Honestly, the main reason I have created the 7 Steps because number 7 is easy to remember, and what I’m trying to achieve is to provide you with a framework to effectively direct people in different situations. We tend to complete the task easier when we have step-by-step ready to use instruction.
Let me give you a quick overview of 7 Steps:
Photography, in general, is about 80% of thinking and 20% of shooting. Starting with finding inspiration and understanding the purpose of the picture is definitely the first step. When we have a clear idea in our mind we need to share this idea with our subject and understand what’s actually going on in their mind (Step 2). That’s where your communication and people’s skills are the most important. Your photography skill starts at Step 3, where you need to understand that what we see in everyday life and what you see through the lens are two different pictures, and distortion will depend on your lens length, depth of field, the angle that you are shooting from and your subject position. From here you start posing your subject to create pleasant lines and composition. And you don’t want to start by saying your subject to smile, you want to position the whole body first – what we are doing overall (Step 4). Then direct the hands (Step 5), and then bring different facial expression by playing with emotions (Step 6). All these steps lead to Step 7 – Creating the flow. You want to encourage subtle movements of your subject to find the perfect flattering pose and genuine expression. You don’t need 20 “ok” pictures of this person, you need ONE GREAT one.
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[…] Just a head’s up for a special evening on Monday 3 September – don’t miss it!! A very special workshop conducted by Yana Martens – Posing People for Photography. Yana has visited our club before and her workshop was very well received. This time we have invited other clubs to join us on the evening, so don’t miss out!! – be sure to put it in your diary. You can check out Yana’s webpage and her courses at these links : https://yanamartens.com/workshop/posing-people-photography-course/ https://yanamartens.com/7-steps-for-posing-people/ […]