Creative Poses for the Fluffy Inclined.

[BabyHopes]

I'm not entirely sure where this goes. Maybe under the forum for weddings? Who knows.

Anyway, I recently had the opportunity to shoot some engagement photos for my sister's friend. They were the greatest couple and just really had fun. I kept feeling like the only thing limiting THEM was me. I really struggled with finding creative "outside the box" poses for them. Most of the really cool engagement/couple poses that I have seen require the couples to be on the slender and flexible side. What do you do as a photographer when your models have zero physical flexibility and aren't a size 2?

I know that I always want to look my absolute best in formal pictures. (Okay, who'm I kidding. I want to look good in ANY photo. LOL.) As a size 14 girl I'm ultra conscious of belly rolls, chubby arms, and double chins when it comes to my own portraits. So I know that it's likely anybody I'm shooting will have the same conscerns/desires.

Does anyone have any tips, tricks, or examples of great poses for the "fuller figured" model? My favorite poses from the shoot were a few shots that I did on this little arched bridge over at Austin's Botanical gardens. I had the couple lay down on their stomachs, propped up by their arms, and then just did face shots. (Okay, that sounded like an insane photo. LOL. Promise it wasn't as nutty as I'm describing it.) I wish I could have thought of some other less conventional poses that would have worked for them.

I may have an opportunity to do another session with them, and I'd like to bring a little more creativity to the table next time.

[*Mike*]

HotHolly will have a lot more helpful suggestions than me... but, a constant awareness of shadows and angles is definitely a key component. Here are some bridals an intern took (on her own, outside of our studio) of a bride that was more like a 16/18... Hee hee, forgot the link the first time, here it is... You can tell that on some of them the shots posing and angle made a tremendous difference in terms of slimming, and some others may have fallen a bit short.

Post some of your stuff!!! Let us see how you did... I promise everyone will say wonderful things! (and you may get some really great suggestions..

[jbrem]

wow, what a beautiful ballroom. I had no idea there was anything like that in Abilene.

[LoungeLizard]

Doug Gordon's article is a great resource. Check it out at http://www.douggordonworkshops.com/extras/article7.pdf

[johnastovall]

You might want to look at William Mortensen, The Model: A Book on the Problems of Posing. It appears to be a classic in the field.

A local library can get it on ILL if they don't have it.

Oh, some how I think Rubenesque sounds better than Fluffy.

[*Mike*]

Originally Posted by jbrem

wow, what a beautiful ballroom. I had no idea there was anything like that in Abilene.

This is the ballroom of the Windsor Hotel. It really is gorgeous, and these pics don't do it justice. There's another gorgeous ballroom in the Wooten Hotel - but the management is not at all photographer friendly. The Grace Museum has some nice stuff too - another ballroom (but with historically correct, hideous colors), a roof that they let you use, and a courtyard with a wrought iron firescape.

You can find nice places just about anywhere... you just have to look a little harder around here.

[*Mike*]

Originally Posted by johnastovall

Oh, some how I think Rubenesque sounds better than Fluffy.

I don't know... you could do a lot worse than "fluffy!"

[HotHolly]

This may sound nuts, but I think that super "fluffy" women have the same posing issues that super skinny women (aka the "boy figure" - no hips, no chest) have. You have to force their curves.

Both groups have curves, you just need to know how to make your camera work in their favor. Its all posing and angles. You can make a boy figure look super cuvey depending on lens and angle. You can also make a heavy set person look like they dropped 15 lbs without ever touching liqify in Photoshop.

Since this is about fluffy people - we'll stick to that. Your idea of having them lay on their tummies is good. (Assuming that they were both carrying their weight in the front). Generally speaking, full length images of plus sizes just arent flattering. So, staying in 1/4 length or 1/3 length shots will be more flattering.

But at the same time - if its a bride, she wants a full length gown shot.

A few simple tricks are to make sure you position them at their most flattering angle. This varies based on build (an apple shape will look better at a different angle than a pear shape). Have them turn slowly 3 times. Look for the WORST angle 1st. Make a mental note and do NOT shoot it. On the 2nd turn look for the angle their curves look their best.

