camera, and then lowering it just a little. This movement separates the jawline from the neck and makes the lower line of the face clearer, especially in light coming from the side. Just saying "lower your chin" often leads to the chin sinking into the neck; saying "push your chin toward me, then lower it a little," on the other hand, is a doable two-step instruction. If the movement is too much the neck strains; it is kept small.

Every movement of the head also changes the light falling on the face. As the head tilts down the eye sockets can sink into darkness; as it rises, the neck and the underside of the chin open to the light. This change shows on every skin but reads differently: on dark skin the detail in the eye sockets can be lost quickly, on light skin the forehead and the bridge of the nose can shine. That is why, after the head and chin are set, you need to enlarge a frame and look at whether the eyes and the jawline read on the person's skin. When the camera is raised a little above eye level, the jawline becomes clearer by itself; this too is a choice thought about together with the light.

Where should the hands go?

Giving hands a job is giving the person's hands something to do, with an object or a movement that comes from their life or their work. Idle hands feel like a load to people; the person tries to hide them, push them into pockets or clasp them in front. A baker's peel in the master's hand, chalk in a teacher's hand, prayer beads in a grandfather's hand give the hands a job and at the same time carry a piece of that person's character. If there is no object, the hands can lightly touch a surface, a door frame or the person's own arm. When the hands come near the face they should rest without pressing, only touching; a pressing hand pushes the cheek and the lip.

How the hands turn to the camera also matters. When the flat palm or the broad back of the hand turns to the frame, the hand looks big and heavy; when the side edge of the hand turns to the camera, it gives a more graceful line. Fingers slightly apart and bent look more relaxed than a clenched fist or fingers stretched out straight.

Arm gap is the small space left between the arms and the torso. Arms stuck to the torso turn the shape of the body and the arms into a single wide mass. Bringing a hand to the waist, a pocket or a surface, or bending the elbow slightly, opens a gap between the arm and the torso and makes the body's line readable.

Visual evidence

In the quiet frame the master's chest is turned square to the lens, his weight equal on both feet. His shoulders fill the frame, his arms are stuck to his torso, his hands are clasped in front of him. His chin is a little back; the jawline has merged with his neck. The frame is as still as an ID photo.

Your friend asks the master to turn a little toward the oven's mouth and put his weight on his back foot. Then they give him the baker's peel; the master rests the peel on his shoulder with a familiar movement. His arm separates from his torso, the edge of the hand holding the peel turns to the camera. Your friend shows by pushing their own chin forward and lowering it; the master makes the same movement and the jawline becomes clear in the oven's light.

Your friend enlarges the frame: has the tilt of the head sunk the eyes into darkness? On the master's dark skin the eye sockets are still detailed, there is light in the eyes. The frame is no longer an ID photo, but the portrait of a baker.

Common mistakes

Summary

The hands don't weigh the frame down when they get a job with an object from the person's life or a light touch, when their side edges turn to the camera and when a gap remains between the arms and the torso. A pose is built from the bottom up: the body angle and the weight given to the back foot relax the body, the chin pushed forward and lowered a little opens the line of the face; after every head movement, whether the eyes and the jawline read on the person's skin is checked.

Mini assignment

In this assignment you will give a person two different poses in the same place and compare them.

1. Shoot the person square to the camera, with their weight equal on both feet and their arms at their sides.
2. With specific instructions, ask them to turn their torso a little, put their weight on their back foot, and push their chin forward first and then lower it a little, and shoot.
3. Give their hands a job by giving them an object from their own life, open a gap between the arm and the torso and shoot again; enlarge the frames and check that the eyes and the jawline read.

Check yourself

• Did you build the pose from the feet up to the head?
• Are the hands doing a job without weighing the frame down?
• After the head movement, is there detail left in the eyes?

Glossary

Mini quiz

1. Why is a pose built from the bottom up?

• A) Because the feet are visible in the frame
• B) Because adjusting the head is the easiest job
• C) Because where the feet and weight are sets the shoulders, and the shoulders set the head
• D) Because light falls on the feet first

2. Why does the instruction "lower your chin" often cause a problem?

• A) Because the chin can sink into the neck and the jawline can be lost
• B) Because the person can't hear the instruction
• C) Because it turns off the light
• D) Because it only works on people with glasses

3. What does giving the hands a job add to a portrait?

• A) It takes the hands out of the frame
• B) It takes the hands out of being a load and carries a piece of the person's character
• C) It makes the face brighter
• D) It blurs the background

4. After the head tilts down, what is checked?

• A) The file size
• B) The lens's focal length
• C) The background's color
• D) Whether the eyes and the jawline read on the person's skin

Answers

1. C — The body works like a chain; without changing what is below, what is above won't sit right.
2. A — A one-step instruction pushes the chin back and down; it first needs to be pushed forward.
3. B — A job and a personal object relax the hands and make character visible.
4. D — The tilt of the head can darken the eye sockets; this reads differently on each skin.

Summary card

• From the bottom up: feet → weight → torso → head.
• Turn the torso a little, turn the head to the camera; square on is a choice too.
• Chin: forward first, then a little down.
• A job for the hands, edges to the camera; don't press, only touch.
• A gap between arm and torso; after every pose, enlarge and check the eyes.

Bridge to the next lesson

The pose has settled: the master has rested his peel on his shoulder, his torso turned toward the oven, his chin in the light. When your friend enlarges the frame they see a problem: the focus has fallen on the peel's handle and the master's ear, the eyes are slightly soft. In another frame the eyes are sharp, but dull and dark inside. Even if the rest of the face is flawless, the viewer looks at the eyes first. Why does everything in a portrait start with the eyes? The next lesson takes up focusing on the eyes and the reflection of light in the eye.