Making the leap from candids to posed portraits of friends and family can be stressful, even for top photographers. When posing people, uncertainties abound: How should you light your model? Which lens is right? How do you draw out great facial expressions? Follow these five tips from photographer Patrick James Miller to help get you started.

1. Full-length shot: Avoid the boxy look

Posed, full-body portraits are among the hardest people pictures to nail. With face, body, and limbs to coordinate, they can present a complex set of visual elements to harmonize.

Begin with the right camera position. “For these full-body shots, I started with my camera at about Amy’s chest level,” says New York–based editorial shooter Patrick James Miller. “I work in a straightforward style, and a level, chest-high camera introduces little or no distortion.”

He adds, “Sometimes, though, I will lower the camera slightly and aim up, to make a proud, powerful statement about the subject. Other times, I lift and tilt the camera down for a more intimate, sometimes flattering look.”

Another tip: Work the planes. To add dynamic tension, experiment with aiming your subject’s face, shoulders, and hips in different directions. Place the left shoulder slightly forward and the hip slightly back, for example.

It’s also important to show space between the arms and body. Bending an elbow can help highlight the subject’s waist, while flexed elbows, wrists, and knees tend to add energy.

Asking your subject to put the weight on the back leg frees up the front leg to become an expressive element. In the larger shot here, Miller had Spector shift her weight onto her left foot, so her right leg could cross her body, giving the legs an active triangular composition. “Shifting weight allows for the subject to look less flat-footed and is a great way to add shape to the pose,” the photographer says.

Tilt and cock the head. This can suggest personality and intimacy, but don’t go too far. And watch the hands. Can’t get them to look right? Hide them as Miller did.

Finally, try adding a prop. “Having something for your subjects to lean against, like a chair, can relax them,” says Miller.

Hot Tip: When directing your subject, request that changes made in the placement of body, limbs, and head be very minor. Slight placement differences can affect a pose in big ways. Instead of simply asking that a subject “look left,” for example, ask for a very small turn to the left.

2. Gear choices: Begin with the lens

Why are wide-angle lenses anathema to portrait shooters? These two pictures tell the story. Miller made the left shot with a classic 85mm portrait lens and the right one with a standard-range zoom at 35mm. The results are like night and day. Here’s why: To fill the frame with a portrait subject using a wide-angle lens, you must move in very close. In the photo taken at 35mm, the camera was about 3 feet from our model, while for the 85mm shot, the camera was about twice as far back. The closer your camera is to the subject, the more exaggerated the parts of the face closest to the lens become. At 35mm, the nose appears much larger than the eyes because it’s significantly closer to the camera. At 85mm, the relative distance between the eyes and the nose is visually insignificant, and we see much less apparent distortion.

The correct lens isn’t the only useful piece of equipment for posed portraits. Miller mounts his camera on a sturdy support, and he brings a laptop along for shooting tethered. The former prevents camera shake, and the latter lets him share images in real-time with his portrait sitters. This collaboration gives subjects a sense of confidence and control.

Hot Tip: If all you have is a wide-angle lens, limit your posed portraits to full-body shots; don’t attempt half-lengths or tight headshots. Also, stick to environmental portraits and step back to include a lot of colorful background in your compositions. The farther back, the better!

3. Outdoor lighting: Seek shade

Taking your posed portraits outdoors can improve the variety, mood, and character of your backgrounds—certainly more easily than what you can achieve indoors. However, shooting outdoors often introduces its own problems, the most serious being unflattering light. As seen in the right-hand picture above, direct sunlight creates dark, contrasty shadows in Spector’s eye sockets and under the nose and chin. The solution is simple, though. Have your subject step into shade to even out the sun’s bright highlights and dark shadows for more flattering portrait lighting.

What if you find the perfect outdoor backdrop, but the setting has no shade? Do as Miller did and create your own. For the left-hand picture, his assistant held a 2×3-foot diffusion panel above Amy Spector. This created an oasis of soft, very effective light for a much more flattering shot.

Another way to improve portraits made in direct sunlight? Place a reflector immediately below your subject’s face and angle it up to bounce sunlight back up into the eye sockets and under the chin and nose. The face will be more evenly lit—and also brighter than what’s possible in shade. This added brightness can afford you faster shutter speeds or smaller apertures, either of which can render the unlit areas of the background darker, causing your subject to stand out more emphatically.

Hot Tip: On a partly cloudy day, your best bet is to wait for a thinly overcast sky. The light under such conditions can be bright enough for handheld exposures, as well as soft, even, and highly flattering.

4. Indoor lighting: Flash vs. softbox

Because of its convenience and low cost, on-camera flash exerts a strong allure for novice portraitists. Resist it! Your results could resemble the right-hand image above. Compared with the picture on the left, which was lit with a studio strobe and softbox, the direct-flash portrait appears flat and harshly lit, with shiny bright highlights and a distracting shadow behind the subject. The portrait lit by softbox is more flattering, with greater dimension and shaping across the face and softer highlights in the complexion. It avoids the contrasty facial sheen of direct-flash portraits.

Note that by placing his main light off-axis, away from the lens, Miller was able to aim the softbox down onto the model’s face. “I like to have my key and backlight kind of high, shooting down, because it’s directional and natural, kind of like the sun,” says Miller. This strategy also created the shadow across her neck that serves to set off and “present” the face in a flattering manner.

