Portrait photography, thanks to the selfie-fication of society, has become quite a common thing – our phone cameras even have a 'portrait' mode. So on the surface, it may seem like an easy thing to master. But in reality, it's actually quite a peculiar, semi-complicated process tying together many variables from lighting and location, to hair and makeup, wardrobe, mood and expressions, camera angles and lens choice, textures and colour theory, and of course – posing.
How do you find someones best side? Time to stare at someones face in a non-creepy manner!
Image: © Tim Levy
Mostly, people are personality-ists who judge other people by their personality – not by the way they look. But judging how nice a person is doesn't help our job as photographers. We have to quickly (and almost ruthlessly) assess and summarise a person's physical appearance, and find a way to make their looks translate well in a photo.
Only recently I realised that I too – almost have a 'better side'. I was genetically ripped-off with a single face-dimple. And apparently, the general consensus is that dimples are cute. Therefore, and technically speaking – I should tilt my face to show this (my left side) in photos. Ironically, I also have a fibrous papule (small lump) on the left side of my nose, which some people consider to be slightly disgusting. So these two features kind of cancel each other out. *Sigh*.
Now teeth, dents in our cheeks, and blemishes are not the only things for us to look for – there are a whole host of things – from double chins to flailing unruly eyebrows that may need our attention. And this is not even mentioning the whole body posing game, nor about peoples expressions and mood.
So whether it's posing the face with different angles and expressions, or arranging the limbs and body, good portrait photography is far more complex than we often realise.
Getting your sitter to stand properly – elementary posing
Most photographers know the basics of posing which would be to get the sitter to stand (I know that sounds dumb) with their body 45 degrees from the camera, look slightly up, and trial a bunch of positions for their arms and hands.
Beyond those basic face and body considerations, there's a large number of techniques photographers need to know to get the sitter to look their best. And the internet gets it – YouTube alone has thousands of 'how to pose models / portraits' videos. But with all that content, you're probably asking – do I really have to sift through 6000 hours of YouTube clips to glean some gold?
Saving you some time
The Capture team has trawled through countless videos to bring you a curated selection of five YouTube clips, packed with both obvious and not-so-obvious tips. We've highlighted key takeaways beneath each video, but feel free to watch each clip for a more in-depth analysis.
How to pose like a supermodel
Use a mirror
A great takeaway from professional model Yulia is that famed fashion photographer Steven Meisel likes to put a large mirror in front of the model and get the model to feel / see how they are posing. This technique speeds up the process of finding a good look for that particular sitter.
You can also get the model to do small jumps or movements in the mirror and get them to see what looks or feels right – then shoot that. This is a great idea if you have a studio shoot – but could be a bit of a pain if it was a location shoot (not to mention kind of dangerous)
Move with flow and grace
Another tip is to get the model to continuously move gracefully – and get the photographer to capture that using a high frame rate. This way you will get something more unique than just boring static poses. The photographer may also see something within these movements – and get the sitter to stop, and then centre around a certain pose, or something they liked.
How to pose everyday people
Try three different expressions
Omar suggests these three facial expressions to get different looks.
1) 'Cool' or magazine expression where you get the sitter to 'smoulder' or have a more poinient serious look.
2) 'Soft' or 'painting' with just a little sparkle in the eye or expression; get the sitter to have a slight smile
3) 'Fun' - where people look authentic, real expressions. Get the sitter to have fun, jump around etc.
Demo the pose
When dealing with people new to posing, demonstrate the pose for the sitter as you may already have something in mind. Telling someone can be misconstrued – just physically emulate what you want.
Body angles
Adding a slight angle to someones stance, head tilt, or the way they hold their arms is a good way to make the framing more interesting and the pose less rigid. Slight angles = better photos.
Look away from camera
Also try getting the sitter to look away from camera - they don't always need to be looking down the barrel.
Try different lenses
This forces you to try different perspectives and backgrounds.
De-stiffify people by making them skip or wait
If people are a little stiff - get them to try moving, walking, jumping or skipping. Interestingly, most people immediately after skipping seem to laugh, so be ready to capture that. This makes for great 'authentic' happy moments. Just make sure your camera is set to shoot a very high frame rate.
