Lighting & Posing Techniques for Photographing Women

Posing

• The body and head should face different directions. A feminine pose tilts the top of the head toward the closest shoulder.

  When taking a head-and-shoulders shot, the shoulders should be angled slightly. The shoulders are the widest part of the subject in a closeup and angling them lessens the chance of your subject looking out of proportion. You can achieve this in two ways: The subject can lean slightly in one direction or they can turn their body a bit. Usually the shoulder closest to the camera is lower than the other.

  For a full-length portrait, get the subject to rotate her upper body slightly. That makes the waist look smaller.

  The thighs will look thinner if you get the subject to cross one leg over in front of the other. To emphasize the bust, have the subject arch their shoulders to push the chest out.

  A pose that has hands apart or hands on the hips works well for women.

  Make sure the subject keeps their hands relaxed and their fingers apart. If that is an issue, take shots that do not include the hands.

Lighting

• Women look better in "soft" light. Soft light gives the photographer leeway in positioning the lights and for hiding blemishes on the subject's skin, according to "Portrait Tips" by the editors of Shutterbug magazine. Soft light is diffused and the affect can be achieved by putting a white umbrella over the light or by posing subjects outdoors in open shade.

  A studio setup needs a main light and a fill light. The main light should start at 45 degrees above and 45 degrees to one side of the camera. Adjustments can be made based on the height of the subject. The shadows will be softened by putting a fill light next to the camera. A reflector can bounce light into the subject to lessen the shadows.

  For a more glamorous-looking shot, position the softened main light just above the camera lens and place a reflector below the lens.

  To take advantage of natural light, position your subject in front of a big window. A reflector or large piece of white poster board can be used to reflect light to the subject and fill in the shadows.