Conversely, the on-camera flash illuminates the neck and face equally, giving the former an unwelcome prominence. Raising his light also buried the shadow cast behind Spector. As a result, she seems to exist in her own timeless world, one without the confining walls suggested by the on-camera-flash shadows.

Hot Tip: If you must light with an on-camera flash, try bouncing its output off a nearby white wall or ceiling, turning either into a giant reflector—without aiming the flash directly at your subject.

5. Expressions: Make them count

The closer you zoom in on a portrait subject, the more weight the person’s facial expression carries. At first, it may seem difficult for novice portraitists to coax relaxed and expressive looks from their subjects. But with practice, it gets easier.

Miller says he starts by putting his subjects at ease. “Before a shoot, I do some homework,” he says. “I try to find out if there’s anything the subject and I have in common. Something we could talk about. I may also show a subject an example of the kind of portrait I want to take. If they like the example, it can build trust. Also, subjects who are parents love to talk about their kids. It can really open them up.”

The good news? The difference between a deadpan, lifeless expression (right) and one that suggests a rich, lively intelligence and vibrant inner life can be achieved through very minor tweaks to the face and head. A slightly lifted eyebrow (left) or a tipped or tilted head can be enough.

“I’m always on the lookout for unexpected moments,” says Miller. “The seconds right after a person laughs, for example, often produce unguarded and natural expressions that can be very charming.”

Hot Tip: When he zooms in to focus on a person’s facial expressions, Miller will often place a black flag beside his subject, opposite to the main light. As in this shot, it darkens the shadowed side of the face, which accentuates its shape and adds a sense of depth and dimension to the image.

The post Five tips for more flattering portrait photography appeared first on Popular Photography.

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Photographing someone’s Big Day is a beautiful—and stressful—job, especially if you’re not a seasoned pro. This week, PopPhoto is serving up our best advice for capturing that special kind of joy.

Photographers know that posing is no joke. And on the fast-paced, often rushed (and behind schedule) wedding day, having a posing plan is essential. There are no do-overs. So how do you ensure everything goes smoothly?

We sat down with Northern Virginia-based wedding photographer Jennifer Nolan and asked her about her posing strategies for creating happy, relaxed, and authentic images. From building a connection before the shutter clicks to addressing insecurities, these are her top tips. 

Build trust and connection

“I just can’t emphasize enough how important it is to get to know the couple,” Nolan asserts. “[If you do this], they already feel taken care of and [know] you’re trying to do your best job for them. I think that goes a long way to putting couples at ease.”

This is as simple as showing up a little early to a session or setting up an engagement shoot with your couple before the wedding. By making time to connect before pulling out your camera, you give them a chance to get to know you—and you them. We’re all more willing to open up to people we trust. And we trust people who are invested in our lives and stories. Even taking 10 or 15 minutes to ask questions and find things you can relate to can go a long way in building trust and comfort. If you are able to do this during an engagement session, then you’ll be ready to roll on the big day.

Be the ultimate wingman 

Everyone has some sort of insecurity—so don’t be afraid to hype your client up. Give them plenty of positive affirmation and acknowledge what they may be feeling. Don’t forget that communication is key. Provide clear directions so they’re never wondering, “what do I do with my hands?”

“I always tell them [that] even I feel nervous in front of a camera,” Nolan shares. “I make myself vulnerable and always remind them that it’s not just them, that everybody feels this way and it’s totally normal. I give them permission to feel that way. It’s just so important to pump up your couples from the beginning. I tell them how great they’re doing because that really does go a long way. I think it boosts their confidence as you’re photographing them.”

Couple poses for weddings and engagements

Nolan usually starts a session by incorporating movement or taking what she calls “mom and dad shots,” traditional-style portraits with the subjects looking straight at the camera.  

“I try to do prompts, walking motions, because I feel that [allows] their interactions to come out naturally,” she says. “From there I can go along and get them laughing, feeling more themselves. After that, I try to incorporate them into different settings.”

For the clients wearing pants, her go-to technique is to have them put a hand (or hands) in their pockets, and have the partner hold on to one of their arms. If someone in the couple is wearing a skirt or dress, Nolan will have the partner hold it, so that their free hand has something to do.

Related: Best cameras for wedding photography

The other thing Nolan is conscious about is asking subjects to pull their arms away from the body to create a triangle, which in turn helps creates a more slimming effect. Above all, though, she is after “the natural look.”

“The primary thing is making sure that they are relaxed and they don’t look stiff,” she says. “I think a good [pose] is either belly-to-belly or him with his hands in his pocket and her wrapping her arms right around him. Usually, you get the girl leaning and she does it naturally.”

How to pose couples with height differences

Posing couples with a big height difference can feel challenging, but Nolan advises that photographers don’t worry too much. When it’s possible, she’ll have the couples sit down to even things out, or she’ll have the taller partner bend down and just photograph from the torso up.

“Remember, they know their height difference,” she reassures. “While to us, it’d be, ‘Oh no, how am I going to work with this?’ They already know; that’s who they are. Unless they specifically say they feel funny about it, I wouldn’t put too much of an emphasis [on it]. If they’re comfortable with how they are, then I just make it work.”

