|
Forums >
Photography Talk >
Directing Poses
Directing poses is an area that I really need to improve. I'm googling around, but I thought some people here might have some resources that are good to review or buy. Mar 31 12 11:55 pm Link Kal Photo wrote: Good question something I have a hard time with also, especially shooting guys, that aren't models, they all want to stuff their hands in their pockets or cross their arms and look tough. Apr 01 12 12:01 am Link Terms like "Do the thing with your arm/leg" "The other pose" "Do something more.... different" and my personal favorite "Move that" are all very helpful  It's all very relative to what you're trying to shoot right? I know some dance, so if I'm lost, I may use some of that to help me. Look up poses/actions you like for a shoot you want to do. Copy them onto a jump drive and show them to the llama. Apr 01 12 12:05 am Link FotoMark wrote: Tip that Zack Arias gives a lot..have them do the "Rapper Rub"..have them rub their hands together like they are putting lotion on their hands..have them just bend their arms in a comfortable position and have them start rubbing..it not only gives their hands something to do, but i keeps them relaxed and moving, so they don't become static. Apr 01 12 12:11 am Link FotoMark wrote: Yeah. I imagine this fantastic website out there that has a list of categories: Apr 01 12 12:13 am Link FotoMark wrote: LOL Apr 01 12 12:28 am Link Being able to direct a model is an essential skill, so long as you don't go into over-drive and start posing models from head-to-toe. Poses should always look natural, however unnatural they really are. Apr 01 12 02:53 am Link
Post hidden on Apr 01, 2012 05:09 am
Reason: other Comments: Spam Stop! Apr 01 12 03:01 am Link Check Youtube for Jerry Ghionis. He's an Aussie wedding tog who has a great way of making people feel comfortable and getting them into cool poses. Many of the tips translate well to llamas. Apr 01 12 03:02 am Link first thing to tell everyone. "WHEN I SAY MOVE YOUR ARM A BIT I MEAN A BIT AND I MEAN JUST YOUR ARM" once they understand that you are already happy with the pose in general and you don't want them to move all over the place it usually becomes easy, especially if you tell them that later you will let them flail to their heart's content. That covers the positioning. for emotions, tell them to start by relaxing their face before telling them what you are going for. flat face - then.....whatever you want. chances are they will have changed the pose the minute you told them what the emotion is. First time they do this tell them nicely that you have to start all over. they will not do it again. once they get the position and emotion of the pose you may have to do a micro micro adjustment of something because it might not turn out the way you expected. give them feed back by showing them how it turned out the first time. gradually wean them off feedback until you are at the point when the only time you show them is when something just rocked so hard you need to show..for you. At that point you can put down all the instructions because obv you are in the zone. As for guys who aren't models I'd love ideas on that. Apr 01 12 03:29 am Link Back when I bought my first iPhone I found this app for poses: Poses Professional By Trollwerks Inc. http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/poses-pr … ?mt=8&ls=1 I have never actually used it but it's cool... Apr 01 12 05:10 am Link For most photographers, making the experience memorable is as important as getting the shot. This can be done painlessly. Part of directing is building instant rapport and putting people at ease. So before you are directing, you need to be working towards that. Also bear in mind, every battle plan goes out of the window once the fog of war sets in, sometimes letting the model be themselves helps you discover a perfect pose or moment. There are various ways to communicate. 1. Stick drawings, storyboards, sketches. 2. Actually demonstrating the pose yourself, also a good way to put people at ease and make the experience fun. Usually models will laugh, but you've explained it well. 3. Practice - I mean practice directing. Most beginner models will exaggerate the pose too much or move too quickly or move too far in the pose. 4. Show them the pics. Show them what works, what doesn't. Ask a model to look straight at the camera. Observe her nose. In most cases it won't be pointing at the camera. Remember you are the mirror for the model, they can't see themselves, your voice is everything, keep the rapport going, show the model where she is in her environment, they might not be orientated as they thought. Also they misinterpret direction, you said "look up" but they moved their chin up, just again it's all down to communication. The worst examples I've