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

Copyright 2011 by Michelle Perkins. All rights reserved. Front cover photographs by Damon Tucci. Back cover photograph by Tracy Dorr. 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: 978-1-60895-310-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2010916872 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. Check out Amherst Medias blogs at: http://portrait-photographer.blogspot.com/ http://weddingphotographer-amherstmedia.blogspot.com/

An additional challenge is the fact that, more often than with individual portraits, images of couples tend to be created on location. This means the photographer will need to improvise to create poses that are harmonious with (or perhaps in wild contrast to) the environment around the couple. In many cases, the poses selected will also have to integrate the need to work with available lighting. This collection is designed to address these problems. Filled with images by accomplished portrait, fashion, and wedding photographers, it provides a resource for photographers seeking inspiration for their own work. Stuck on what to do with a particular couple or unsure how to use a given location? 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 your subjects. For ease of use, the portraits are grouped according to how much of the subjects are 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 torsos. Moving on to three-quarter-length portraits, the examples feature couples shown from the head down to mid-thigh or mid-calf. The balance of the book features full-length imagesthe most complex couples portraits to pose, because they include two entire bodies.

Both the three-quarter- and full-length portraits are subdivided into poses designed for standing subjects and ones for seated or reclining 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.

Photograph by Jeff Hawkins. PLATE 3. Photograph by Jeff Hawkins. PLATE 4. Photograph by Jeff Hawkins. PLATE 5.

Photograph by Jeff Hawkins. PLATE 6. Photograph by Kevin Kubota. PLATE 7. Photograph by Regetis Photography. PLATE 8.

Photograph by Jeff Hawkins. PLATE 9. Photograph by Regetis Photography. PLATE 10. Photograph by Christopher Grey. PLATE 11.

Photograph by Christopher Grey. PLATE 12. Photograph by Christopher Grey. PLATE 13. Photograph by Christopher Grey. The camera typically adds a few poundssomething most clients wont appreciate.

To compensate for this, we tend to use a higher camera angle. Upward angles may be good for supermodels, but for the normal person they exacerbate any facial flaws and makes that double chin a quadruple chin. Damon Tucci PLATE 14. Photograph by Brett Florens. PLATE 15. PLATE 16. PLATE 16.

Photograph by Mark Chen. PLATE 17. Photograph by Mark Chen. PLATE 18. Photograph by Christopher Grey. PLATE 19.

Photograph by Christopher Grey.