Instagram is full of POSING guides to books and of the 30 or so we have seen. ABSOLUTELY what NEVER to do. We don’t care if you shot someones famous mom. Your knowledge of real model photography and how to pose sucks!! You are either a scammer or on the lower levels of the food chain and when resent them DM’s to ask what the hell is going on the answers and they answer are like asking someone the best was to use on your car and the answer back is TUESDAY.
Posing is common sense. At 7 years old we knew how to pose a model professionally. Not the case of almost everyone on Instagram including the togs for so many magazines and one who is with over $30 Million and has a good $100,000 just in lights yet no clue of how to pose a model. Saw a few months ago Photographer of the Year and had a laugh. Someone I had taught to shoot, scammer right from the get go so our friendship ended soon. Saw a promo that so and so 40 years experience. Really? I taught you how to shoot 3 years prior and you didn’t have any clue how you would hook your camera to strobe lights or how to set your camera.
We see photos from New England Photographers shooting someone famous but all you see is a beehive bra. Are you kidding us? You have your shot of a lifetime and you know not what you do and then play it up. We see Mass Photographers on Instagram playing up famous people and it was pretty much aim and shoot for most images. Seen a few videos also and NO DIRECTION. Oh we love the tog. They loved their experience, and that they felt they must be doing perfect for the tog kept quiet with no pro direction.
Well pretty much these posing sites with knowledge for sale were as much crap as crap gets. I had a friend years ago spend $1000 on posing manuals and just like what I see on Instagram, exactly WHAT NEVER TO DO. This $1000 set wasn’t worth $5. The posing manuals we saw on Instagram, around 30 the same useless crap and will lose you work if you do the same shooting a model or a bride for in bridal work you don’t make group pictures about showing hands hand hands of all the bridal party.
Unfortunately we saw so many people we chat with often on Instagram liking many of these manuals showcasing zero knowledge but hopefully no purchases made. We asked Instagram about this massive scam with no response. Don’t stop their income line.
So perhaps somewhere on Instagram their is a usefaul manual. In our entire life we have see one fellow on You tube who had around 3 subset matters done right. Jay from America’s Top Model was dead on as was the cross dresser on the same show for runway. Superb, the two of them. When Tara lays people off from the show, she played off her two best helpers who at a later time frame, hired back. This is all common sense people which we have had since we could talk.
So looking at the images, when you see posing errors you are sure to find so many more ineffective shots to methods of shooting that just don’t cut it. So we see in most manuals creases, wrinkles, knees, elbows, arms across body, hair not posed, wrong outfit for the pose, bent wrists and arms also way out from the body losing all energy and making straight lines versus curves. A disaster for anyone buying the manuals showcasing what not to do.
Posing is so easy, how to become a Supermodel super easy. It’s finding the model with the talents to trades and then building the sill sets to become the best and we can do that if the model has the potential and not lazy. We’ll get into more on how to succeed later but the real question and answer on posing:
You always pose the hair also so not a single pro model on earth wears bangs for you cannot shoot a variety of images if a model has bangs. You will see asian models wearing wigs in Vogue, but they are also shooting one pose with a model standing straight up, or sitting straight up. A real disaster for real photographers and models with bangs we shoot with grow them out as this model we shot lots did. In addition to putting straight line across your forehead cutting your head up but your bangs are no different than a huge scar going across your forehead and as soon as you lean just a little your now have an unprofessional pose and look. Also you block your must have features and cannot do a pro ponytail look or a massive amount of other poses professional. If you have bangs grow them out. It spells beginner and no chance of posing as a real pro would pose a model. If you and your photographer who basically shoots just to shoot then who cares, but again, we are talking being and shooting as a professional model or tog.
We saw hair bungees on wrists that only a joker shoots or if they missed it did not remove in post. Rings when they have no place in an image unless a biker chick or a fashion dress where the dress, not the model is the subject. These so called posing pros allowing their models to not only have a startup fools gold hair elastics on wrists but belly button rings that are fine for someone just after pics but one of the worst things a model can do if looking to make money selling pics or being an agency model. An agency can be sued if a model wears a belling button wring during a paid shoot for it destroys the look as bumper stickers to Smurf’s and wishing combos would do in a car. Lean your trade, and don’t assume because a low end tog in Boston shooting tons of agency shots with hands near the face it’s a must do for it’s a must NOT DO. Common sense. I ask why would you make it a common method of shooting agency portraits? Oh you saw it elsewhere. Or your shoulder is turned to the camera lifting the shoulder up to touch the chin. This was done around 1971 for Seventeen magazines and JOKERS around the world do it 24/7 and destroy the models chances of real success.
If this was such a good pose why would a person interviewing not turn their chair sideways and pose with their shoulders and chin to shoulder?
Because is a sign of a beginner to even a slight chance if being a pro for a pro understands the purpose of a model image and few do which is why many models with great looks find no success. It is a horrific pose. Now in that same interview imagine posing with hands next to chin or face. Why would anyone do such a thing for a portrait. Anytime if not skilled at posing and mood. We have models who can pull it off and models who shoot 24/7 with Instagram start ups who don’t create massive income from their shoots because they are told to put their hand on shoulder for some unknown low IQ reason. We are forever having models remove arms from shoulders that they are constantly told to do by beginner togs.
So have those thoughts in mind before buying any books on posing. Posing is so simple for everyone if you know the purpose of a model image and have confidence.
Top posing points:
Hair is always posed and never ever have bangs as an everyday model.
What is the purpose of a model image?
What does an agency designer want to see in. a model image?
Remember posing is based on each model and what they wear so a posing book isn’t helpful at all. Knowing the purpose of a model image makes everything you do simple.