Balancing Uneven Couples

As portrait photographers we're always working with an ideal of beauty on some level or another.  In life, these standards of beauty can be oppressive, damaging, but even the most independent and rebellious person tends to have at least one part of their body that bothers them because it doesn't fit that ideal.  Weight is one of the most common, and while every intelligent person knows it doesn't define beauty, most people would rather not see their weight "issue" immortalized on film.  And this is true whether their weight issue is real or not.  Couples can see beyond to the real beauty of a person, but when two people are pictured together, their difference in size can become even more obvious.

There are a number of techniques to "balance" a couple on film.  Generally speaking, each person should take up about the same amount of space in an image.  Culturally, we can see the man as a little bigger, but surprisingly they don't look any less masculine when equalized or balanced.  And if the man is a lot bigger than the woman, it can be equally distressing for them.

In standard V pose, couples of roughly equal size photograph "well."  It looks like this:

If the man is heavy set, you can have them face the camera and slide the woman in front so she covers part of his body.  This way, their space is about equal.  To keep her from becoming boxy, you have to put her weight on one foot, cock the hip, and work on the curves.

(You could have her face the camera directly and him angled towards her-- and this can work well for a certain feel-- but now he's in the feminine pose and she is in a more masculine pose.)

If she is larger than him, he can face the camera directly and she can slip her arm through his, placing her shoulder behind his.

Remember, the idea is to have them take up nearly equal space in the frame.

Recently, I photographed a couple who's height difference was 1.5 feet.  We played with her on a curb and him below, and sitting in various positions.  Her in his lap but their eyes level.  One thing you never want to do his have him slouch-- that'll ruin a picture.

Underground Runway Summer Issue is Out!

During this past year I've done a couple of shoots with the talented and motivated folks at Underground Runway, an Oakland-based fashion company.  They've published their summer guide and you can check it out online here.  Images from my two shoots with them are sprinkled throughout, a nice honor.

Our session started with rain threatening, an overcast sky and you can see the effects of the light on the above image.  Her skin was light enough that I didn't feel inclined to pull out a reflector, though it might have helped.  Later, the sun emerged and out it came.  The designer said she'd never seen a photographer switch out the reflector surface, which prompted my blog post here.

Fashion photography is one of our specialties at Hurricane Images Inc.  It's such a joy working with clothing designers and make-up artists-- it lifts your work to another level that's hard to reach otherwise. 

Day 76, Learning 76: Optimizing Images for Search

Images are the life blood of every business.  This is true not just for the photographers than create them, but the individuals (profile pics) and businesses (websites) that put them into play.  For many individuals and business, the purpose is to both generate excitement about the product, and to increase their visibility.  The ability of images to appear in search results is key in the latter, and it's a ken that many photographers don't possess.

In short, you can make your images appear more readily on Google, Bing, Yahoo, Duckduckgo (my favorite), and other search engines.

As everything becomes more dependent on the internet and digital expression, our visual language becomes more and more important.  This is a good thing for photographers, by the way.  The advent of cheap, high-quality cameras may have made every Uncle Bob a photographer, but it's also increased the importance of truly professional work.  Your clients want their work seen.  They want their websites found.  This starts with the image file you give them.

Google/Yahoo/Bing/Duckduckco cannot "see" your images.  They have to read them from their properties information.  Here are some tips for "searchable" images:

Ever right-click your images and check out their properties?  Now is the time to do so.  To increase their visibility--

1.  Create an accurate, short descriptive title.  Search engines recognize these
2.  Give it appropriate tags.  These are also searchable.
3.  In the comments section, but your website address
4.  Reduce your image size to the smallest possible without sacrificing quality.  Search engines often take into account the time it takes to load an image/web page.  300KB is too big.

If you want key word ideas for your tags, go to Duckduckgo or Google and start typing the key words you've already chosen.  Both of those sites will "auto complete" your search for you, based upon the most popular searches in their system.  Type "wedding photography" and you might see "wedding photography tips" as the auto fill.  That's a great tag.  At Hurricane Images Inc. I use "Powerful Intimate Portraits."  Including your location can be helpful, but remember Google and others already tailor results to the searcher's location, so that only makes a difference if their from out of town.