In the off chance that you know something about dresses - formal fitted clothing usually has a dart or vertical seam that runs down the girls body. If its a well made garmet - use the line as your skinniest angle. (If it is well made it fits right - not slumpy not tight)

Just line up your shot, and then YOU move until the seam lines up (disappears). Make sure you match hips and bustline or it'll be out of whack. Most wedding gowns have that seam. Its an easy cheat sheet. It'll show a smaller waist and curver curves. Most women like that.

Other things to do have to do with clothing choice. Bear arms on plus sizes almost always make them look bigger. Clothing that is too big or too small also makes them look bigger. If the bride has on a strapless gown, use her veil or hair to cover her shoulders and upper arms. You can also line up your shot to cut down the side of the bride (shoulder to hips to floor).

Other ideas for full length bridals - shoot down from above them. We'll bring along a ladder for stuff like this. The wide angle lens makes their hips and tummy look smaller if you get about 2 ft over them. Then you have the whole gown too.

You can also use objects to help get more flattering poses. eg. leaning in toward a tree where the tree is blocking about 1/8 - 1/4 of the persons body helps shave off extra weight.

Being aware of the total weight of the image (your overall comp) helps too. Dont put a plus size person in a stick chair in the middle of your comp. No matter what, they will look like they weigh more than they do. Weight your composition with something of equal or larger size/ poportion.

And the easiest thing - stand up straight. Lots of plus size people slump. They had kids, got fat, and they still tend to walk like they are preggers (leaning into their tummy - super slouchers).

Any girl will instantly loose 15 lbs if she stands up straight, shoulders back, chest out. Sounds dumb, but its true. Then if you can keep a space b/t their arms and body, your golden.

Okay, that was probally info overload. Sorry. Theres a lot we can do, if we take time to think about it. There are also silly things that we can totally avoid, (eg - shooting up on a plus size pear with a wide angle lens, shooting a head-to-toe profile along a visable side-seam on an apple, shooting so that their neck has eaten their chin, etc).

Lots of people have heard that the camera adds 10lbs...most people havent heard that a good photog can knock off 10 lbs (without ever touching photoshop).

You figure that out and your golden! This is the basics...after you remember and execute all that, the rest is tweaking the pose based on the clients shape. If you need visual aides, Amherst Media has lots of little posing books with photos of dos and donts. I'm currently making something like that for our next intern. With the last one, we went through fashion mags and looked at the poses until she understood. That works too - and may be easier - if you have a few around.

:o)

[HotHolly]

Woops! That was way longer than I thought. Sorry! Hope Im not a thread hog...

[BabyHopes]

Thanks Mike for the quick response to my question and the link. I am particularly drawn to this photo. My sister and I were out a week or two ago and she was wanting a few shots of her lying down... (Think arms behind head, soaking up sun.) In the end they weren't the most flattering of all the shots we took that day. However the reclined pose you have in your stream really would be flattering to most any body.

Originally Posted by HotHolly

after you remember and execute all that

Phew! That was an amazing wealth of information. I feel like I've made a quantum leap in understanding just basic posing just by my first read through. I know it's going to take me a couple rereads to really process everything. I really appreciate the time that you spent writing your response. One of the things I was kicking myself over was not having a step ladder with me during the shoot. There were a number of opportunities where having some elevation over the couple would have been exactly what was needed for the shot.

The duggord article promises to be another great resource. I also added the William Mortensen book to my amazon wish list. I ran it through paperbackswap.com in hopes that maybe someone out there was done with their copy. Unfortunately nobody has it up for offer. I'm guessing it's either a valuable resource or it's been out of print for a while and isn't seeing the circulation that other books are getting. The list price at Amazon is 14.95 for a used edition. Might be just worth buying outright.

I've been crazy busy this week, and haven't been able to do any post-processing work on the photos. However, I may just post a few anyway to get some CC.

**edited to add** I started a new thread under "Weddings" that has several shots to view if you'd like to have a look. Link here.