Set expectations and communicate 

Are you a Photoshop wizard? Do you prefer batch processing files in Capture One/Lightroom? Let your clients know what you can, can’t, and aren’t willing to do. Otherwise, you may be fielding an unexpected request.

Nolan also will advise her clients on things like wardrobe to ensure that the resulting photos match their vision. Otherwise, that’s another opportunity for a missed expectation.

“One time I had clients that [said], ‘We just don’t feel right.’ It was because their outfits weren’t as dressy as the place they picked for photos,” she recalls. 

Sometimes, however, there will be elements out of your control—and Nolan advises that the best course of action is to keep calm and do your best.

“You [might] have couples that are unhappy, especially when [it] comes to body issues,” she explains. “I think sometimes it’s just not up to us. I think [we] as photographers just need to realize that we can’t control that.”

Avoid this mistake

If there’s one mistake photographers should absolutely avoid, it’s not taking the time to build a connection with their clients. According to Nolan, that’s when the tension will come through in an image, and that’s the last thing that should happen when documenting such an important event.

Other things photographers should look out for? Hands (of course), “the good side” (everyone has one), and mixed expressions—if one person is laughing but the other has a serious expression, the photo just won’t make sense. 

“I think hands are very important when we’re posing,” she states. “You want to make sure they look relaxed. I kind of joke about it [and say], ‘We don’t want Barbie and Ken hands.’ They always laugh about it. I’m constantly reminding them that I’m looking out for those things and I’ll ask them, ‘Do you have a good side? Do you have a bad side?’ But  like I mentioned earlier, those 10, 15 minutes of just getting to know them, putting them at ease, go a long way.”

See more of Jennifer Nolan’s work here.

The post How to pose couples: A wedding photographer’s tips and tricks appeared first on Popular Photography.

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A new report by ABC 7 News in San Francisco has revealed where a lot of stolen electronics—including cameras—are sold. It’s a good reminder that expensive camera gear is very easy for thieves to sell, which makes it such a tempting target. You can check out the full video to see it all in action, but more importantly we’ve gathered up our best advice for safeguarding your kit. 

What’s going on in San Francisco?

Whether it’s down to large amounts of media coverage or genuine underlying social issues, San Francisco seems to have an outsized camera theft problem. It’s not that photographers aren’t at risk everywhere, but in San Francisco they seem to be targeted more deliberately. 

Here at PopPhoto, we covered a photographer being followed home from the Golden Gate Bridge and robbed at gunpoint just a few months ago. Our colleagues at Petapixel have paid even more attention to the issue, covering the Canadian camera crew that got robbed at gunpoint last month, a San Francisco Chronicle photographer getting robbed (also at gunpoint) while on assignment, and a woman who got shot after refusing to give up her camera gear—all in the last year. One Petapixel contributor even had his camera stolen while it was rolling.

The report from ABC 7 adds an important bit of context to all this. It shows how easy it is for thieves to sell stolen cameras, laptops, and other expensive electronics at the side of the road—sometimes within an hour of the robbery taking place. Sadly, it also shows how little the police are able to do about it. It’s no wonder that photographers, who can easily be carrying thousands of dollars worth of equipment, are such lucrative potential targets.

Your gear is not worth your life

No amount of photography gear is worth losing your life over. As a European, one of the things I find most concerning about all the reports of camera theft from San Francisco is that many involve a gun. Just in the news stories linked above, one person was shot and another had their family members shot at. It’s hard to deny that—particularly in the US—there is a very real risk of getting hurt in a camera gear robbery. If someone does threaten you, hand over your gear and walk away.

Similarly, very few photographs are worth risking your life—or your gear—for. The point of this article isn’t to say “no one should take photographs in San Francisco,” but it’s pretty clear that popular photography spots, like the parks overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, are riskier environments, and so you should weigh up your options when planning your shots. If something doesn’t feel right, walk away.

How to protect your camera gear 

Whether you’re in San Francisco or any other city, there are some simple, sensible steps you can take to lower the risk of getting robbed. I’ve traveled the US, Mexico, Europe, and Southeast Asia with my camera gear without ever having anything stolen.

Be discreet. Don’t advertise you’re a photographer. If you’re in a busy or potentially risky environment, don’t keep your camera out. You might miss a few photos, but you lower your chances of being robbed. 

Conceal valuables. Don’t use an obvious camera bag and, where possible, hide other gear like tripods. A normal looking messenger bag—I use the Peak Design Everyday Messenger—just fits in better in most places. When I’m bringing a tripod, I often wrap it in a sweatshirt. 

Hide branding. If you shoot with particularly valuable gear—say a Leica or Hasselblad—cover the logos with tape. It won’t stop a theft, but it will make it seem like you are carrying hundreds or thousands of dollars worth of equipment, not potentially tens of thousands of dollars worth. 

Carry selectively. Don’t bring all your gear everywhere. If you know you probably won’t need a certain lens or your flashes, leave them at home. At least then if you do get robbed, you won’t lose everything. 

Downgrade your kit. Bring an old camera as a travel camera. I still shoot with a Canon 5D Mark III but when I upgrade to an EOS R, I’ll keep it as a beater camera for riskier situations.

Pay attention to your surroundings. It’s easy to get caught up working an image, so make sure to keep checking your environment. If someone appears to be paying you undue attention, walk away.

