Posing question

[Designer]

I find her super annoying.

OMG! I watched the first few minutes, and what they were doing with that model's top was just SO BAD! Not watching the remainder of it. (subtitle) How to make a terrible video.

 

[Donde]

I wouldn't care to see the arms of the woman speaking in the video.

But to the photo in question I do find the fat upper arm unappealing and a pose to be avoided.

 

[crimbfighter]

Thanks for the suggestions! With regard to her arm, do you mean to have her move her hand farther away from her body or turn her elbow out? And you were correct, she was supporting her weight with it.

I typically just point the elbow out but try other things to see how they look.

Thanks for the clarification!

I agree that she is not overweight but the arm looks oddly misshapen in the photo. Not sure if it would have jumped out at me quite so much if you hadn’t pointed it out but now that I’ve noticed it, I can’t unnotice it and it’s all I see.

That's kinda what happened to me. She's a very pretty girl and I think it was just an unfortunate circumstance of this pose.

I agree with Derrel that her shirt is a bigger issue than the arm. My eyes were drawn there first.

Agreed, it is an issue. Unfortunately we were quite on the go so I didn't always remember to have her pull it down..

 

[crimbfighter]

Any suggestions?

Ignore.

Who is being concerned by the arm? The model? You? Her mother?

I see nothing about the arm that needs to be changed in any way. Natural human arm.

Now a different pose might do what you want (not knowing what that is), but for this pose, which is an informal HS photo of a young woman, it is what it is.

Thanks for the reply! I assure you nobody was terribly concerned about the arm. In fact the client hadn't even seen the photos yet when I posted this. In the interest of self improvement I had tried a new pose, discovered it created an unflattering issue with her arm, and sought to ask the community if there were ways to correct it. I won't go so far as to have a high school senior contort his or her body into crazy positions in pursuit of the perfect pose, but if there is something simple I can do, like move the hand out a few inches, adjust my camera angle a bit, etc. that will create a better outcome, I'll do it. Or I'll just scrap the pose and move on!

 

[DanOstergren]

Here's a Sue Bryce video on slimming model poses. She shows how to control the upper arm in poses.

Although people have taken to talking badly of Sue Bryce and even going as far as discouraging you from watching the video here, do not listen to them. Sue knows what she is talking about and I second the suggestion of watching that video, or any of her other videos. She really knows her stuff when it comes to this and is a fantastic educator and photographer.


Sent from my iPhone using ThePhotoForum.com mobile app

 

[JoeW]

I'm going to focus solely on the question of the tricep bulging out and not address other comments on the pose.

1. It's a common problem, especially with a lot of women (who have less upper body strength). It's not about being overweight, just having some skin there that isn't muscle.

2. Have her turn her left hand so the fingers face the camera. This will usually reduce the bulge and also make it less obvious.

3. Put less weight on that left arm. Tricky to do without creating a stiff pose. But that bulge comes when you put weight on the arm. Use the arm as a prop, not for support. So she needs to lean back, extend that arm but not lean on it. For her build, that will make that upper arm quite slim.
4. Last resort--use liquify and reduce that bulging tricep.

I'm going to make one last comment about the pose in general but it helps the left arm. Have her twist at the waist more to the camera (so waist and below is side profile, above the waist is 1/4 to the camera). Twisting at the waist will take 5 pounds off. PLUS...it will also put more of the tricep BEHIND her and not in the view of the camera.

 

[crimbfighter]

I'm going to focus solely on the question of the tricep bulging out and not address other comments on the pose.

1. It's a common problem, especially with a lot of women (who have less upper body strength). It's not about being overweight, just having some skin there that isn't muscle.

2. Have her turn her left hand so the fingers face the camera. This will usually reduce the bulge and also make it less obvious.

3. Put less weight on that left arm. Tricky to do without creating a stiff pose. But that bulge comes when you put weight on the arm. Use the arm as a prop, not for support. So she needs to lean back, extend that arm but not lean on it. For her build, that will make that upper arm quite slim.
4. Last resort--use liquify and reduce that bulging tricep.

I'm going to make one last comment about the pose in general but it helps the left arm. Have her twist at the waist more to the camera (so waist and below is side profile, above the waist is 1/4 to the camera). Twisting at the waist will take 5 pounds off. PLUS...it will also put more of the tricep BEHIND her and not in the view of the camera.

Thank you for the suggestions, they are quite helpful!

 

[Christie Photo]

OK. If this was in front front of me...

I would first ask her to rotate her hips toward me so that he weight is more on her left hip and not so flat on her butt.

I'd ask her to slide her right foot further out a bit and rest her arm on the knee rather than grasping it with her hand. This will cause her to lean in a bit, taking the weight off of her left arm. She should, at this point, be able to easily lift her left hand. I'd do a couple of shots with her left hand in different positions.

BUT.... (now, don't throw stuff at me).... I like would have asked her to change into something with sleeves before we began the series. Besides, I don't like this particular outfit against this background. For me (just my opinion), I feel the clothing and the setting are out of key.