FAQ : Posing

Sometimes it feels like a marathon. And I’m not talking about a 5K. I’m referring to a legit-loooooong-shaky legs-sweaty pits-scrunched brows-achy knees marathon. The summer wedding season can sometimes feel like a marathon for a photographer. And the month of September is like the final stretch to the proverbial finish line.

There are moments when I wonder, honestly, if I’m as fresh and electrified as when I first started my season in May. Whenever I find myself doubting, I actively search for inspiration. On the streets. On billboards. In art. In architecture. In fashion magazines. I cut and save pieces of inspiration and file them away, only to unearth them before a wedding or shoot.

When I find a picture I like, or a pose I’d love to get my clients to do, I rip out the image and I study it. I study the lighting, the pose, and the formation of each body, so when my chance comes, I ready to pull a little from that one W Magazine cover, a tad from the Banana Republic ad, and flavor it with a little sauce from a photoshoot in Blender magazine. I’m constantly trying to learn how to be better…because I know I can. And should. Be better, that is.

I had to wipe the drool from my keyboard when I saw Banana Republic’s recent ad campaign. It’s as simple as they come: A boy, a girl, in hot clothes. Much like a wedding, right? I ripped out the photos from my magazine and studied it. If I could have branded it to my forehead, I would have. And somehow explained later to my husband that, yes, I happen to LIKE THE BLACK IMAGE SEARED TO MY SKIN!

Here’s the Banana Republic ad:

And though I have yet to make this pose my own, I mix things up to see if I could emulate a similar feel. Obviously, the lighting—and the couple—in the above photo are professionally synthetic, but I tried creating a similar feel with this image.

Here’s a recent cover of W Magazine:

The following picture is vastly different than the one above…however, the W picture made my brain think in a different way, so I tried using that difference to capture the following image:

To read more of this article and see poses I find inspirational, be sure to visit PRO PHOTO RESOURCE for this month's publication.

Thanks for your feedback and if you have future ideas for my PPR articles, please feel free to holla back! No, really, please leave some ideas in the comment box because I feel like I'm running out of things to say! 🙂