Don’t shoot alone. Go with your partner, a friend, or another photographer. You’ll be less of a target and someone is there to help out if things do go wrong.

Insure your gear. You might need specialized camera insurance to cover everything, but if you photograph a lot, it can be worth it. At least that way, if a disaster happens, you can recover.

And no matter what, don’t take silly risks, don’t try and defend your camera gear, and if someone holds a gun in your face, hand them your camera and walk away.

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Portrait photography can be extremely challenging, even when everyone involved is fully clothed, but bringing things into the boudoir can be an entirely different challenge. We asked boudoir photographer Myla González of Cheeky Boudoir in upstate New York to share some of her tips for getting started.

Preparing for your boudoir shoot:

Preparations for your boudoir session should start well before the day of the photoshoot. Boudoir photography shoots are very intimate by nature and can be intimidating for the subject. Communication is extremely important because you want to build trust. The level of comfort and trust between the photographer and the subject is often readily evident in the final images.

Essential steps for communicating with your subject before a boudoir shoot:

1. Get to know your subject. Giving your subject a questionnaire prior to your boudoir photo shoot can help her organize her thoughts about the session. Ask her how she envisions the process as well as the final photos. Ask her which of her features she would like to flaunt in her images and which she prefers to downplay. If the subject is a client, then be sure to ask about her plans for the final photos. That will help you create the best possible final product.

2. Have a face-to-face conversation. I get it, e-mails or texts are easy. However, you want to build trust with your client, and you can’t build the trust that you need over e-mail. Even a video conference is an upgrade over text-based communications when it comes to building trust. Take this opportunity to review her questionnaire answers, chat about the wardrobepieces she plans on bringing to her photoshoot, and answer any of her remaining questions (I have clients that come in with notebook pages filled with them!). Your job is to ease her nerves and reaffirm her choice to trust you with photographing her boudoir session.

3. Make one last call before the big day. The night before her session, phone her again to ask her if she has any last-minute questions. Letting her know that you’re excited about her photoshoot will pump her up and further ease any nervousness. Take this moment to also ensure that she knows the location of the shoot and the time that she should arrive.

Styling for a boudoir shoot:

When my clients ask me about what types of outfits to put together for their shoot, the first thing that I tell them is to make sure that whatever they choose, it should be something that they feel comfortable in. If a client brings in a lingerie set that’s too far outside of her comfort zone, it will show in her face and body language in the images. A few other important points to make when consulting with her on wardrobe choice is to make sure that your client chooses pieces that fit properly, are clean (preferably new), and reflect her style.

Lingerie is built to be beautiful and flattering, but that often comes at the price of durability. Keeping a small emergency kit on hand can help prevent a session from ending due to a wardrobe malfunction. Some of the most handy tools to have on-hand include scissors, a mini sewing kit, and fashion tape (double-sided tape that won’t damage skin or fabric).

Offer professional hair and makeup for your boudoir shoot:

As with any other type of portrait photography, professional hair and makeup makes a big difference in the outcome of your images. Whether your client wants a glam look or a more natural style, a professional hair and makeup artist will be able to create a look that will translate well through the lens. It will also take some of the pressure off the subject. If you have hair and makeup people with whom you like to work, don’t hesitate to make recommendations. It can be comforting to have another reassuring voice who is familiar with the process.

Easing your client’s nerves during a boudoir shoot

More than likely, your client will be nervous and won’t know what to do in front of the camera. As a boudoir photographer, I know it’s my job to direct her throughout the shoot. This sometimes involves demonstrating the posesmyself, which also helps the tone of the shoot by showing my subject that I’m not asking her to do anything I wouldn’t be comfortable doing myself. Positive feedback is also key. Let her know that she’s doing fantastic and, when you’ve captured a particularly amazing shot, show her the image on the camera to boost her confidence.

If I have a client who is having a particularly tough time loosening up in front of the camera, I won’t hesitate to drop the camera and run through some breathing exercises. I will have my client close her eyes, breathe in for three counts, then breathe out for three counts. We’ll repeat this for as long as she needs to. When I feel like she has relaxed a bit, I will instruct her to slowly open her eyes and resume the shoot.

Choosing gear for your boudoir shoot:

The location where you will be shooting will play a big part in determining the appropriate gear. How much space will you have? What is the lighting situation? Personally, I’m a big fan of fast prime lenses for boudoir shoots. The extra light they let in is very nice, and the big aperture also allows me to focus on details and create dreamy images. I love an 85mm lens, but if the room is small, it can be very challenging to get a good variety of images with this telephoto. Another great option would be a 50mm lens (I have my Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art on my camera 85 percent of the time). Once you start working with focal lengths wider than 50mm, distortion may start coming into play, which may not be very flattering to your client, especially around the edges of the frame.

Classic boudoir poses

This is a great way to start your shoot since it is a perfect warm-up pose to loosen things up. Ask your subject sit back on her feet with her knees slightly apart. Regardless of what pose you put your client in, always give her hands something to do. In this particular pose, I like to ask my clients to start by playing around with their hair or the bra straps. If she’s wearing a men’s shirt or cardigan, she can use her hands to pull the fabric tight around her body to accentuate her natural shape. From there, you can take shots from several different angles, moving all the way around your subject to get a variety of images.