The image in this post is from a recent shoot from a lovely (and would you believe it, grandma) client.  It's titled from my company with portraits included; it's tagged for San Francisco, and has my website in the comments section.  The session itself was great.  She was a new "empty-nester" with time and creativity on her hands.  We had a ton of fun in our session.  I set up three photographic areas and we moved through them in multiple outfits.  A great shoot.

Day 73, Learning 73: Sharpen Your Directing Skills

I describe myself as a "people photographer."  That covers a lot of ground-- portraits of all types (business, personal, theatrical, editorial), but also fashion, boudoir, wedding, and commercial. I enjoy photographing people because, quite frankly, it unnerves me.  I'm naturally introverted and not especially articulate on the fly. I photograph people because I'm both fascinated by them, and because it challenges me.  But I am good at putting people at ease and listening.  Twenty years as a theatre director has taught me quite a bit about communication.

I've written before about how to pose models, and hands, and how to coach them in a session.  Dig through the blog and you'll probably find some other advice on working with models. One of the more difficult aspects of posing, however, is communicating to the model in the moment, and being clear and assured so the subject is at ease.  That really only comes with practice, but practicing on paying clients is never a great idea.  So here's an approach to practicing your communication skills.

First, you have to know what pose you want them to be in.  I take screen shot clippings of interesting poses and put them into folder categories; I find it's the only way I'll remember what I saw a month ago.  Typically before a session I spend time reviewing my folders, or looking for new material. The next challenge is remembering those poses during a session.  In the past, I've tried writing notes to myself (and found I never looked at them); and I've seen an interesting tip whereby you transfer pictures onto the camera's card so you can check them on the back of your camera; if you've newly formatted your card, your references images will be at the top, always one click away.   Some pro's are more upfront, printing images and bringing them to the session to share with their clients.  Any of these approaches is fine, just so long as you have ideas.

Next comes the harder part:  communicating your vision to your client efficiently.  Like most portrait photographers, I advocate mirroring the pose for your client and using your hands to align and tilt the head.  If you want them to turn their chin to the right and up, you use your hand almost as if you were physically moving their face-- gesturing to the right and then up-- as you tell them what you want.  Of course, it's more challenging in a real session.  You've got a camera in one hand, a thousand things on your mind, and their right is your left.  So here's the exercise to improve your directing skills.  Pick a dozen posing images.  They can be one's you've shot or something you grabbed off the internet.  Put one on your computer screen.  Stand up.  And physically "direct" your computer-- out loud and with gestures-- into the pose.  Practice verbalizing, mirroring, and gesturing at the same time.  Aloud. An additional bonus with this technique is that it makes you deconstruct the pose, making it easier to remember.

In posing a client, start from the feet and work up to the eyes.  If you position the torso before the feet, people often twist themselves up.  Go through a dozen images and I guarantee you'll feel more comfortable working with a live model.  Go through a hundred and you'll be communicating like a pro.  You can try these to start:

In most real life situations you only need 5 or 6 poses.  The skill is in working in the moment to create small variations.  The talent is when those variations are based on strengthening something you see through your viewfinder-- their emotion, physical attributes, or the lighting-- and not just for the sake of variety.

Go out and shoot or go out and practice.

Special thanks to Chrystal Wing, NP Walker, and Underground Runway

Day 65, Learning 65: Tips for Coaching Models

Posing models is one school of expertise and I wrote a little about it here, here, and here.  What I'm writing about today is talking to models during a session.  This is especially important because the sage advice to never touch a model is very very true... even if there's a little bit of over-simplification involved.  Directing and coaching blur together, but they are two different things.  If you want your model positioned a certain way, you direct; if you want to bring out a particular emotion, you have to coach.

The first and most useful technique is to physically show the model what position you'd like them to be in by mirroring it.  This is not only quick, it makes them feel less self-conscious because you're doing it, too.  This includes both taking the same position and things like pointing in the direction.  Don't be afraid to put the camera down to show them what you want.

Because you're facing each other, your left is there right.  With practice you can also learn to give verbal directions by reversing everything.  So it's possible to say, "shift your weight onto your left foot."  If the direction is simple, they'll get it. Something else I occasionally do is turn around and look at the world from their perspective.  That way I can say, "look at that tree...."  

Coaching
These are the basics for finding the right poses and positions.  Now comes making your model relaxed and emotive.  It's hard to be on the other side of the lens, taking chances with poses that might make you look ridiculous (and be immortalized forever on film).  This is especially true if the photographer is silent.

