Lessons

Lesson Info

Finding Different Shots for Couples Posing

Alright, so we're gonna finish this up with talking about finding different shots for couples posing, like coming up with new ideas. So these are all different things that help you get a different shot. So let's say on the wedding day you're like, "Holy crap, I've got five minutes and I have "to think of so many poses and make an album out of this, "like I need to get a ton of poses." What makes a different shot that you could put in an album or that you could layout on a wall? So these are all different things that help you create a different shot. First of all you have your essential pose. Once you have that pose set you can choose a different lens. That changes it, shooting an 85 1.4 where now you're focused on her, this time you're focused on him. Now you're doing a wide full-length shot. So you have that which takes me to crop. The crop totally changes the picture. The angle and perspective totally changes the picture. I can get up at a higher angle or I can get lower or I can mov...

e around the couple. So these are all different ways to get shots. My depth of field, the expression, whether they're looking at each other or closing their eyes and then lastly actually moving individual features like you set the pose and then you switch the hand. So from one pose, changing all of those things, I think from one pose where they don't move their feet, they just maybe move their hands and their faces a little bit, I could probably get 20 totally different shots. So it's just a matter of seeing, it's not all about knowing 50 poses, it's knowing five poses and working those poses and then getting different expressions. The serious and cuddling shots, the laughing, him whispering into her ear, kissing her neck, something like that and the pose can be identical and you just move around. So you don't need to know a million different poses. So I'm going to give you an idea here. For posing a couple these are all different parts of things you can move. You can change their hands, their head positions, their shoulders, their arms, their nose, their feet, their hips and each time you move one it's actually like a different pose. Alright so I'm going to demo in a second the endless pose. I never really learned much about flow posing so I don't know if this is the same concept, it might be. This is my made up thing, it could be identical. I'm not sure, I've just heard the term flow posing. This is how I come up with endless poses. I make the rounds, okay, so can I borrow you guys? Hi guys, how's it goin', so this is what I do. If I'm in a hurry and I don't want to reinvent the wheel, I just want a bunch of different good poses without having to memorize a ton, I have the guy stay stationary and I will move the girl around him and then I will move around them. So for example, I might start off with the woman in front of the man so perfect, okay. (guy and girl laugh) Just overlap your shoulders, you're fine. Just in a little bit more, overlap just little bit more. Good, alright, so I would start there and then say, "Okay, what am I missing?" I'm missing heads tilted together, right? That's one of the things, tilt your heads together for me. Okay cute, I'm definitely missing multiple points of interaction. They do not look like they like each other. (Girl and audience laugh) Okay, can you put your hand maybe up around his neck? Like this? Sorry, around like this side and just real low, good. I can also tell from her body language, she's like this, can you put your hips back a little? (audience laughs) They're not together, so... okay so we do something like that so now their heads are together at multiple points of interaction. It's okay, it's a little like random hand-ish, will you hide this hand? And so I could either have her hand touch his hand, something like that, whatever, this is a way to do it. I'm saying okay, they need multiple points of interaction. Alright, so I could start there and the shots that I can get would be like okay, I've made my list of what I could do. I could change my lens so I could come in and I could grab an 85 1.4 and I can get a shot straight on of the two of them. Okay, then I can come over here with my 85 1.4 I can shoot at 1.4 so really wide open and now just he's in focus and she's closing her eyes and he's looking at me. And then I have him close his eyes and now you just look at me and I focus on her and so I've got those kind of things. Then I can back up and grab a different lens and do a mid-length shot instead of a tight shot. So that's like what, six poses okay, cool. Next one, woman facing man, okay will you face him? Will you put your hand soft on his shoulder? Perfect, drop your right arm, good, and heads tilt. Good, perfect, alright so that is a super basic, right? But the next thing I can do is straight on heads tilted together, perfect. Okay now I can change one little thing. Will you close your eyes and tilt your head towards him? Okay and you look straight at me. Minus the hair, there you go, good. (laughs) And I'm just gonna move this hair real quick, perfect. So now that pose is about him. Alright, now will you kiss her forehead? I would have to, the hair would be a little, I'd work on the hair here. If you want just spread your legs like this a little bit. Good, okay so now that pose and I make sure she's leaning back a little bit, can you stick your chin out just a little? Good, okay so there's another pose. Okay so I haven't moved anything. Okay you can yeah, that was good, that was good. It was believable, can you face each other one more time? Okay now you're going to look at her but you look at me. Look like you like each other again, heads tilted back together, okay so there's another pose but this whole entire time I could grab a different lens, photograph him, I've got him and then her profile out of focus and then switch, now I have her in focus and him out of focus so there's like a whole bunch of other shots. Okay, so I did in front, so she's gonna make the rounds. She did facing away, facing towards. Now I'm gonna have you stand on his side so you're gonna face me straight forward, hand in your pocket. So it says woman beside him and so you are going to stand, basically hook your arm around her and you're gonna put your stomach here, okay? Perfect, so this kind of her on the side and now can you put your hand up soft to his cheek? And then tilt your heads together like you like each other. Okay, so this is a different pose, right? 