No matter what pose you have your client in, you want to make sure that you accentuate her curves and add angles to your photo. Ask your client to lie on her back perpendicular to you with her knees bent and feet together. To lengthen her legs, ask her to extend one of her legs without totally straightening it. With proper direction, you can get at least 20 different shots from this single pose. Be creative by adding some detail shots in the mix: her eyes, lips, the lace on her lingerie. Grab a step-stool and shoot some frames of her from above too.

Another classic boudoir photography pose is to have your subject lying on her side. You can easily move into this pose directly from the one with her lying on her back. To accentuate her curves, ask her to lie with her bottom leg straight and the top leg bent with the knee touching the bed (or whatever it is that she’s lying on). Have her prop herself up on her elbow with her hand in her hair. With the other hand, have her place it on top of her hips while tucking the elbow behind her. If she’s self-conscious about her midsection, have her place that hand in front of her instead.

One of the highlights of my job is being able to wow my client with a great shot of her backside. Whether your client is curvy or not-so-curvy, this method is my tried-and-true way of getting a booty shot that she’ll love. Start by having your client stand facing away from you at an angle. Ask her to stand with the leg closest to you straightened and bend the leg that’s farther away from you. To give her body even more of a curve, ask her to pop her bottom back. Sometimes women will bend forward when you ask her to pop her bottom back. If this happens, ask her to tilt her pelvis. When shooting, you want to position yourself so that her bottom is slightly above your eye line.

Retouching the photos from your boudoir shoot:

Retouching a boudoir photography shoot can vary widely from photographer to photographer. While many professional boudoir shooters opt for magazine-style editing, which can include methods such as frequency separation for that flawless look, I do know of very successful boudoir photographers who do little to no editing at all. Some common actions include removing temporary blemishes, using the liquify tool sparingly for minor tucks, and utilizing some form of skin softening or smoothing technique to lessen or eliminate skin imperfections.

When it comes to post-processing after a boudoir session, my main goal is to never edit a client to the point where she doesn’t look like herself. Over-editing conveys a message that can be damaging to a woman’s self-esteem. Instead, I want to empower my clients. I want to give them an experience that challenges their expectations of themselves. I want my clients to know that they’re just as beautiful and sexy as any of the models that they see in glossy publications.

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Peter Hurley, the well known portrait photographer and creater of the Art Behind The Headshot, has released a YouTube tutorial demonstrating one of his favorite methods of getting his subjects to look better: the “Squinch”.

The squinch is a method to stop people from going wide-eyed when in front of the camera. It’s a small squint, mostly trying to just bring up the lower lid a little rather than the full Clint Eastwood thousand yard stare.

The squinch is a mix between squint and pinch (and because smize was already taken), and counteracts people who tend to open their eyes immensely when getting their photo taken. Unfortunately, if you’re already a squinter it probably won’t help.

This video joins Hurley’s other viral hit, about jaw placement. So you can spend the next half hour watching his advice, then spend all afternoon in front of a mirror adjusting your head at various angles, and opening and closing your eyes to try and best look confident and tough in front of a camera.

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Big family portraits are hard. Clothing and calendars need coordinating, and an appealing, well-lit background needs finding. You’ve got to keep spirits high while you coordinate myriad other details so that everyone looks perfect for the split second that the shutter is open. The good news? Despite the seeming impossibility of it all, great family portraits are indeed possible, and we’ve gathered a panel of seasoned pros to explain how.

Your first task is to help your subjects look relaxed and unselfconscious. Art Streiber, the great L.A. celebrity portrait photographer and advertising pro who shot the opening photo explains, “Even though you may have 35 people in the shot, it should feel like they all just strolled in and stood there. To get the look, ask your subjects to stand or lean naturally and casually. Have them cross their arms, cross their legs, or rest a foot on a chair railing.”

Before family members take their places, observe their natural body language. Spencer Heyfron, the editorial shooter from Brooklyn, NY, who shot the fashion below, says: “It’s surprising how some people are completely at home in certain stances. Watch for those poses, and use them to your advantage.”

Spencer Heyfron posed office workers for a fashion story in Lucky. When Heyfron shot this fashion lineup he was careful not to duplicate the shoulder, head, leg, or foot placement of his five subjects. “Just a slight turn of the body can work wonders,” he says. Not only for the person who turns, but for subjects on both sides of her, too.

As you begin to place your subjects, vary the visual elements. Mix up clothing colors, genders, races, heights, ages, and poses. Avoid lining up heads, and don’t let two adjacent subjects both cross their arms, for example. Mix up shoulder alignment so that no two people are aimed alike. “Don’t be afraid to twist people toward and away from the group’s center,” says Streiber. Not all the people on the left side of the frame should be aimed toward the right, and vice versa.

Cat Thrasher took this intimate portrait of her parents using a Hasselblad 501 CM body and 80mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss lens on Fujifilm Neopan Acros 100 film. “Having your subjects touch releases them from the obligation of formality during the shoot,” says Thrasher. “It signals that they can express their love and intimacy. Also, touching a loved one who is nervous or anxious helps that person relax.”

To get relaxed and casual poses, act and speak in a relaxed and casual way yourself. To do this may require some prep. Cat Thrasher, the Charlottesville, VA, pro whose parents you see above, says, “I find it helps to have a little repertoire of upbeat go-to phrases and go-to poses. I also collect tear-sheets of beautiful poses and show them to subjects. It relaxes them because they learn roughly what’s expected of them.”

