Dynamic Posing Guide E-Book

Craig Stidham

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

Tips, techniques, and inspiration for creating perfect poses

Effectively posing the human body is a challenge for nearly every photographer, from amateur to professional. Understanding how a model's pose, body language, and posture affect a photograph is crucial to success. Author and professional fashion photographer Craig Stidham shows you how to guide a subject's personality through body language, with hundreds of examples and suggestions.

• Answers critical questions such as: how can a photographer avoid having the subject look awkward? How does one direct both experienced and inexperienced models?
• Shares helpful posing tips and techniques for posing models in new modern and fashion-forward ways
• Suggests ways to make strategic edits in post-production to fix common posing mistakes
• Offers hundreds of examples of strong and stunning posing

Dynamic Posing Guide teaches you the skills you need to identify strong modern posing techniques as you strengthen your photographic skills.

Leseprobe

Dynamic Posing Guide

Modern Techniques for Digital Photographers

Craig Stidham

Dynamic Posing Guide: Modern Techniques for Digital Photographers

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.10475 Crosspoint Blvd.Indianapolis, IN 46256 www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

ISBN: 978-1-118-29051-4

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Credits

Acquisitions Editor

Carol Kessel

Project Editor

Katharine Dvorak

Technical Editor

George Maginnis

Copy Editor

Bob Russell, Octal Publishing, Inc.

Editorial Director

Robyn Siesky

Business Manager

Amy Knies

Senior Marketing Manager

Sandy Smith

Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Richard Swadley

Vice President and Executive Publisher

Barry Pruett

Book Designer

Dianne Russell, Octal Publishing, Inc.

Proofreading

Dianne Russell, Octal Publishing, Inc.

Indexing

Margaret Troutman, Octal Publishing, Inc.

Editorial Consultant

Jeanne Harris

About the Authors

CraigStidham is a professional fashion and portrait photographer based in Texas. Craig was photographically born into the fashion world in 1994 after receiving a formal education in photography. He has been published in several fashion magazines, photography magazines, and billboards all over the country. After teaching at the college level for more than seven years, Craig is now teaching workshops and reaching out to many photographers. He has what he calls an “open house” attitude: always willing to take time for others and answer questions for those who call.

JeanneHarris is a freelance writer and content creation and social media professional based in Los Angeles. She was previously published in 2010 with John Wiley & Sons, authoring one of the first books on Twitter at the height of its emergence and newfound popularity in the media and celebrity industries. Jeanne’s career has revolved around photography since 1993 when she produced television commercials and fashion catalog shoots. Later, she worked as a marketing and sales director for an online educational photography web site and stock-photography house.

To my kiddos: If you keep God in your heart and put your mind to something, anything is possible. —CS

Acknowledgments

I would like to give a huge thanks to my fellow photographers: Teri Beaver, for helping in the creative process involved in writing this book and spending creative time on our cyc wall; Sandy Puc for your support and for pointing me in this direction; and Charlene Chavez, Adrienne Griffen, and Shelli Fowler for just being awesome friends. Thank you, too, for a great photo shoot in Las Vegas!

Special thanks to all the models that took time out of their day to pose for this book. I would like to give a shout-out to Alexia, Jordan (Jordy), Alex, Arin, Haven, Ginger, Kayla, Alli, Lauren, Jodie, Amy, Hannah, Brea, Samantha (Sam), Brenae, Susan, Molly, Kirsten, and Courtney.

Very special thanks and hugs to models Paige L., Emma W., Shay H., and M’Kaylee W.

Big thanks also go to Jeanne Harris for dealing with me throughout the writing process. I know that’s a huge task. Thank you for helping and taking part in this book; it couldn’t have been done with you. Thanks for being friends! —CS

Introduction

Photography is an art, and just like any form of art, it is a medium for expression. How well photographs create an expression or tell a story depends on how well that expression is communicated. Photography is essentially a means of visual communication. Cameras are used for anything from documentation to creating imaginative forms of art. In this book I focus on the more creative yet tactical form of photographic art through the mechanism of posing.

A lot of photographers have asked me, “My clients and models tell me they don’t want to look posed. How do I work around this?” I answer, “The reason they come to you is because they haven’t yet found a pose in which they look good.” Even professional models are posing. Anything you do with humans is a pose. That’s just a fact. Your goal as a professional photographer is to create a dynamic and expressive pose that makes your models look good in the final image, and thus look “not posed!” That is the goal of this book.

It might seem like I am the master at stating the obvious, but there is a method to this madness and actual theory and reasoning behind why we pose. Paraphrasing the dictionary, the definition of “to pose” is to assume a particular attitude or stance, especially with the hope of impressing others or to assume or hold a physical attitude for an artistic purpose. For the purposes of this book, I am going to hold to the definition of the later, “to assume or hold a physical attitude for an artistic purpose.” This is my mantra.

Throughout the chapters of this book, I present practical information, tips, diagrams, and photographs that depict the basics of posing, geared toward fashion photography. I have laid out this book so that it follows the workflow and process of thinking through and then executing the shot. The basic fundamentals of photography have not changed; many of the skills that are common in other fields of photography still remain. However, in fashion we tend to bend or break rules. And that’s where we get to have fun!

I begin by breaking down the human body and discuss why and how to move the body in certain ways to achieve a particular attitude or look in your photographs. From there, I discuss why we pose, and the basic rules of posing. Then comes the down-and-dirty part, where I dive into the nuts and bolts of putting your posing shots to work in different scenarios, and break down the equipment essentials you’ll need, as well. Finally, after learning the rules, I show you when and how you can break them. You’ll see many “behind the scenes” shots for a more thorough understanding. When you understand these basics and formulas, you will be shooting amazing, high-glamour, and high-selling shots in no time!

I would love for you to red-pen, make notes, and flag the pages of this book as you move from the technical to the artistic aspects of fashion photography. It not only is my hope that you gain valuable information from it and enjoy the contents, but also that by reading this book you become a more highly-skilled fashion or portrait photographer who visualizes and grasps that balance of technique and artistic story telling.