Books for Posing

Deiberson · 06-27-2011, 06:44 AM

I did a quick search and found nothing. I'm sure this has come up before. A friend asked me to take some senior pics for her daughter. I'm comfortable with the technical end of this.....but uncomfortable with my ability to get a natural pose and lack the creative genius to wing it. What are some of the better books for this? Amazon yielded 1000's of results.
Thanks
K

Moon Over Jupiter · 06-27-2011, 07:47 AM - **1 Like**

I know exactly how you feel, I tend to be good with technical stuff and lacking on the creative side . . . I need a nudge in that direction everytime, no matter the medium!! (Cooking . . . decorating our home . . . what to wear . . . and yes, photography.)

I have found a bunch of "photographer supply" sites that offer posing cards - which would be my own preference, over a book. It's portable, you can show it to the client on location, and use it for inspiration on the go. Do a google search on Posing Cards, and I think you'll find lots of leads. Several of the top hits I got were actually forum threads discussing them, with links out to suggested products.

What I am doing personally, is sort of creating my own . . . I'm saving a private collection of great posing ideas, and just referencing them frequently. I'll build my own cards to share with clients out of my own resulting portfolio. I think a purchased set is a great solution if you have a more immediate need, though.

Also, just a tip about photographing teens . . . no matter how worried you are about your ability to pull off "natural" . . . they are feeling 100x more self conscious. It's endemic to the state of being a teenager, lol! The very best thing is to get them laughing - it creates at least a few seconds of unselfconscious body posture when that laugh erupts, and their faces look so amazing. You will both relax a LOT after that - and there is nothing more beautiful and optimistic, than someone having a laugh! Posing is not unimportant, obviously they have to hold still in some sort of fashion - but don't forget to have them cap that off with some naturalness too. Teens can be a riot, tap into that! Even snapping pics of them making funny faces (which demonstrates you're in, whole hog, too!) can lead to some giggles and that bit of bonding that needs to happen between you and the subject. I'm attaching some silly pics I shot, that lead to "that" portrait afterwards. Trust me, this is one of the most self-conscious, I-hate-my-picture-being-taken-kids you ever met.

After she was relaxed, I got this shot of her, which turned out to be The Keeper, and the main photo the family chose:

There a couple more (annotated) in the same album, in the Get Them Laughing vein, even if those shots aren't exactly the keepers.

magkelly · 06-27-2011, 08:57 AM

Amherst I think has a range of books on this topic. I've read a few and they do seem to be pretty decent if that helps.

yusuf · 06-27-2011, 09:01 AM

It might be non-work safe but something is here

Free Portrait Poses Guide | FreeDigitalPhotographyTutorials.com

HawaiianOnline · 06-28-2011, 08:02 PM

There are 3 visual sourcebooks that I've used successfully and all were compiled by Michelle Perkins:

500 Poses for Photographing Men

500 Poses for Photographing Women

500 Poses for Photographing Brides

These are not posing guides per se, they are more like posing catalogs and they don't have any explanations of the poses. They are more for seeing a whole bunch of different poses and picking out the ones that look interesting. You can have an inexperienced model or senior look through them to see what kind of poses they like. It helps to have a full length mirror so they can practice some poses.

Since you're specifically talking about a senior girl, I've also found the "Master Guide for Photographing Highschool Seniors" to be full of great ideas and tricks for the more creative shots.

Deiberson · 06-29-2011, 04:12 AM

Thanks for the links. I was looking at 2 of these but wanted to see if someone else has been using them before I wasted my money.

slip · 06-30-2011, 05:12 PM

I have this one and it is a really good easy to follow book

chapters.indigo.ca: Portrait Photography: Secrets of Posing & Lighting: Mark Cleghorn: Books

hope this helps

slip · 06-30-2011, 05:15 PM

Originally posted by yusuf

It might be non-work safe but something is here

Free Portrait Poses Guide | FreeDigitalPhotographyTutorials.com

great link! thanks!

cheers

Warped · 06-30-2011, 06:59 PM

I keep an "ideas" folder on my computer and that has sub-folders for poses, make-up, themes ......etc.

If needed, I'll transfer a selection to my laptop that will suit the shoot I'm planning and take the laptop with me for the model to look at if posing direction is needed. Sending a selection of pics pre-shoot to give the subject/model a heads-up what you're going to ask them to try also helps.

There is SO much stuff on the net these days, I rarely buy a "real" book for stuff like this and just research relevant sites and magazines these days.

