Professional photographer Natalia Robert shares her knowledge on the subject.
She explains several easy ways to create an impressive portrait, whether your client is a businessman or a yoga instructor. Her article over at Digital Photography School gives you great examples of how to make it happen. Let me give you a hint; pose is key!
Basics
The fact that it’s for business use means that your subject should always be aware of their posture in a headshot. I simply tell people to put their shoulders back and their chest out. Once they adjust their posture, you can suggest gentle shifts if needed. Another key point to mention to your subject is that they should lead with the forehead. This one can be a subtle, but powerful, shift in their pose.
Crossed arms
While this general pose is nothing new, by simply changing location, having the subject add a slight lean, and loosening up the tightness of the crossed arms, this pose can feel modern. When having women do this pose, encourage them to very loosely cross their arms; otherwise it will feel quite severe and cold.
Lean
Adding a slight lean can make a big difference in headshot posing. Many people are looking for a lifestyle feel to their headshots, which typically will call for an outdoor location. So if you go on location, why not use it to add personality?
Note that even though the subject is leaning, it is still important for them to maintain good posture. You can let them know to lean with their bottom half, but not let their entire back slouch into the wall. Or, they can gently lean with one shoulder to maintain balance, while keeping posture upright.
Sitting pose
There are a few variations of sitting poses that work well for headshots. One option is to have your subject sit and join their hands over their knees. Ideally, this would happen if they are sitting at a location where the knees end up being slightly higher than their hips, which can easily happen if they sit on stairs.
Walking
This is one of my favorite classic moves for headshots, and it does several things including:
- It loosens up their body if they are a bit stiff in front of the lens.
- It encourages a more natural expression because I get the opportunity to banter with them as they walk.
- It creates a sense of movement that translates into a deeper connection with the lens.
Action
Here is where modern headshots get fun. Especially with entrepreneurs, you have the opportunity to express something about what they do, and what their personality is like. If they make a product, you can have them show you their product, If they do some sort of training, you can have them perform a bit of what they do. With these, giving detailed direction about posing is not as important as letting them do their thing.
Read more tips for posing over at Digital Photography School.
Source: Digital Photography School
