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Photographing a plus-size woman
I'm being hired to photograph a woman who has an absolutely beautiful face but who is more than a bit on the plus-size. The shoot will be outdoors with available light. I will have fill-flash and reflectors that her husband can help with. Are there any suggestions for capturing the most flattering portraits? I'd really like to do a bang-up job. For one thing, she gives me my weekly allergy shots. Thank you, Richard Oct 12 12 08:55 am Link Ragtop Photography wrote: Oct 12 12 09:10 am Link Feel free to check through my profile to see if anything in there might inspire you! I've worked with some really awesome photographers that really knew how to shoot my body  I hope the shoot goes great!  Oct 12 12 09:15 am Link with out having seen the subject and not knowing the reasons behind the pictures then advice is soley guess work there are of course many beutiful and photogenic plus sized models that need no direction or issues as they can work it well. when dealing with joe public portraits its a different approach styling helps or concentrate on the flattering images and positives of the subejct.. if she has a really beautiful face then homing in on head shots would be my objective so the balance that make it through to presentation would be weighted in that direction flattering by framing and angles.. using all the old tricks in the book to create nice straight forward images. keeping it simple will keep you form being poisoned the next time you go for a jab Oct 12 12 09:15 am Link Evie_Wolfe wrote: +1 Oct 12 12 09:17 am Link Ragtop Photography wrote: A bit of research on posing would help a great deal in this area. There are many, many tips on poses and lighting that will help your situation. Obviously, you don't want to shoot that person head-on in most cases. It's all about the angles to the camera, accentuating features, and minimizing others. Wardrobe plays a part as well. Oct 12 12 09:23 am Link Ragtop Photography wrote: for flattering photographs you'll need clothing that is flattering. Oct 12 12 09:25 am Link Check out suebryce.com, look at her "curves" portraits and if you have time, her posing guide for bigger women. Oct 12 12 09:32 am Link Ragtop Photography wrote: Well if you're doing portraits (as opposed to something more "modely"), just shoot her like you would anyone else. Its not rocket science. Oct 12 12 09:42 am Link OP, almost all of your shots are very flat lighting, including a surprising number using on camera flash. I think you would be much better off using more "sculpting" light to give her, or anyone, some shape. Oct 12 12 09:51 am Link do things to hide/minimize her torso (DOF blur, shadow, obstruction). have her peek out from behind a tree. make the focus on head and boobs. in the studio we shoot from above wide open or put them on their tummy or do headshots. depends on their personality. some big girls seem fine with it and you can just shoot them normally. watch out for double chins. have them stretch their neck or shoot from above. try to make sure there's a jawline, not jowls. Oct 12 12 09:57 am Link Many many thanks for the suggestions, including how to avoid the flat lighting of many of my images. I will be examining the sites that were recommended. The woman (who is not a model) is one of my favorite people and I want to give her great images. Richard Oct 12 12 02:45 pm Link I'd say avoid telephotos and go for the wides to slim her out if beauty is your goal. Me, I shoot big girls BECAUSE they are big so I'm not interested in fantasy images. Maybe a 50mm instead of an 85 or 105 for portraits and a 35mm for full figure shots as opposed to the longer lenses. And yes, shadows can take away inches if used creatively. So can the clothing. Oct 12 12 02:59 pm Link |