06-27-2011, 06:44 AM	#1
Deiberson Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Photos: Albums Posts: 734	Books for Posing I did a quick search and found nothing. I'm sure this has come up before. A friend asked me to take some senior pics for her daughter. I'm comfortable with the technical end of this.....but uncomfortable with my ability to get a natural pose and lack the creative genius to wing it. What are some of the better books for this? Amazon yielded 1000's of results. Thanks K

06-28-2011, 08:02 PM	#5
HawaiianOnline Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Hawaii Posts: 613	There are 3 visual sourcebooks that I've used successfully and all were compiled by Michelle Perkins: 500 Poses for Photographing Men 500 Poses for Photographing Women 500 Poses for Photographing Brides These are not posing guides per se, they are more like posing catalogs and they don't have any explanations of the poses. They are more for seeing a whole bunch of different poses and picking out the ones that look interesting. You can have an inexperienced model or senior look through them to see what kind of poses they like. It helps to have a full length mirror so they can practice some poses. Since you're specifically talking about a senior girl, I've also found the "Master Guide for Photographing Highschool Seniors" to be full of great ideas and tricks for the more creative shots. Last edited by HawaiianOnline; 06-28-2011 at 08:03 PM. Reason: Edited for clarity

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06-27-2011, 07:47 AM - 1 Like	#2
Moon Over Jupiter New Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Cape Cod Photos: Albums Posts: 9	I know exactly how you feel, I tend to be good with technical stuff and lacking on the creative side . . . I need a nudge in that direction everytime, no matter the medium!! (Cooking . . . decorating our home . . . what to wear . . . and yes, photography.) I have found a bunch of "photographer supply" sites that offer posing cards - which would be my own preference, over a book. It's portable, you can show it to the client on location, and use it for inspiration on the go. Do a google search on Posing Cards, and I think you'll find lots of leads. Several of the top hits I got were actually forum threads discussing them, with links out to suggested products. What I am doing personally, is sort of creating my own . . . I'm saving a private collection of great posing ideas, and just referencing them frequently. I'll build my own cards to share with clients out of my own resulting portfolio. I think a purchased set is a great solution if you have a more immediate need, though. Also, just a tip about photographing teens . . . no matter how worried you are about your ability to pull off "natural" . . . they are feeling 100x more self conscious. It's endemic to the state of being a teenager, lol! The very best thing is to get them laughing - it creates at least a few seconds of unselfconscious body posture when that laugh erupts, and their faces look so amazing. You will both relax a LOT after that - and there is nothing more beautiful and optimistic, than someone having a laugh! Posing is not unimportant, obviously they have to hold still in some sort of fashion - but don't forget to have them cap that off with some naturalness too. Teens can be a riot, tap into that! Even snapping pics of them making funny faces (which demonstrates you're in, whole hog, too!) can lead to some giggles and that bit of bonding that needs to happen between you and the subject. I'm attaching some silly pics I shot, that lead to "that" portrait afterwards. Trust me, this is one of the most self-conscious, I-hate-my-picture-being-taken-kids you ever met. After she was relaxed, I got this shot of her, which turned out to be The Keeper, and the main photo the family chose: There a couple more (annotated) in the same album, in the Get Them Laughing vein, even if those shots aren't exactly the keepers.

06-27-2011, 08:57 AM	#3
magkelly Veteran Member Join Date: May 2010 Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,901	Amherst I think has a range of books on this topic. I've read a few and they do seem to be pretty decent if that helps.

06-27-2011, 09:01 AM	#4
yusuf Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Palo Alto, CA Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,497	It might be non-work safe but something is here Free Portrait Poses Guide \| FreeDigitalPhotographyTutorials.com

06-29-2011, 04:12 AM	#6
Deiberson Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Photos: Albums Posts: 734 Original Poster	Thanks for the links. I was looking at 2 of these but wanted to see if someone else has been using them before I wasted my money.

06-30-2011, 05:12 PM	#7
slip Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: 2 hours north of toronto ontario canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,535	I have this one and it is a really good easy to follow book chapters.indigo.ca: Portrait Photography: Secrets of Posing & Lighting: Mark Cleghorn: Books hope this helps

06-30-2011, 05:15 PM	#8
slip Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: 2 hours north of toronto ontario canada Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,535	Originally posted by yusuf It might be non-work safe but something is here Free Portrait Poses Guide \| FreeDigitalPhotographyTutorials.com great link! thanks! cheers

06-30-2011, 06:59 PM	#9
Warped Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Photos: Gallery Posts: 351	I keep an "ideas" folder on my computer and that has sub-folders for poses, make-up, themes ......etc. If needed, I'll transfer a selection to my laptop that will suit the shoot I'm planning and take the laptop with me for the model to look at if posing direction is needed. Sending a selection of pics pre-shoot to give the subject/model a heads-up what you're going to ask them to try also helps. There is SO much stuff on the net these days, I rarely buy a "real" book for stuff like this and just research relevant sites and magazines these days.