One of the most common tasks in the art of photography is the portrayal of a person, be it a sports report or a staged portrait. The human body, like any other object in life, is perceived differently than on a flat image of a print or monitor. When shooting, you need to look at the human body a little differently.
Instructions
Step 1
The first step is to set a task for yourself, what exactly you want to capture, what you want to express with the end result. Based on this, develop principles and attitudes, or think and work out an approximate pose in advance.
Step 2
When working in sequential shooting conditions, try to do some analysis of the situation and understand what poses and movements can most closely match the shooting scene. For example, if you are filming a football match, try to capture the moment of hitting the ball in that phase of the person's movement where the maximum concentration and tension of the athlete's body is visible. Shoot in burst mode and choose the most concise and characteristic phases from the motion takes.
Step 3
When shooting a staged portrait, consider whether you need an expressive or a more relaxed pose. Try to make several completely different options, tell us what you want the model to do, then give her the initiative to pose. Most often, natural poses look more advantageous when staging and reporting. Try to avoid unnatural, uncharacteristic movement or posture, unless it is a deliberate move.
Step 4
Try not to "cut off" the body part with the frame border. When a person's body should not or cannot fit completely, compose the frame so as not to “cut off” one hand if the other enters the frame entirely. If this is unavoidable, then frame harder - no need to leave your shoulder without an arm. Substitute the entire brush, the same for the feet. If the photo is not full-length, frame your legs more strongly, make a half-length portrait.
Step 5
Avoid such poses when one hand goes behind the body - it will not be visible in the photo, which can be very striking and look unaesthetic. Experiment with turning the body, lifting the shoulders, turning the neck, positioning the legs, arms, and kinking the wrist. If you are doing reportage photography, do as many different variations and takes as possible, and then evaluate the pose and phase of movement using the above parameters. Change shooting points and angles.
Step 6
As with any photograph of a person, light and optics are important. Try to find the light that is most beneficial to you, revealing more beautiful chiaroscuro, try to achieve a more volumetric light pattern. Don't forget about the properties of the optics. If you want to capture the most natural proportions, for example, a fashion show, use long lenses, try to move away as far as possible. For a psychological portrait or humor, use wide-angle lenses and get closer to the person.