Composing the Group

Unless you’re posing a soccer team or rock band, avoid placing people in a straight line. Instead prop your set with sofas, high back chairs, and stools so that people can kneel, sit, and stand in ways that vary head heights for a nice rise-and-fall rhythm. “Give people something to put their hands on,” says Streiber. “Either the back of a chair or someone else’s shoulder.”

Peter Yang photographed these four Texans for a Texas Monthly magazine story on the dying breed of cowboys. Because they were essentially individuals and not part of a family or organized group, he posed each separately in his own space. “You could almost crop each guy out and have a nice portrait of him,” says Yang. “More often when I shoot groups, I try to highlight their connected qualities by having the bodies overlap, asking the subjects to touch if it’s appropriate, and making sure that the overall shape of the group has a cohesive feel. Not for these guys, though.”

To give your portrait some structure, compose the group using a geometric pattern. Two common solutions are “apex” and “grid” poses. Streiber’s group on the opening spread is posed on a grid, while Peter Yang’s cowboys, above, and Buff Strickland’s campers are posed with a subject forming the apex of a triangle. Yang, the famous editorial shooter from Brooklyn, NY, placed the shortest cowboy on the horse, to give him some extra presence.

Another posing strategy is to create a rhythm across your group. Dustin Snipes, the L.A. sports specialist who shot the football team, alternated standing and seated subjects. Yang created a rhythm by alternating blue and white shirts with his cowboys. Is your group large? Break it down. “Don’t try to pose 12 people simultaneously. You’ll go crazy,” says Streiber. “Break up the group into 3-, 4-, or 5-person subgroups.”

Dustin Snipes shot the Westlake Village High School football team for ESPN High School magazine. Three of the team’s players have famous dads. Shot with a Nikon D700. For his portrait of a suburban Los Angeles high school’s varsity football team, photographer Dustin Snipes wanted to keep things light. Instead of posing them classically (and seriously) on a gridiron, he took the team fishing. When you want to add humor to a group portrait, he says, use an unexpected or nontraditional location and a good prop. “In this case, it was the largest fish I could afford from a nearby grocery store,” he laughs.

Wrangling Kids

When composing a family group that includes a diverse range of ages, pose the restless ones—i.e, the kids—as your last step. As Yang explains, “If you’re shooting six people, you can’t have six constantly changing variables. I start by locking in subjects who look good, and whom I sense can hold a pose. With the cowboys, I posed the outer two guys to serve as anchors, and then focused mainly on the horse, which was a wildcard.”

Children can often be similar wildcards. Get everyone else into position, and then focus on the kids. Keep talking and directing, and don’t let them get distracted or start to zone out. It also helps if you try to remember their names.

Clothing and Locations

Prior to a shoot, Streiber asks his subjects to wear clothing in earth tones such as black, beige, or brown. He’ll also ask for jewel tones like burgundy, emerald, celadon, or teal. But no primary colors. “Primaries in a big group are lightning rods. Red, orange, yellow, green—your eyes go right there, and that’s not what group portraits are about.”

For this promotional still for a Chicago theatrical production, Saverio Truglia wanted his subjects to reflect a coherent camaraderie, which comes across in the shared gazes, similar body language and wardrobe. At the same time, though, their facial expressions suggest that they’re distinct individuals. “They’re all invested in their future. But they don’t all feel the same about it,” says Truglia. Truglia’s bicyclists is an example of apex——or triangular— posing.

Saverio Truglia, the Chicago pro who shot the bicyclists says, “I ask people to layer, because it can add visual interest, and give me more to work with.”

For his bike riders, Truglia used a background darker than his subjects. “It separated the subjects, popping them forward, while the subdued background created [an editorially appropriate] sense of gloom.”

Streiber likes posing his groups in corners, as he did for our opening photo. “The walls that converge into a corner, move forcefully through the frame, compelling you to look more deeply into the picture,” he says.

A geometric background can help you frame your subjects, as it did for Streiber’s opening shot. But you don’t want too many lines back there. “With groups, there’s already so much going on visually, that I like to keep backgrounds simple and not distracting,” says Buff Strickland, a lifestyle specialist from Austin, TX.

In many ways photographing kids in groups is easier than adults, says Buff Strickland. “They’re less self-aware than adults, and are willing to get cozy with other kids standing nearby.” What you don’t want to do is put them in locations or situations with which they’re unfamiliar. They will freeze up or freak out. Strickland’s campers are another example of apex——or triangular— posing.

The Right Gear

Shooting on a tripod is essential if you want to be able to swap out faces digitally. “It’s often the case when shooting groups that someone will blink. I’ll regularly shoot on a tripod so that replacing heads is easier,” says Truglia.

Lens selection is also important. For Truglia’s portrait of the three bicyclists, he used a somewhat wide-angle lens to emphasize the main character’s central dominance.

In a portrait of equals, however, he warns that a wide-angle lens can elevate a close subject by exaggerating their size relative to more distant figures.

For large groups, you may be tempted to use a wide-angle lens to squeeze everyone in. Think twice, though. With subjects equally distant from the camera, wide angle lenses make outer subjects seem large relative to those placed in the center of the frame.

