Roberto Valenzuela - Picture Perfect Posing: Practicing the Art of Posing for Photographers and Models (Voices That Matter)

Practicing the Art of Posing for Photographers and Models

ROBERTO VALENZUELA

Picture Perfect Posing: Practicing the Art of Posing for Photographers and Models

Roberto Valenzuela

New Riders

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New Riders is an imprint of Peachpit, a division of Pearson Education

Copyright 2014 by Roberto Valenzuela
All photography Roberto Valenzuela except where noted

Editors: Christina Leung and Ted Waitt
Senior Production Editor: Lisa Brazieal
Cover and Interior Design: Mimi Heft
Developmental Editor: Nolan Hester
Copyeditor: Liz Welch
Compositor: WolfsonDesign
Indexer: James Minkin

About the Cover Photo

Model: Kristen Dalton (Miss USA 2009)
Photo Shoot Location: Mogul Los Angeles
Make Up, Hair, and Nails: Fiore Beauty
Dress: Alexander McQueen
Stylist: Laura Hine
Camera: Hasselblad H5D
Photo Editor: Rocco Ancora
Photographer: Roberto Valenzuela

Notice of Rights

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information on getting permission reprints and excerpts, contact .

Notice of Liability

The information in this book is distributed on an As Is basis without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author nor Peachpit shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer software and hardware products described in it.

Trademarks

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and Peachpit was aware of a trademark claim, the designations appear as requested by the owner of the trademark. All other product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark. No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book.

ISBN-13 978-0-321-96646-9
ISBN-10 0-321-96646-5

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed and bound in the United States of America

I want to dedicate this book to my mom.To me you are the most amazing and inspiring
woman in my life. I thank God every day for giving me a mother like you.

To my wife Kimmy life partner and my best friend.I am who I am thanks to your
unconditional love. You make me want to be a better person. I know I am not easy, but you
love me and accept me just the way I am. Regardless of where we are in the world,
it always feels like home when we are together. I love you!

To our dog Chochos.You have been around my life before I was even a photographer.
You have blessed our family with your company and love when we needed it the most.
You have enriched our lives, Chochos. We love you and will always carry you in our hearts.

This book was a colossal amount of work. But I couldnt have done it alone. The team at Peachpit is second to none! I thank you for making my book possible and for making it look beautiful. Honestly, I could not ask for a better acquisitions editor than Ted Waitt. It is Ted who initially believed in me and gave me a chance to write my first book, Picture Perfect Practice. For this, I will always be grateful to him. If you dont know Ted, you should. He is a good man. Many thanks also go to Peachpits Mimi Heft, Lisa Brazieal, and Nolan Hester for their great work on the book.

I also want to thank my family for their support throughout this project. A special shout-out goes to my mother-in-law Christina. She was the first editor for this book, as well as for my first book. The amount of work it takes to fix all my grammar mishaps is monumental. Trust me, the reason this book reads so beautifully is because of her skill, the countless hours she spent fixing my errors and, most importantly, her love for the English language. Christina, I love you very much and this book would not be the same without you. I also want to thank my whole family. My amazing wife Kim, for loving me, caring for me, and supporting me every day through the good and bad throughout our nearly 10 years of marriage. To my beautiful Mutti, for being the greatest gift God blessed me with. To my brother Tono, my sisters Blanca and Susy, my brother-in-law Kent, my father-in-law Peter, my sisters-in-law Amy and Sarah, my cutie-pie niece Alexandra, my new brother-in-law Neal, my awesome nephews Ethan and Caleb, and my super flexible and talented niece Elliana. A special thanks to my cousin Wendy for always believing in me.

To my amazing best friends Jerry and Melissa Ghionis, for always pushing me to go further and think harder. I thank you for helping me reach my potential and for being unconditional friends to Kim and me. The memories of those crazy nights we spend talking, laughing, and singing over red wine will live in my heart forever. I love you both very much!

I also want to send a huge thanks to Arlene Evans, who believed in me from the very start and launched my career when I was completely unknown. Thank you, Arlene, for your friendship and the trust you endowed me with in this industry.

To my adopted father David Edmonson, thank you for being a father figure to me. I have so much love and respect for you and your whole family. I could not have asked for a more meaningful person to write the foreword to this book. I consider my relationship with you a blessing and a gift from God.

A special thanks to my friends Laura Hine and Robiat Balogun, for styling, organizing, and making beautiful the models for this book with amazing hair and make-up. You ladies were a big part of this book project and I am forever grateful for you volunteering your time and skills to make this a better-looking book. I want to send a special thanks to Rocco Ancora for applying his seriously world-class editing skills to the photo on the cover of this book. Rocco, I am honored to have a piece of your enormous talent in the most visible part of the book. Thank you, my friend.

I also want to thank industry organizations and my friends who help run them, such as Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI), the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), Photo Plus, Junebug Weddings, creativeLIVE, and Hasselblad for continuing to provide photographers worldwide with an opportunity to learn and push the artistic envelope with the art of photography.

Lastly, I want to send a sincere thank-you to all my readers worldwide. Thank you so much for your support. I hope your photography careers forever prosper! Remember that learning never ends and skill is nothing but the result of deliberate practice.

Roberto Valenzuela is a photographer based in Beverly Hills, CA. He developed his unique teaching style by following the same practice regimen he developed as a professional concert classical guitarist and educator. Roberto believes that it is not talent but deliberate practice that is at the core of skill and achievement. He has traveled to every corner of the world, motivating photographers to practice and break down the various elements of photography in order to master them through goal setting, self-training, and constant dedication.