Rulestogoodportraiture:byBenji

12052006
1. "Nosleevelessclothingintheheadandshouldersimage."

2. "Noshortsingroupportraits."

3. AvoidBrightColorsandBoldPatternsinClothing. Theideaofaportraitistoseethe faceofthesubject.Brightlycoloredclothingandboldpatternsdrawtheeyeawayfrom thesubject'sface.(Thisisespeciallytrueintheheadandshouldersportrait.) 4. AvoidFootballShouldersThebodyshouldnotbeturnedstraighttothecamera. 5. SolidPyramidalBaseThebodyshouldnotbeturned90degreesawayfromthe camera. 45degreesisusuallytheidealanglefortheheadandshouldersportrait. Posingsomeoneata90degreeangletothecameradoesnotallowtheheadtoappear tohavepropersupport. Afterposingthesubjectata45degreeangle,bringthearms

outtoformthesidesofthepyramid.

6. CorrectPosingStoolHeightIhavefoundthata24inchtallstepladderworks wonderfullyasaposingstoolfornearlyallofmytraditionalheadshots,providedmy subjectisnotveryoverweight.Fortheoverweightsubjectuseatallerstooltoallow theirpaunchtodrop.Iaddedawidertoprung(theseat)tothewoodenladder becausemostpeople'sbunsarewiderthan4inches! 7. SitTall(Rule7)Donotallowyoursubjecttoslumpoverorgetroundshouldered. 8. (Females)LeanSlightlyAwayFromTheCamera. Ialsoplaceasmallwoodenwedge underthebuttockclosesttothecamera.Thiswillkeeptheshoulderthatisclosestto thecamerahigherthantheotherone,butwillstillallowthesubjecttorelax.Iadded "sides"tomywidenedtoprungwithslotsonbothsidesforthewedgetofitinto.

9. LeanForwardSlightly"Overthebeltbuckle."Thiseliminatesthestaticstraightupand downlookandwillgiveafeelingofmovementandmotiontotheportrait.

10. ProjectTheChinEspeciallyifyoursubjecthasafullordoublechin.Byprojectingthe chinouttowardthecameraandusingaslightlyhighercamerapositionthedoublechin canbenearlyeliminated.Photoshopcanfinishtherest! 11. ProperHeadTiltNevertipamansheadtothehigh(feminine)shoulderashewilllook feminine.Women'sheadscanbetippedtowardeithershoulder,butthefeminine shoulderismoreappealing.

12. ProperEyeDirectionGenerallyspeaking,inmalestheeyesshouldfollowthedirection ofthenose. Forfemalesthereshouldbeslightlymorewhitesoftheeyesononeside thanontheother. Rule12a.Theeyesshouldneverbeturnedsofarintheirsockets thatthereisnowhiteareaononeside. Aslightlyhighercameraanglewillgivemore whitesatthebottomthanatthetopwhichismoreappealinginimagesofyoung females.Somewisesageoncesaid"Theeyesarethewindowstothesoul." Thisis nottosaythateveryimagemusthavethesubjectlookingdirectlyatthelens,butit seemsmostpeoplelikeimagesthatthesubjectislookingatthecamera(them)and

salesdatawillbearthisouttobetrue.

13. ProperCameraHeightGenerallyspeaking,thecameralensshouldbeatabouteye levelforheadandshouldersportraits,chinleveltochestlevelforlengthandchest leveltowaistlevelforfulllengthportraits. Anevenlowercameraheightforheavyset brides,thatareposedstanding,willmakeherappeartallerandmore"regal."

14. UseThe122orThe132PosingTechnique.Maleslookbestwiththe122.Females lookbestwiththe132technique. Foracompleterundownandadditional informationonthistechniqueseemypostinginthistutorialsubforumentitledThe12

3PosingTechnique.
15. AvoidFlatLighting. Portraitsusuallylookbestwithonesidebrighterthantheother side. Whentheshadowsideofthefaceisclosesttothelensitiscalledshortlighting. Shortlightingwillmakethefaceappearnarrowerandmoreslender. Iftheshadowis onthesideoppositeofthelensitiscalledbroadlighting. Broadlightingwillmakethe faceappearwiderandheavier. Flatlightingiswheretherearenoshadowsontheface atall. Oncameraflashwillgiveyouflatlighting. Intheimagebelow,theflatlitimage waslitwithmyhomemaderinglight,theotherwitha24x32inchsoftboxwith

louversatcameraright.

