Michelle Perkins - 500 Poses for Photographing Men: A Visual Sourcebook for Digital Portrait Photographers

Copyright 2011 by Michelle Perkins. All rights reserved. Front cover photographs by Allison Earnest. Back cover photograph by Beth Forester. Published by: Amherst Media, Inc. P.O.

Box 586 Buffalo, N.Y. 14226 Fax: 716-874-4508 www.AmherstMedia.com Publisher: Craig Alesse Senior Editor/Production Manager: Michelle Perkins Assistant Editor: Barbara A. Lynch-Johnt Editorial assistance from: Chris Gallant, Sally Jarzab, John S. Loder ISBN-13: 978-1-60895-270-0 Library of Congress Control Number: 2010904534 Printed in Korea. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise, without prior written consent from the publisher. Notice of Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the authors experience and opinions.

The author and publisher will not be held liable for the use or misuse of the information in this book.

D etermining the best way to pose your subjecta way that flatters the individual, reflects the subjects personality, and is visually appealing in the overall compositioncan be one of the biggest challenges in creating a successful portrait. This is especially true when creating portraits of male subjects. For males, the posing rules tend to be more stringently applied, meaning that a very nuanced approach will be required to create a variety of looks. Additionally, men are often more reluctant than women to have their portraits taken. This leads to two issues.

First, most portrait photographers have fewer opportunities to work with male subjects; as a result, when confronted with posing challenges they have fewer past experiences to draw on. Second, many photographers report that their sessions with male subjects are often much shorter than those with female subjectsmost guys just dont have the interest in or patience for a fussy portrait sitting. This means the photographer must be prepared to get all of the required images in a limited time frame. This collection is designed to address these problems. Filled with images by accomplished portrait, fashion, and commercial photographers, it provides a resource for photographers seeking inspiration for their own work. Stuck on what to do with a particular client or unsure how to use a given prop? Flip through the sample portraits, pick something you like, then adapt it as needed to suit your tastes.

Looking to spice up your work with some new poses? Find a sample that appeals to you and look for ways to implement it (or some element of it) with one of your subjects. For ease of use, the portraits are grouped according to how much of the subject is shown in the frame. Thus, the book begins with head-and-shoulders portraits, followed by portraits that introduce one or both hands into the head-and-shoulders look. Next are waist-up portraits, featuring images that include the head and shoulders, arms and hands, and at least some of the subjects torso. Moving on to three-quarter-length portraits, the examples feature subjects shown from the head down to mid-thigh or mid-calf. The balance of the book features full-length imagesthe most complex portraits to pose, because they include the entire body.

Both the three-quarter- and full-length portraits are subdivided into poses for standing subjects and seated subjects. It can be difficult to remain creative day after day, year after year, but sometimes all you need to break through a slump is a little spark. In this book, youll find a plethora of images designed to provide just that.

PLATE 1. Photograph by Beth Forester. PLATE 2. Photograph by Beth Forester. PLATE 4. Photograph by Christopher Grey. PLATE 5. Photograph by Paul Van Hoy. Doing a series of macho images gives the senior guy some shots that reflect how he likes to picture himself. Doing a series of macho images gives the senior guy some shots that reflect how he likes to picture himself.

If you then suggest that the girls would probably like a few more kindly expressions, a soft smile is usually possible. J. D. WackerPLATE 6. Photograph by Christopher Grey. PLATE 7. Photograph by Christopher Grey. PLATE 9. Photograph by Paul Van Hoy. PLATE 10. Photograph by Christopher Grey. PLATE 11. Photograph by Christopher Grey. PLATE 12. Photograph by Christopher Grey. PLATE 13. Photograph by Christopher Grey. PLATE 14. Photograph by Christopher Grey. PLATE 15. Photograph by Beth Forester. PLATE 16. Photograph by Tracy Dorr. PLATE 17. Photograph by Tracy Dorr. PLATE 18. Photograph by Tracy Dorr. PLATE 19. Photograph by Tracy Dorr.

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