Why posing skills are an important part of portrait photography

Expensive cameras, lenses, and light systems alone cannot create great portraits. Many photographers are often disappointed when they use their expensive gear for portrait photography. There is a good reason for this: great equipment will only take you so far because it is important to learn how to pose your model and shape the light. When all these come together you will be well on your way to creating great portraits.

If you asked me for one important tip in portrait photography, I would simply say “Learn POSING”. The human body is amazing with so many details and flexible parts, which is why we can communicate with gestures and our body (body language).

The dictionary defines posing as: “to assume a particular attitude or position in order to be photographed, painted, or drawn.” As a photographer you are responsible to create a successful pose for your model. A successful pose is a position or attitude that talks to and speaks to viewers.

There are many different rules for feminine and masculine posing as well as basic poses. In this article I am going to cover one of the fundamental ones called “Negative Space.”

When posing your model, one technique to make people slimmer (and who doesn’t want to be slimmer in photos!) is to use Negative Space. It means to pose the arms away from the body. This effectively shows the shape of the body without adding appearance of extra width to it.

I have found that Negative Space works for both genders equally when applied correctly. In my Portrait Photography Workshop I cover many more tips and show you ways to use them to improve portrait photographs. Check our Upcoming Photography Classes for more details.
Give this simple yet important tip a try and stay tuned for more articles on portrait photography.
Ted and the Omnilargess Team