16. WatchtheNoseandCheekLineThefaceshouldnotbeturnedsofarawayfromthe camerathatthenosewillbreakornearlybreakthefarcheekline.Thiswillmakethe noselooklarge.16a.Thefareyeshouldeitherbeenseencompletelyornotbeseenat all,butoneshouldneverphotographthefacesothatonly1/2ofthefareyeshows. Notethatthisposewillalsocausethesubject'seyestohavetoomuchwhiteonone sideoftheeyeasopposedtotheothersideoftheeye(aviolationofrule12.)

17. AvoidClutterSimplicityisusuallybest! Toomanypropsinanimageorabusy, sharplyfocusedorbrightlylitbackgroundwillcreateconfusionfortheeye.

17a.Busyclothingwillcreateconfusionfortheeye. Theeyeshouldimmediatelybe drawnandrestuponthesubject. Usingatelephotolenswithalargeaperturewillgive youshortdepthoffieldwhichwillblurthebackground. Intheleftimagebelow,thepatternoftheblouseistoobusyandthebackgroundistoo sharp.Thesetwoproblemshavebeencorrectedintheimageontheright.Asimple blousechangeandmovingherforwardabout12feet(andsteppingbackwiththe camera12feet)allowedthebackgroundtobesoftened. Thiscouldalsobedonein

Photoshop. 18. CropBetweenTheJoints,NotAtthem. Croppingatajointmakesthesubjectappear amputated.Severalmonthsago,Icritiquedanimageonthe'netthatbrokethisrule andtheimagemakerrespondedthathesees"amputated"limbsinfashionmagazines allthetime. Itoldhimheneedstokeeptwothingsinmind.1.Hewasseeingthe imageaftertheartdirectorofthemagazinehadcroppedtheimagetofitthespace

allowedinthemagazine,andtheserulesaremainlyfortheportrait

photographer. 19. WatchRecessedCheekLinewithGlasses.Iusuallyhavethesubjectobtainempty eyeglassframeswhichwillsolvetheproblemimmediately.Otherwiseyoumayhave sacrificegoodlightingandturntheheadstraighttowardthecamera.

20. DontOveruseHairandKickerLightsThehairlightshouldkissthehair,notblastit.

Sameforthekickerlights. 21. IfItBends,BendItThisruleisperhapsthesinglemostimportantrule. 21a.Wherever thereisajoint,breakit. CombiningtheserulesalongwithRule8(Leanthebody overthebeltbuckle,Rule9LeanslightlyawayfromthecameraRule31Ifthesubject hastwoofthemmakethemdifferentandlastlyRule32(Ageneralrule)Avoid90 DegreeArmswillcreateaverydynamicimagedevoidofanystaticness. Theserules arebasicallytruewhethertheposeisaheadandshouldersposeorafulllengthseated pose. Noteinthepostedimagenothingisstraight(otherthanherwrists)orstraightupand down. Sheisata45degreeangletothecamera,leaningback,herhipsarecanted, hershouldersareslightlytipped,herheadistilted,herbacklegisbent,bothelbows arebent,allofherfingersarecurledandevenhereyesarenotstraightintheirsockets (Rule12.)Allofthisbending,leaning,tilting,twistingandturningalsohelpsin followingRule31,IfTheSubjectHasTwoofThem,MakeThemDifferent. Noteher handsarenotatthesameheightnoraretheyacrossfromoneanother,herelbowsare

atdifferentheights,herknees(eventhoughyoucan'tseethem)areattwodifferent

heights. 22. DontStackTheHandsorClaspThemTogetherSeperatethemandplacethemapart andbetweenthejoints.Hidetherearhandifpossibleingroupportraits. I'veposted

threeimagesshowinghowthisrulewasbrokenthreedifferentways.

23. SubduetheNearhandThehandthatisnearesttothelenswillappearlargerthanwhat itactuallyis. 23a.Don'tprojectthehandstowardthelensandkeepthemwithinthe rangeoffocus.23b.Generallyspeaking,ifthehandisabovethesubject'swaist,the fingersshouldbedirectedupwards. Ifbelowthewaist,thefingersshouldbedirected down. Thelittlefingersideofthehandphotograph'sbest. Iwillpostanimagethat doesNOTbreakthisrule.