Also, capture moments in between poses – when people are simply waiting or relaxed. This often reveals a more natural, authentic version of themselves.
Top 10 portrait tips and tricks
By Irene Rudnyk
Use different props
This gives the model something to focus on, helping them relax while naturally encouraging a variety of poses by interacting with the prop. While Irene likes to use baskets and flowers, it could be literally anything. If they are a gardener - use a trowel or pitchfork. If they're a painter, have them holding a brush and palette.
Use a ladder
Using a small foldable ladder may be a bit of a hassle to lug around, but it does give you more interesting angles, plus shooting down is often more flattering for peoples faces. Plus it leads to greater eye contact and less double chin! Plus it means you are not shooting a bland sky on an overcast day.
Change your vertical crop in-camera
Try setting the in-camera crop to 4:3 — it’s a great format for social media and generally a nice ratio for vertical images. If you’re shooting RAW, you can always revert to 3:2 later.
Test shoot on yourself
Do test shoots and trial experimental lighting via self portraits. You can try something new without worrying about wasting time of someone else for something that may not work, or take a long time to set up. Just make sure you have one of those bluetooth remotes or the phone app triggers – they are much easier to use than a 10 second timer or the old-school tethered triggers.
14 essential portrait photography poses
Stand and lean
A classic – get the sitter to lean on / into a wall and shoot from the side. Walls also can make flattering, uniform backgrounds – especially if you are using shallow depth of field.
The head tilt
Studies have shown that by just tilting the head slightly it leads to more attractive headshots. And – people like necks!
Get the sitter to lie down
Want a unique or intimate feel to the photo – get your sitter to lie down on the floor / grass / picnic blanket / shag pile rug.
The walk away pose
This technique has been parodied since the 70's – but really, the walk away and turn to look over the shoulder can be an interesting emotive shot. This is a variation of the usual over the shoulder / head turn look that may look a bit more static.
Top 5 portrait tips for beginners
Make an 'ocular assessment'
This may seem obvious, but really study your environment, wardrobe, check the shapes, lighting, textures etc. Do all of this before you even put your camera to your face. It's better to spend time doing this than wasting time getting dud shots, or 'building' to a good shot – it's better to be halfway there before the actual shooting begins.
Get inspired
Study other portrait photographer and painters.
Filter yourself
Never be dismissive or even hint you are disappointed with your images as this will make your sitter self-conscious and possibly ruin the vibe of the shoot. So basically don't be negative – if the photos are not turning out, don't look at the back of your camera with a disparaging face.
Personally – because I'm not into lying, after I take my initial shots – I'll say that it looks great, 'it' being the lighting. This stops me from looking guilty from lying. It also gives me time to work out the sitters best angle.
Other random portrait tips
• For 'classic' portraits use a fast 85mm or 135mm prime lenses. There's a reason they are so popular as they have nice compression / rendering of the background. The 85mm lens's advantage is that you are a bit closer to the subject than a 135mm, so giving directions is easier.
• For environmental portraits use a 35mm – 50mm fast prime lens.
• Add something in the foreground to give your image more dimension or depth.
• If in a studio, or even on location, play music that emulates the vibe you are after. Or just play the sitters favourite music as it will help put them at ease.
• If you're aiming for more emotion or poignancy in an intimate portrait, try taking a walk with your sitter to an interesting, low-traffic area. This approach is a far more effective and respectful way to get some mood going – and way better than telling the sitter 'imagine that your dog just died' (yes - I've actually witnessed another photographer saying this).
• Shoot a bit further back or wider if the sitters skin has many blemishes. When you're further away from a subject, even if your camera has high megapixels, the effective resolution of the subject's skin details within the overall frame is lower. This means tiny pores, fine lines, small blemishes, or subtle unevenness in skin tone simply become less noticeable and less sharply rendered in the final image. They blend into the overall tone of the skin rather than standing out as distinct elements.
• Practice your portrait photographer dialogue. If you are introverted – practice communicating with an imaginary sitter and go through basic instructions and directions.