Question on posing models

[bdavis]

I'm looking for some good resources to learn how to pose models. Can someone point me in the right direction?

I also need a little help on cropping photos. I know there are certain "rules" to cropping and there are certain things you are supposed to be careful of when cropping (like don't crop at joints), can someone tell me where I can find this information? Thanks in advance!

 

[Big Mike]

One good resource for model poses...is to look though magazines related to the theme of your shoot. Fashion mags for fashion models etc. Find poses that you like and maybe even tear out those pages to use as a reference while shooting or planing the shoot.
And, of course, searching the web for images on interest.

As for actually posing them...here is a good resource for posing people for portraits....http://web.archive.org/web/20011230113846/www.zuga.net/freelessons/jzindex.shtml

 

[bdavis]

Nice find Mike, I'll read through it. The images/information might be a little dated but I'm sure the same "rules" apply now as they did then. I guess what I'm really looking for is something a bit more modern and new-agey like you would see in the magazines, so it looks like I've got some flipping to do. I was just hoping there was a book or something about this sort of thing.

 

[Chairman7w]

Part of what you're asking for, is what is gained from years of experience.

In photography (like any other hobby/profession), there are no shortcuts. If you want to be good at something you've got to study it, and do it a long time.

If you read a lot about it, and did it for three years, you'd look back and see how much better you are than when you started. (That's MY goal anyway! )

To be honest too, some people just have "it" when it comes to creativity, and are able to "come up" with cool ideas, poses and compositions. There's a TON of people that can do it all well technically (correct lighting, aperture, shutter, etc), and even pose their model "correctly". But then there's that small percentage that knock it out of the park, in putting all those factors together in a very special way.

I recommend heading to your local Borders or Barnes and Noble book store, there's tons of good books on that stuff. One of my favorites is Digital Portraits, by Steve Stint.