seen are perhaps when a model walked on set and the photographer just said "Dance!", I had to bite my lip it was so crass. Apr 01 12 05:29 am Link Sometimes it helps to be specific. One of the worst instructions I ever gave to a model was during an outdoor windy day location shoot several years ago. The model had been doing pretty well at flowing from one pose to another (or a variation), then suddenly she seemed stuck. So I said "Do something with your hair." By that I meant run her fingers through her hair or something along those lines. The model walked over to her bag, sat down and pulled out a mirror and a hairbrush. It was one of those days when her hair was going to be mussed no matter what she did, which was fine for what we were shooting. I cracked up, and she became flustered. (Couldn't help it. My bad. I apologized profusely.) I'm a firm believer in planning shoots. I have several hundred tearsheets of recent ads and editorial images that I've scanned and grouped into several PDF files. Many times, before a shoot, the model and I email back and forth and select images (from MM or elsewhere) that are good examples of a look we're going for. So we know before the shoot what looks we'll doing and have a pretty good idea of some of the types of poses we'll be using for each look before the shoot even begins. Next step is putting the the PDFs on an iPad, then organizing the looks for a specific shoot in a separate PDF that can be used like a storyboard as a reminder of what's next. The best "posing guide" I've seen is actually a DVD for photographers on working with models by Detroit area photographer Mary Duprie. From this DVD, a photographer can learn not only how to direct (female) models - but also how to teach them to pose by what I call "modeling in motion," creating a theoretically infinite number of poses by making small, incremental changes in pose after each shot. Mary also has a two-DVD set for models who don't want to have to find a photographer who has the DVD for photographers. Just Google "Mary Duprie DVD." Apr 01 12 06:05 am Link I like to bring to the shoot an iPad with a few dozen images I've selected that I believe will work, based on the model I'm shooting (body type, setting, etc., etc.) and that fit the level of exposure the model and I have agreed on. That way with each new setup I can show her exactly what I'm looking for. She can study the photograph as she moves into her pose, and make whatever adjustments are necessary after viewing the first few test frames. I know that some here think it's somehow cheating to mimic another artist's work, but I believe that even the best artists' best work is derivative. After all, let's face it—the human body can only be twisted and posed into a finite number of unique positions; same thing with facial expressions. There is no such thing as a 'new' pose, unless perhaps you're a four-armed contortionist. Anyway, the iPad image really enables me to slice through most of the verbal communications challenges and explain exactly what I'm looking for. Apr 01 12 06:10 am Link If you can bend it, bend it. Nuff said. Apr 01 12 06:39 am Link Kal Photo wrote: I'm not quite sure what you mean by "directing poses." That could mean everything from coming up with winning poses to giving directions. I'll offer a grab-bag of suggestions here and hopefully some of them will apply to your situation. Apr 01 12 06:45 am Link 1. Learn to pose yourself. It looks hilarious, but if you can do the pose, they can mimic it. 2. Don't @#$%ing touch the model. If you have to, announce that you're going to and what you're going to do. Apr 01 12 06:55 am Link I learned over the years that it's better to pose and have the model mirror your look, and give up telling them to move their "right" or "left" because some of them get thrown off. My main issue with posing nowadays is uber-experienced models saying they don't need help posing and they start right off with typical stuff I've seen a thousand times. I compromise and ask them to hold a certain pose and then alter parts of it slightly. I like for models not to move out of a pose until I say so because I may shoot several variations on the framework of the pose, but super experienced models move after every *click*. That's why I love newbies! :^) Apr 01 12 07:03 am Link I like the ones that hear the click and change poses. Shoot goes a lot faster that way and I don't have 20 pictures of the same pose. Apr 01 12 07:04 am Link My feeling is that unless your model is very, very talented, nearly all "directed" poses look stiff & artificial. My style is to encourage movement. I usually work with studio strobes, so blurred movement is not an issue, but I often work in ambient light which requires a slower shutter speed -- even so, I encourage movement, but I might ask the model