Another simple tip comes your way for Day 13 of our Month of Photo Fun. This tip has to do with posing and it's easy to remember. When it comes to posing your subject, if it bends, bend it.
Our subjects always look better when legs and arms are bent slightly at the knees and elbows. A slight bend of the elbows and a turn of the hips makes for gentler curves and a slimmer looking (and thus happier!) subject.
Simply have your subject bend her arms slightly at the elbows, gently grabbing the collar or edge of her jacket. See how relaxed Abby looks with the bend even in her wrist. Relaxed models make beautiful models, and with females, the bends create more soft, feminine curves.
If it bends, bend it. Having Courtney bend at the elbows, hips, and knees created an "S curve" (her body creates an "S"), which is a beautiful and feminine composition.
Even a slight bend of the fingers creates a softer look. Stiff limbs and digits mean stiff subjects which is unflattering for them, and unpleasing in your portraits.
But bending doesn't exclusively mean feminine and it doesn't only apply to the women. This goes for the guys too. See how relaxed Alec looks? By simply bending him in a masculine way (leaning forward at the hips, legs apart, arms and wrists bent inward) we create a relaxed and very cool look. Look out GQ magazine!
It's a pretty simple rule to remember. If it bends, bend it. Be careful with this though. We don't want our subjects looking like pretzels! We just want to create a more relaxed look.
Try it out and see how changes in how you pose your subjects makes for changes to the feel of your images. Then let us know what you learned.
Keep shooting!
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