Breaking Up is Easy to Do

A view of the pose in the studio

A composition for the finished portrait

Will you be taking or posing for portraits?  To make them more dynamic and flattering you can follow a simple guideline: Turn part of your body slightly away from the camera.  Of course there is a little more to this principle, but the short rule will be enough to help you remember what you need to do.  The goal is to break up the straight lines that make the body look like a rectangle.  Almost any modest change to the front-facing squared-up position will add life to your picture.

You can follow a couple of simple steps to achieve this:

1.      Stand with your shoulders and feet pointing straight at the camera. 

2.      Turn one of your feet to point at a 90 degree angle to the other.

3.      Move the angled foot so your feet are a shoulder-width apart. 

4.      Allow your body to turn slightly to its natural position, angled to the camera.

5.      Keep your face turned directly to the camera.  

This will give you a nice flow of lines for a head-and-shoulders portrait.  

Here is an example of a pose using this principle.  The second photo shows what a closer photo looks like using this pose. 

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Throw Your Weight Around

A natural looking pose is a big part of an appealing portrait.  Here is one of the easiest ways to make your poses look natural.  All you need to do is make sure that if you are interacting with an element in your environment you put your weight into the position of your body.  Lean on the object, sit on it, rest your arms on in it, but create a connection that is clear.  After all, most human beings do not move through their environment caressing it.  You sit in a chair, you push a door open, you walk up steps.  Let’s take a look at a few example photos.

1.  Is she trying to smooth out the pillar?

2.  This could happen in real life - someone leaning on a fence for support.  This looks much more natural, and could be even more effective if her feet were placed further in front of her.

3.  Better yet - normal interaction with a setting that is worth including in the photo.