How to Pose Clients for a Portrait Photographer
Most portrait photographers prefer to pose their own clients, but some occasionally work with assistants to make a shoot go smoother and quicker. If you are interested in photography, offering to be a photographer's assistant is a good way to learn the basics. Posing clients is easy once you learn to look at the scene as if it is already a portrait.
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Instructions
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When posing children, working quickly is the key to a great portrait. Turn the children slightly from the camera. Make a game of it by asking them to freeze. Lay their hands one on top of the other on their knees. Adjust their heads so they are looking just over the photographer's shoulder. Make sure their heads are level and not tilted up or down. Make sure little girls' skirts are smoothed down.
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When working with adults, first ask if you can touch them to put them in the right position. Pose them at a slight angle to the camera. Place your hand on their back to have them sit very straight. Be sure to adjust long hair and necklaces so they are straight. Make sure the subjects' hands are straight open, resting on the knee or thigh. Straighten the head so that it neither tilts up or down.
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To pose couples, arrange them at a slight angle to the camera. The woman should either face the man or have her back to him. If she prefers to face him, her hand should rest on his chest. Make sure the fingers on her hand are close together and her hand appears relaxed. Have the couple tilt their heads slightly toward each other.
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Arrange groups with the tallest person in the center, at a slight angle to the camera. Fill in the rest of the group on either side of the person in the middle, arranged according to height . If the group is large, put the shortest people in the front. Instruct everyone in the group to look at a certain object directly over the photographer's shoulder.
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Tips & Warnings
When working with a child, it helps to have the parent stand directly behind the photographer's shoulder and talk to the child.
Children will not sit still long, so be fast.