Be specific with your models:

• Soft smile / Big smile / Smile with your eyes / Don't smile
• Part your lips a little
• Raise/lower your chin
• Look towards/away from me/down and to your left

Encourage to your models:

• That's good/great
• Nice, Excellent
• Beautiful
• You look great
• Just like that
• A little more

Warm them up:

• Shake it out
• Wiggle something
• Make a pucker face
• Make it a gesture-- run your fingers through your hair

Create emotion:

• Think of: your favorite part of your partner/ your favorite dessert
• Remember lying out on a sunny day/watching the rain fall

There are endless scenarios for creating emotion.  Consider them before the shoot and choose the ones that match your client or the emotive quality your creating.  When shooting for a theatrical production (such as the image above) I often have them pick a line from that moment and repeat it over and over again.  With inexperienced models, having them do a gesture that ends in the pose you want can appear more natural than having them hold the pose.  In theatre, I often combined both those techniques.

Day 59, Learning 59: Posing Couples

Working with couples offer their own challenges and rewards.  They amuse themselves while you fiddle with your camera settings, which is nice; they also bring their own intimacy and mood to the shoot.  But they can be challenging, especially if one person is uncomfortable in front of the lens.  Here are a few ideas for working with couples:

• The more points of touch, the greater the intimacy.  Work with hands, foreheads, hips, cheeks, and noses.
• Lead them through a sequence of moves in one position: 
• Start facing each other; put your forehead together; rub noses; now, roll your head out to face the camera; give her a tickle; caress his cheek.
• When walking, go slow.  Make sure the hands/arms aren't awkward or swinging widely.  If they are, hook their thumb in their pocket
• When facing forward, make sure their weight is on one leg versus equally balanced (it's more natural and relaxed); bend arms and legs to create angles
• When sitting, start by placing one person, then the other.  Don't have them "sit on the bench together."
• Don't be afraid of giving specific direction, even as detailed as "look at his hand."

Just like in an individual session, make sure they're having fun, give them lots of verbal feedback and encourage, and occasionally show them the image on the back of your camera.

Day 57, Learning 57: We Are Our Own Subjects

In posing models the standard recommendation-- and one I fully support-- is that you show them how you want the pose.  If we want them to tilt their head at an angle, we'll show them by tilting our own head, or using our hand as an example.  I have on occasion, stood beside the model and mimicked the pose I want-- remember, you should never (i.e. rarely) touch your models. 

As much as we are physically mirroring our models on set, we are also emotionally mirroring them.  We can't simply command "be happy" or "smile."  We need to mirror that lightness, that playfulness, in our approach with them.  In that respect, we are the model.  The photographer isn't invisible behind the camera.  That's a fallacy.  The photographer is mirrored in the subject and entirely visible in the image.

In working with models over time you develop a verbal patter that allows you to encourage and support your models.  For a model it can be incredibly awkward in front of the lens with no feedback.  As photographers we can become totally absorbed in the technical aspects of the work, especially if they are not going as we had planned.  The best approach is real and honest dialogue and interest.  There are times, I'll confess, when I'm too distracted for that and rely on stock phrases:  "that's good, that's great, nice, excellent, I like that, you look great, wow...."  The best advice I can offer is to occasionally put the camera down and just talk.

Personally, I don't like working with a tethered monitor.  Everyone starts looking at it and adjusting themselves accordingly-- and they stop paying attention to your direction.  I do, however, show the image on the back of the camera. It's hugely encouraging and builds trust in your work.

Day 53, Learning 53: Bettering the Snapshot

What's the difference between a photograph and a snapshot?  We could start an endless debate on that one because there are no concrete rules to either that are exclusive.  Many of the great portrait artists disdain smiles-- "smile for the camera," mom always said because she hates to see unhappy children.  After years of having that drilled into our heads we automatically smile as gamely as we can whenever a lens is pointed at us.  Face the camera is another rule we somehow learned.  As a result the world has produced an almost infinite number of images of people chest towards the camera glaring it down.  A whole set of conventions have worked their way into the social norm that characterize the snapshot, making it a cliché.