for slower movement. Besides, blurs can be fun, too. But that's just me. Apr 01 12 07:16 am Link Greg Easton Photography wrote: If I could occasionally plant different posing foundations in a model's mind throughout the shoot and she'd work around that, I'd work with more of those legends, and that's something I'll try. But I don't like when I'm paying and she's steering in a direction that's far from what I imagined beforehand. Apr 01 12 07:19 am Link OmnyRa wrote: I don't pay models so I have no frame of reference but regardless, you're steering. If you find she's steering (ESPECIALLY if you're paying) you just need to tell her how you want it to go and she'll probably let you drive. Apr 01 12 07:24 am Link http://shootthecenterfold.com/store/ http://www.jensfabulousstuff.com/shop/e … uides.html i think the thing is that not everyone is built to do every pose. you have to find poses that work for your particular model/customer. like if they are BBW then maybe head and boobs shots are in order and get them on their tummy. there are some standard poses and signature shots per genre that are good to learn because they are fairly safe. learn some things to do with the hands. a lot of people aren't used to having the hands anywhere above the waist. have them play with a necklace or their hair. Apr 01 12 07:28 am Link the experienced models can do all the posing without direction from the photographer for the most part (they just sort of slide from one pose to another). one reason they are great for the newbies. if you really want a challenge of having to direct a model then maybe look for a newbie model (although they've all seen ANTM). Greg Easton Photography wrote: Apr 01 12 07:30 am Link well, for fashion isn't the pose supposed to look weird? kind of insect-like almost. one guy advised having the model look up and then capturing them just as they are looking up so it's not a static pose that they've held. i like having that kind of implied motion in the shots. Looknsee Photography wrote: Apr 01 12 07:33 am Link my go to posing guide: (favorite pose is right foot yellow)  but honestly i show the model the pose i want. and i learned to tell their left hand from their right hand, etc. Apr 01 12 08:23 am Link Rollo David Snook wrote: Great advice Apr 01 12 08:27 am Link Greg Easton Photography wrote: That's about it. Apr 01 12 08:37 am Link Filthy McNipples wrote: 1 Apr 01 12 08:45 am Link You really need to be more animated with your subjects. Don't be afraid to tell them what you want. YOU have to keep up the energy. Talk. Keep talking. Then talk some more. I see a lot of photographers who just get behind the camera and speak very softly and slowly. Ugh. Even if the model is a pro, they need to know what you want. One reason I like using a tripod is so I can move my arms and direct them a little easier. Or be able to walk away from the camera to go to them and move what I want or help them understand. Using a ball head really helps when using a tripod as well. Apr 01 12 09:11 am Link I think im ok with posing so if i break out into a ton of random poses/expressions, the models always end up copying me the same time, I look an idiot, but it gets the shots out of them Apr 01 12 09:17 am Link Lots of golden advice in here. I appreciate all of the responses. Apr 01 12 02:08 pm Link I do the "point your noise at my finger, and look at the camera with your eyes" trick a lot. Sometimes, I do the pose myself...which never looks as good on me as on the model. If all else fails, I physically position them with my hands like a GI Joe figure. Directing and subject interaction has been my strong suit from the begining though. Even, when I was shooting with a point-n-shoot and college parties, I was directing. I'm naturally a talkative and social person though. I usually just have a random silly conversation with the model through the shoot. Sometimes, it get's to point were I'm just rambling, talking to myself, or singing to myself. The models usually love it though, because I'm pretty laid back and goofy, so it makes them comfortable. I have other tricks. If they are nervous I intentionally direct them into something silly or intetionally try to throw them off to show them that they don't have to be perfect. The photographer sets the mood and pace of the shoot. If you are comfortable ad confident the model will be comfortable and confident. Eh, my set is my comfort zone...I could be shooting Lady Gaga and the president and be totally comfortable. Magazines are a good resource for studying poses. Any generic posing book should give you the basics on posing, like the whole CSI concept, and what to do with hands. The most important thing is the rapport though...which you really can't learn in a book. Apr 01 12 02:37 pm Link PhillipM wrote: Nuff! Apr 01 12 02:51 pm Link |