How to capture large groups without wide-angle distortion? Art Streiber suggests a “side-by-side” composite. When he’s scouting locations, he makes sure there’s room for the camera to be placed back from the group. Then he gets out a normal lens, poses the left side of the group, and makes a set of exposures. He then pivots the tripod-mounted camera to the right, poses the subjects on that side of the frame, and makes a set of exposures. Both sides are then composited, and the result is distortion-free. Our opening photo is a side-by-side and all its subjects appear equal, with an almost cinematic presence. Splitting the group into two also makes posing less daunting—and isn’t that an appealing thought for your holiday group portrait?

The post Tips from the Pros: Posing Subjects for Group Portrait Photography appeared first on Popular Photography.

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Watching Peter Hurley work is a thing to behold. When it comes to talking to his portrait photography clients, he’s a tour de force. And while you can’t easily learn to be as charismatic as he is, he’s always pretty forthcoming about his tips and techniques for making people look their best in photos.

Watching Peter Hurley work is a thing to behold. When it comes to talking to his portrait photography clients, he’s a tour de force. And while you can’t easily learn to be as charismatic as he is, he’s always pretty forthcoming about his tips and techniques for making people look their best in photos.

The most recent tip is colloquially referred to as “Hold Your Sub,” and it’s a technique for making arms and shoulders look slimmer in a headshot setting. Basically, the subject pretends that he or she is trying to hold onto a giant party sub. In doing so, it brings the elbows in close to the body and pulls back the scapula muscles (found in your upper back), which makes the subject look more narrow, especially compared to the typical “hands-on-hips.” pose.

The results photos actually do show a pretty pronounced difference, even if it only changes the body position a small amount. It’s not, however, a technique that’s always correct for every subject. For instance, I shoot a lot of athletes (male and female) and wide shoulders and upper body is desirable in that circumstance.

Tucking the elbows in like that will also make the rest of the torso appear wider if you’re shooting a full-body or 3/4 portrait because it eliminates the space between the body and the arms.

The post Portrait Photography Tip: Peter Hurley Says “Hold Your Sub!” to Look Slimmer in Photos appeared first on Popular Photography.

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One of the most common questions we get here at PopPhoto.com is about how to pose people so they look natural during a photo shoot. This can be a tricky task even under normal circumstances, but a wedding really turns up the dial in terms of pressure and difficulty. Your clients are typically stressed and tired from the day’s events. The time is almost always very short. And you have to be able to improvise on the fly for anything that might come up.

In the video above, photographer Jasmine Starr shares some of her useful tips for making the most of the poses in a formal wedding portrait session. One of the key things I have found is to keep talking to your subjects and offering constant feedback. It really does help to ease the client fears and help them to relax. Awkward silences are never good.

What techniques have you found help when posing a couple? Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments.

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In an era when most people carry a camera in their pockets, and a large amount of the pictures taken of us will eventually be posted on the internet forever, posing properly for a photo is an important skill everyone should have. You don’t have to look like a runway model, you just have to make sure you portray yourself in a flattering light. Posing is not hard, but if you haven’t practiced it, you’re probably doing something wrong. Don’t worry—we can fix that.

How not to pose

To paraphrase Leo Tolstoy, good photo poses are all alike, but every bad photo pose is bad in its own way. There are essentially unlimited ways to look awful or unintentionally ridiculous in a photo, and it’s possible you’re doing some of them whenever a camera is pointed at you. These are a few of the classic mistakes.

The forced grin

What we have here is the overeager forced grin. It’s the kind of thing that happens when you don’t know what to do with your face, so you just figure a huge smile will do the trick (it won’t). Here, all the muscles in my face are being violently pulled in opposite directions. It looks like I’m being electrocuted and honestly, if this photo resurfaces somewhere, I’ll wish I was.

The deer in headlights

Is a huge truck coming towards you with earthshaking force? Did you just hear a thunderously loud noise? Apparently I did—my eyes are so wide I look startled. Some consider big eyes a beautiful feature, but forcing them open will certainly not make you look better. Unless “utterly surprised” is the vibe you’re aiming for.

The multiple chins

Oh god, even with my beard I’ve got a treble chin. My head is not in a good place in this photo; or after looking at it. We all have necks, so we might as well just use them.

The Zoolander

Somebody call a model agency—Blue Steel is back! Being told you look like a model in photographs can definitely be a compliment, just as long as they don’t mean top American supermodel, Derek Zoolander. As we’ll see later, a slight pout can actually work well, but even a 13-year-old Instagram-fanatic can see this is seriously overdone.

The mid-talking

Whoops! I was chatting to whoever took the photo—well, myself—and now I look deranged. When you have a camera aimed at you, it is a good idea to shut up and concentrate on the possibility of your image being immortalized for posterity. You know, just in case this is the picture the world remembers you by. Alright, that’s enough masochism for now. I’m sure you get the idea, and you probably have a couple photos that prove you’ve made the same mistakes. All of these stem from the same problem: not knowing how to pose well.

Learn to pose your face

When it comes to photos, your face is the most important part of you. It doesn’t matter if you have the body of Adonis—if you smile like a beagle eyeing up dinner, any photos you’re in will look ridiculous.