It's almost inevitable that when someone hands you their camera and asks you to take their picture that they'll stand facing the camera smiling as hard as they can, displaying all of the hallmarks of the "snapshot."  That look is then copied to a hundred different locations in eerily similar poses.  But you're a photographer, right?  You want to create something memorable.  All of the conventions of polite society are screaming at you to just simply press the damn shutter, but you need to make it better.  To make it something they will cherish.  Here's a few tips on how:

1. Take the darn picture they asked for.  Exactly as they asked for it.  Then:
2. Take another.
3. Move.  Most likely they'll keep their feet planted and turn their head to follow you.
4. Crouch down.  Polite convention dictates that you raise the camera up to your eye, but you know darn well that it should be at the mid point between the top and the bottom of the frame.  If it is a "waist up" shot, the camera should be at upper chest level.  Move it there.
5. Give them direction:  "Alright everybody look left!  You on the end-- put your hand on your hip."  When they handed you the camera they turned over control of the situation, and you can keep it for a couple of shots.  They're having fun.  Be a photographer.  Change perspectives, create angles, if they wanted an environmental group portrait zoom in for a close-up; or vice versa.

Day 40, Learning 40: Eye Room

All rules are meant to be broken.  That's the only one that seems to point true North.  But all rules serve a purpose, and there are several for framing the face in an extreme close up:

• Always include the chin
• Always keep the eyes in the upper 2/3rds of the frame; you can go higher, but lower is dull
• If the person is looking away from the camera (and their face isn't centered) put the negative space in the direction their nose is pointing

Day 39, Learning 39: Photographing People with Glasses

Photoshoping reflections out of eyeglasses is a real pain, and it's difficult to make the eye behind the glass look good.  The better solution is to shoot it in a way that eliminates or reduces the glare. 

Reflections are caused, of course, by the light bouncing off the glass back in the direction of the camera.  One solution is to place your light source well to one side (or turn your model away from the light).  This works well, but it also changes the lighting everywhere else-- something you might not want.  The other way to avoid glare is to tilt the eyeglasses down by raising the backside of the frames up above the ears.  The hair typically masks this cheat, and the eye isn't drawn to the back of the glasses.  No Photoshop in the above image.  If you look carefully you can see that her frames are a good inch above her ears.  Be careful, though, that they are on straight-- lift one side higher than the other and they'll sit on the nose crooked.

Day 22, Learning 22: Photographing Bands

Twelve Tips for photographing bands:

1. KNOW THEIR NAMES.  Memorize them before you show up.
2. Learn about them, their music, their public personas, and hopes for the shoot
3. Conduct a pre-interview to get to know them better and understand their hopes/desires
4. Match the music to the clothes to the location
5. Scout, scout, scout (location, location, location)
6. Bring a set piece: a chair, couch, tractor, whatever.  Consider working with opposites-- put a ratty chair in a dreamy location
7. Make a shot list.  1 shot per 10 minutes, 15 minutes between for setting up, and an additional 15 minutes if they need to change clothes
8. You or they need an assistant, someone to help corral them, grab things, etc.
9. Be strict with the time schedule; get everyone there early to "touch base."  Musicians and punctuality often don't mix well
10. Be confident and give direction just as if you were working with an individual model
11. Take candid shots between the set-ups
12. Capture personality.  Look for their individual personalities during the pre-interview, and pose them accordingly.  Let the shy one look away, the dominant take the frame.  Then mix it up
13. Be ready for a square format request (for CDs)  and frame accordingly

And of course, have fun.

Day 15, Learning 15: Posing plus size models

Working with your subject is one of the four major areas of photography expertise (whatever your subject is... people, architecture, food, dogs).  People who are heavier-set often avoid being photographed because they dislike how the pictures emphasize the parts of themselves they’re unhappy with, while de-emphasizing the parts of them they are pleased with.  And that’s the key to photographing larger people: find and focus on the parts of them they love.

I don’t want to make this a diatribe, but beauty and strength reside in many places in the human body.  There are a few “slam dunks” when it comes to these areas:  the eyes, and the smile.  But there are also plenty of other areas to explore.  And there are a number of ways to minimize the areas that the person doesn’t like.  So here are some guidelines and some tips:

Guidelines:

• If you don’t want some part of their body in the image, don’t put it there.  Move in closer and crop it.
• If you can’t exclude it, hide it: angle it away from the lens, or tuck it behind a door frame or couch arm.
• If you can’t exclude it, shape it with light.  We’ll talk about that in the tips section
• Resist the urge to photoshop it.  That can be offensive

10 Tips:

1. Create space between the arms and the body.  Show the curves
2. Position the face closest to the lens
3. Keep the arms off the breasts and torso
4. Arch the neck slightly up and forward
5. Position the body so that it creates a V shape.  For example, sit them on a chair, put their foot on a stool, and cross the arms over their forward knee.  The crossing of the arms creates a V or hourglass.
6. Shoot from slightly above the subject
7. When standing, increase the angle so that it’s closer to being a profile shot (say 50 degrees rather than 30 or 40)
8. When standing, cross the legs, or bend on leg towards the other.
9. When posing with another person, tuck the larger one slightly behind the thinner so they keep the same “ratio of space” in the frame
10. Ask them what parts of their body they like the best, and focus on them!