'Cause now it's opened up a lot more and then now what she can do is, can I have your right arm? Your right arm, Tessa, and can you put your hand on your hip, your right hand on your hip? No, just like behind, yeah, yeah, that's good. Now what you're gonna do is you're gonna rotate your body like this, good. So now lean in towards each other. That's good, you're fine, no he can just leave it there, he doesn't need to do anything, pop that elbow way out. Good, and now tilt your heads together. So now I've given her more of a sassy shape. Now pull on his jacket a little bit, pull him in. So I'm facing away, facing towards, on the side and then I'm gonna have you come stand around from behind. Okay, yep perfect, stand right behind him. I'm gonna make you shorter and what you're gonna do is you're just gonna step forward and lean like that okay? Just like this, you're gonna come up behind him. Perfect and I'm gonna have you put your hand soft like that on him, good and you tilt your head towards her. Okay and then so now I've got shot like this, I've got a shot where he's totally out of focus, close your eyes for me and I'm looking at her so I have his profile out of focus and she's in focus so that's how I come up with a million poses. I just remember this, just remember okay, she stands in front of him, she faces him, she goes to the side, she stands from behind and for each and every single one of those I wanna have their heads together, I wanna have them touching in multiple ways and then I can switch my lens choice and my crop every single time. So just by that and those were not particularly profound, I can probably come up with a hundred different shots and then each and every one laughing, closing their eyes, kissing, kissing forehead, nuzzling, all of that. So that would be my recommendation to you if you're just getting into photographing couples and you want to not have to flip through a book and remember 50 to 100 different poses, just remember this and then those key guidelines which will guide you as you make the rounds which is what I call it, cool. That was awesome, I love seeing that. (audience claps) Thank you very much to both of those guys, they are great. We love 'em. Do we have any questions here in the audience? We have a little bit of time, just a brief amount. I actually do have a quick question. When I guess posing same-sex couples, it's a little different I would think and I don't know if you're gonna touch on that later or anything. I am, I'm teaching it so don't worry. Then we'll wait for you to answer that later on. That was a good question, though. That makes me feel like I did good. Lindsay is prepared for any eventuality and we're gonna cover so many different subjects. That's what's great about today is that it's been kind of the principles, the theory, all of that and then over the next few days we see all the variations and we see all of the specific examples, so-- And for anyone for purchasing, I didn't shoot that because I can't really move in the studio as much 'cause I'm trying not to show light so I did actually go ahead and shoot something like this so you can see it so for someone looking for the posing guide I kept it simple. I didn't do focus and everyone just remember you can change all those different variables so that will be there in the guide for people to access. Fantastic, so maybe one question just really quick. Just an interesting one from one of the folks in the chat room, so men you said are very much more limited in the amount and type of posing that you do with them. Women are much broader, which is more interesting to you? Do you find the limits on male posing more interesting or more difficult? Do you find the broad variety with women more difficult, what do you like? Women are much more interesting. (audience laughs) I would agree. Yeah, no I'm glad you agree. For guys, we're teaching portrait here, right? When I photograph guys for fashion in the studio, my key for fashion with guys is movement so I have them up on their heels. I have them stepping and walking with like a little cape on, they kick it. I have them with one hand in their pocket grabbing the side of their jacket. I do a lot of stepping, jumping, movement. I have them in capes, I don't know, whatever. I do a lot of movement so I find that interesting 'cause it's almost more dance-like and I'm trying to choreograph. I wouldn't necessarily recommend that for men's potraits but when I photograph young men they are kinda into that and so they'll jump and twirl around and so I like that but women, I can go endlessly. My favorite is really, there's this one model, look up Mari Agory and I think it's M-a-r-i A-g-o-r-y and she's African and she's endlessly tall, bald head, the most impossibly long legs and I can make the most graphic shapes ever. That's my type of posing, I love it.