24. DontPhotographTheBackofWomen'sHands. Thesidesaremuchmoregracefulthan theflatofthehand.Fistsaremasculine,openhandsarefeminine. Notehowmuch

moregracefultheedgesofthehandsoftheyoungladyinthesecondimagelooks whencomparedtotheflatbackofthehandinthefirstimage.

25. PlacetheWeightontheBackFootandshiftthehips(withstandingposes.)Thiswill putthehipsandshouldersatapleasingangle.Askthesubjecttopointherfootthatis nearesttothecameratowardthecameraandshiftherweighttothebackhip. This meansthefrontlegandfootwillhavenoweightonit. Sheshouldthenbendherknee

slightlytowardtheotherleg. ThiswillgiveapleasingScurvetoherbody.

26. (CouplesPortraiture)DoNotPhotographTwoHeadsattheSameHeightIdeallythe eyesoftheshortersubject(usuallythefemale)shouldbeatthesameheightasthe mouthofthetallersubject.

27. (CouplesorGroupPortraiture)HaveNoHeadDirectlyAboveAnotherAllheadsshould notonlybeatdifferentheightsbutalsonotdirectlyaboveanothersubject.

28. AvoidCrotchShotsRaisingthelegthatisclosesttothecamerainastandingposewill preventshootingintothesubjectscrotch. Ingroups,turningthesubject'sbodytoa45 degreeangleandkeepingthelegstogethershouldpreventshootingintothecrotch. Thisrulehasbeen"relaxed"inthelastdecadeorsoforhighschoolseniorimages, especiallyforboysandtoasomewhatlesserextentforgals.

29. UseTheRightKeyandGoodTasteGenerallyspeakingasubjectdressedinallwhite looksbestinamediumorhighkeybackground. Conversely,asubjectdressedindark clothinglooksbestonamediumordark(lowkey)background.Noteintheabove

image(thegalinrule#28)Ibrokethisrulebecausesheisdressedinblackwitha blackpropbutonawhitebackground. Againthisruleisfrequentlybrokenespeciallyin highschoolseniorportraiture. 30. IfTheSubjectHasTwoofThem,MakeThemDifferent. Feet,knees,arms,handsand elbowsatdifferentlevelsaremoreinterestingthanwhenplacedsidebyside. Notein thepostedimagethateverythingthatcanbemadedifferenthasbeenmadedifferent. Hishipsarenotlevel,hisshouldersarenotlevel,hisheadistippedtothemasculine shoulder,heisleaningslightly,hisknees,feet,arms,handsandelbowsarenotsideby sidebutareplacedatdifferentandmultiplelevels.Samenessleadstoboringnessina photographicimage.

31. Avoid"90Degree"Arms(ageneralruleforfemales.) DonBlaircalledthesearms "Carpenter'sTsquarearms." Gentlyflowinglinesusuallylookbestinportraitsofwomen. Ibrokethisruleinmy

exampleimageofrule25above.InmybridalexamplebelowIfollowedit.

32. Don'tShootIntoaBareArmpit.Eithercoveritwithsomethingorraisetheoppositearm andbringtheneararmdown. I'veseenbarearmpitscoveredwiththeyounglady's longhair,flowers,toul,stripsofcloth,andsmallprops.Withlongsleevedclothing shootingintoanarmpitisusuallynotaproblem. IntheexampleimageIcoveredone withherlonghair,andIheavilyretouchedtheother.Shedidn'tbuythisimage.

33. (GroupPortraiture)Havethesubjectsateitherendoftheimagefaceintowardthe center. Thiswillkeeptheviewersattentiononthesubjects. Ialsousethistechnique inmyhighschoolseniorfoilios. Theimagesontheleftsideofthefolioallfacetothe rightandthoseontherightfaceleft. ThemasterpaintersoftheRennaissanceused

thistechniquetokeeptheviewersattentionwithinthepainting.

34. UseATelephotoLensShorttelephotolenseswillpreventforeshortening,whichis whereobjectsnearestthelenswillappearlargerthanobjectsfartheraway. Useofa shorttelephotolensingroupportraiturewillmakeallthefacesapproximatelythesame sizeregardlessofwhethertheyareinthefrontrowortherearrow.(Iusedashort telephotolensinthefamilyimageaboveinrule33.) 35. AvoidPosingABrideKneelingontheFloor. Theweddinggownisdesignedtolook "correct"andusuallyflowsbeautifully(andthereforephotographsbest)whenthebride isstanding. Abrideseatedonaposingstoolisofcourseperfectlyacceptable.