Day 14, Learning 14: Er... squinching?

Hmm.  Okay.  If you're aiming for "cool" in your portraiture this Peter Hurley technique has (I'm embarrassed to say) about a 70% success rate in adding something.  It's Peter's new "thing," and he's been stumping it campaign style for the past month.  If you haven't heard about it yet, it goes like this:

You can add a bit of Hollywood cool or sultry to your look by squinting slightly.  It's really a half-squint: in a full squint you tighten both the top and bottom of your eyelid and it naturally pulls in on the side.  Do this in a photo and you're likely to be mistaken for a perv.  Squinching is really when you slightly tighten the lower eyelid.  This works best when the subject is looking directly at the camera.  Takes a bit of practice to know what you're going for, so grab a mirror.  Or check out this video.

I'm going to point out one of the major drawbacks of this technique which may get me flamed.  It makes everyone's expression exactly the same; it has no real personality, only faux personality.  That doesn't mean squinching doesn't belong in your bag of tricks or photo session.  After all, everyone feels anger, or detachment, or sexy from time to time-- this is a shortcut for conveying those emotions.  It's shortcoming is a woman may squinch at you when she's feeling sexy, but she's probably doing other things as well to convey how she's feeling, things that create a unique dimension to her personality.  Those things are lost in a shortcut.  But it's worth playing around with in a photo session, because sometimes manifesting something externally leads to its authentic emotion internally. Being a theatre director these are familiar techniques; perhaps I'll write a post about directing, acting, and posing....

Day 11, Learning 11: Classical poses

There are some basic rules for “classical” poses for portraiture, and they naturally differ for men or women.

Women:

• Angle the body away from the light, and then turn the face back towards it
• If standing, shift the weight onto the rear foot
• If seated, angle the knees 45 degrees away from the light and turn the head back towards it.  Sit them on the front edge of the chair, and lean them forward slightly
• Keep the arms/hands asymmetrical, with the near hand higher so that the closest shoulder is slightly higher than the rear shoulder.  Remember to create diagonal lines with the arms.
• If they have long hair, drape it towards the far side, or lower shoulder

Men:

• Angle the body towards the light so it hits the chest directly (this is the opposite of the women)
• Turn the head back towards the camera
• Shift weight onto the back foot
• Position the hands (on the hips, in the pockets, etc.) so that the far shoulder is higher than the near shoulder-- this is also the opposite of the women

There are plenty of subtleties to classical posing-- crossing the legs away from the camera if the woman is seated, the tilting of the head back towards the low shoulder if male, etc-- but these are the basics. 

In terms of lighting, the Loop pattern is the most common, with a fill about 1.5 stops lower and coming from on axis with the camera.  Naturally, a light meter is helpful in setting those light ratios....

Okay, so let's see how the image at the top of the compared-- hey, wait a minute....

Day Nine, Learning Nine: Posing hands

 

Learning, I’m finding, tends to go in trends.  From yesterday’s exploration of posing the body, I’m going further to working specifically with hands.  Hands often look awkward on camera; they’re very complicated limbs.  So here are some more tips for working with models:

1.  As before, keep the hand and wrist relaxed (can’t emphasize that enough)

2.  Have them do something:  adjusting rings, bracelets, watches; twirling hair

3. Remember to create gaps with your hands as well.  Let us see through them

4. For women, keep the pinky side closest to the camera.  Never face the back of the hand towards the camera

5. When hands are one hips, lift the palm up so that its cupped; don’t let it sustain weight

6. Fingers on a hand should all point in the same basic direction.  Don’t “splay” them out

7. When hands are at the face, avoid actually touching.  It smears make-up and creates indentation shadows

8.  And finally, when in doubt, lift the forefinger like in ballet