The good news is posing your face is actually really simple. It’s mainly all about not making any of the big mistakes above, but also doing three key things that look really good in photos: one with your eyes, one with your mouth, and one with your jaw.

Work those eyes

Using your eyes only, you want to make it look like you’re smiling naturally, even if you’re not. This technique is called the “squinch” or “smizing.” Models and actors use it all the time, but regular mortals can rock it too. It generally makes you look confident, self-assured, and sexy.

The trick to the squinch is to squint slightly, but mostly with your lower eyelids. Your top eyelids will come down a little, but not so much you’ll look like you’re squinting and need glasses. Peter Hurley, the portrait photographer who coined the term “squinch,” has a video walkthrough if you need it, but the move is pretty simple to master.

Squinching will feel a little unnatural at first but it looks stellar in photos. A good idea is to practice in a mirror until you feel comfortable, then keep at it until you have it down.

Work that pout (but not too much)

Since there’s not a lot you can do with your nose or ears, your mouth is, by default, an important posing tool. The first step to posing your mouth is to not do anything else with it. That means no talking, no big say-cheese photo grins, and no over-the-top pouting. Avoiding those three mistakes will instantly make you look better in photos.

Next, you’ll want to give the appearance of a natural and flattering smile. To do this, lightly press your lips together, then pull the edges of your mouth up into a half-smile. If you want to go for a more mischievous or mysterious look, you can try subtly pulling up only one side of your mouth.

Combine this with the squinch, and it’ll look like you’re properly smiling. No forced rictus grins here.

Square that jaw

A strong jawline looks great in photos, but the way most people normally stand while posing for pictures doesn’t show it off.

Instead, to get a strong photo-jawline, you need to exaggerate it by extending your neck and leaning your head slightly forward, pointing the tip of your nose at the camera—a bit like the chestburster in Alien.

Again, this will feel a tad unnatural at first, but it really works. Maybe it goes without saying, but this technique will only look good as long as you’re posing front on—any other angle and you’ll look like you’re waiting for someone to repeat something you couldn’t hear. Peter Hurley also has a full video walking through this move.

Pulling it all together

Okay, now you have the three components of a good photo pose; it’s time to put them all together.

Don’t forget your body

Posing your face is enough for most photos, but sometimes, especially in group shots, you’ll also need to pose your body. Since you’re often at the mercy of what other people are doing around you, you won’t have much control over the situation, but there are some things you can do.

• Angle your body at 30-45 degrees towards the camera. It will make you look slimmer.
• Don’t lock your arms out straight or hold them stiff beside your body—they’ll look unnatural or bigger than they are. Slightly bend them. Also, keep your legs slightly bent—it’ll make your posture look more natural.
• If you’re not holding anything (or putting your arm around someone), clasp one wrist with your hand and let them hang at your waist. Do it casually, otherwise it’ll look like you’re taking your own pulse. You can also cross your arms, but make sure you do it in a relaxed way, since it can look a bit stern. The higher your forearms when crossed, the stiffer you’ll look.

On the left, I’m doing everything wrong. On the right, I’m applying all the tips combined.

Other tips and tricks

As I said at the very top, posing is a skill—you have to practice it. You could go to the effort of hiring a photographer, but it’s much easier to just spend 10 minutes in front of a mirror playing around with the different techniques and discovering what angles work best for your face and body. When you get a feel for them, try to repeat them and build some muscle memory. That way, whenever you see a camera pointed at you, your body will know what to do.

Unless you’re specifically going for a dreamy vibe, look directly down the lens of the camera, and though it may be one of the hardest things to do, try to ignore the person taking the picture and any distractions around you. Eye contact with the lens means eye contact in the photo, so all your attention should be on it. If you can, try to be either at eye level with the camera or slightly below it. It’s just a more flattering angle for everyone.

It goes without saying, but if you want to look good in a photo, make sure you look good out of it. Fix your hair, make sure your clothes are on straight, and touch up any makeup if you’re wearing it. A quick look in the mirror before you face a camera is always a good idea, for no amount of posing will help if your hair is pointing in all directions at once.

With these tips and a little practice, you should now be able to bust out an America’s Next Top Model-worthy pose whenever you need it. It’s a super-handy skill to have because it guarantees you will (almost) always look good in photos. Whenever a camera is pointed at me, I know that even if everyone else in a picture looks like a gremlin, I look hot as hell.

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One of the trickiest parts about fashion photography is getting the model’s pose to match the picture you have in your brain. The model/photographer relationship is a delicate one and the following videos should help you get more natural looking expressions and body positions, which will ultimately lead to better photos. We asked both photographers and the models how to make the most of a shooting session.

The videos themselves were created as part of the American Photo Model Shoot, a traveling, day-long workshop that presents photographers with a collection of models, instructors, and lighting scenarios with the ultimate goal of creating portfolio-worthy images that would otherwise take tons of time to arrange. But, whether you’re in a studio, at a workshop, or just shooting with your family, these time-tested tips are worth keeping in mind whenever your camera is pointed at another person.

Some professional models share secrets about getting the best out of their poses

Pro, Mark Reis shares a time-tested tip about photographing a beautiful face

Getting a natural pose out of your model can be as simple as softening a stiff limb

**If you want to practice these techniques, check out Americanphotomag.com/modelshoot and see if there’s an American Photo Model Shoot workshop coming up in your area. **

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