Huge 'uh, duh!' moment today with regards to posing

fjrabon

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So, last night I was doing review of a lot of recent senior sessions. I noticed I was really nailing the serious poses, but my happy poses were falling a tiny bit flat. I still think they were good, but a little bit was missing.

This morning I was re-reading Jeff Smith's 'posing for portraits', as I've been going through and doing a re-read of the books that have helped me the most (by the way, everybody should do that, I find it shocking how much more I pick up on every time I do that that I guess I must have glossed over the first time).

Anyway, I came to the bit about mirroring. ie that your clients will mirror you. If you have an easygoing smile, they'll have an easygoing smile. If you're serious, they'll be serious.

I realized that in an effort to seem professional around a bunch of very attractive high school girls, I had gotten too serious throughout the session. I had become so worried with the appearance of flirting with the girls that I had become I guess a little too formal. And the girls' smiles were picking up on that. Their smiles were seeming a little forced, because even though they were trying to smile, they were mirroring my demeanor. Duh. Basics 101.

Anyway, I'm starting to remember how much of a 'method actor' you have to be to be a really good senior photographer. Literally changing your demeanor based on what the clients demeanor should be for the shot, and making it not just seem genuine, but actually be genuine.

Our facial expressions are amazing things. Our brains are so fine tuned to pick up on fake facial expressions that you have to be able to transcend whatever mood you are in, and get in the mood you want your subject to convey, so that there expressions are more genuine.

Anyway, just thought I would share. I guess the next time you're having a hard time really getting that knockout smile, think "well, am I giving her a knockout smile?" If they can't get serious for a serious pose think "well, am I talking weird and giving a big goofy smile?"

Use your facial expressions, body language and tone of voice to convey the mood you want to convey. Fairly basic, but I think in the heat of worrying about lights, settings, body angles, we sometimes forget what it is that we, as photographers are conveying, which is often the most important thing.
 
Posing and creating that connection are so important. Also more difficult to do than most believe.
 
Posing and creating that connection are so important. Also more difficult to do than most believe.

Yeah, I think it was because we had a large company wide meeting about being professional with opposite sex clients recently, because an EXTREMELY conservative mother complained about interaction between a female photographer and her son was too 'familiar'. I probably overreacted to that without realizing it.

And you'd also be surprised at how many who are good at 'creating the connection' then struggle with serious poses, because they then can't get formal. You literally have to be a good method actor to really kill it.
 

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