# Doing my first Senior Portraits tomorrow...help with poses



## Corry (Jul 23, 2007)

I'm doing my little cousin Nicole's Senior Portraits tomorrow....

...here's a few pics of her I did about two years ago: 












I posted those pics so you get an idea of what she looks like, and her style...if that helps you help me any. 


Where I feel I need the most help is getting good poses!  Please help me with ideas!  Post examples even!  Or point me to websites with good ideas!  

Tomorrow will be all outdoor stuff, around her farm.  I will probably do studio and urban stuff at a later date.


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## EBphotography (Jul 23, 2007)

Heres a website with some poses.

http://www.jeffhartzellphotography.com/store/scripts/imageFolio.cgi?direct=High_School_Seniors


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## Christie Photo (Jul 23, 2007)

We SHOULD HAVE done that Illinois meet-up.


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## Corry (Jul 23, 2007)

Christie Photo said:


> We SHOULD HAVE done that Illinois meet-up.



Yes, I wish we could have.  But a lot of people couldn't make it, and I ended up picking up a third job back in April.


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## ClarkKent (Jul 24, 2007)

Christie Photo said:


> We SHOULD HAVE done that Illinois meet-up.



Oh, that would have been cool, we should all plan another one soon.


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## craig (Jul 24, 2007)

Judging from the 2 shots posted looks like you have a tough subject. She does not look comfortable. The shots will come naturally once you get her to relax. That may happen because she will be on her farm as opposed to a dumb ol' school yard. Shoot during the magic hours. There are a million fun shapes and lines on a farm to use. 

I know you did not ask, but I have to say get her to wear something a little more formal then street clothes. Try and keep all that her out of her face.

Love & Bass


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## glaston (Jul 24, 2007)

There's one thing to keep in mind when doing shoots with girls like this.

I can almost guarantee that she has problems with self image! All girls her age do.
Which is the problem with her comfort level in front of the camera.

I did 2 portrait sessions like this in my life. Both were for friends of my parents so I had room to breathe. 
The first one sucked because of this same issue.
By the 2nd one I considered it and worked around it as much as possible.
It's difficult because you have to consider these variables and factor them into the interaction between yourself and the subject.

I know it might sound like I'm being overzealous but that's not the case.
For these images to turn out well you have to guide the entire interaction.
Even if it means makin stuff up.
Telling her how great the light looks coming through her hair from this perspective, blah blah blah.
Otherwise she's gonna have ZERO confidence in these pictures, and will procrastinate and/or not take the shoot seriously, or just be generally hard to work with.
If she's anything like the 2 girls I photographed anyway.

You have to use all the tricks to slim the subject down. Or else she'll never be happy with anything.
When girls like that look in the mirror, look at photos of themselves, all they  see are their flaws.

It might help to do a sample photo of her that's very flattering to keep her morale up.
I feel for you man if your experience is anything like mine was.
Good luck.

Just one other thing. 
Who's idea was it to use the farm theme?
Unless you know for a fact that she's down with the whole farm theme, you might want to ask.
She might not want to be remembered as a farm girl but not feel comfortable speaking up about it?


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## Naturegirl (Jul 24, 2007)

I've always been a big fan of 
http://www.madmediastudios.com/portfolio-1/


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## NJMAN (Jul 24, 2007)

Some tips that have helped me:

1. If you are going to be out in the sun like that, I would definitely recommend a fill flash or reflector...something to tone down the harsh sunlight on the skin.  Otherwise, I would look for some shady spots that are brighter and have some fill light thrown in.  
2. Also, be careful not to the expose for the background if you are in the shade and you have a very bright background in the distance.  
3. Shoot in RAW and adjust white balance and exposure in RAW before you save to JPEG or TIFF or what have you for printing. Chances are you will need to adjust color, exposure, brightness, and maybe saturation and/or contrast.
4. Poses can easily come off as "too posed" if a camera is pointed at someone.  Above all else, the subject needs to relax.  Do whatever you can to make the subject relax.

Good luck.


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## Corry (Jul 24, 2007)

What I need is pose ideas....just poses.  I have everything else under control to the best of my equipment and abilities.


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## Corry (Jul 24, 2007)

craig said:


> Judging from the 2 shots posted looks like you have a tough subject. She does not look comfortable. The shots will come naturally once you get her to relax. That may happen because she will be on her farm as opposed to a dumb ol' school yard. Shoot during the magic hours. There are a million fun shapes and lines on a farm to use.
> 
> I know you did not ask, but I have to say get her to wear something a little more formal then street clothes. Try and keep all that her out of her face.
> 
> Love & Bass



Not a tough subject at all.  She wasn't uncomfortable, she was trying to go for the 'serious' look.  I hadn't done much at all at that time, either, as it was two years ago.  It wasn't an actual session, either....we were bored at a family reunion, because there wasn't anyone either of our ages there, so we wandered around and took pictures.


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## Corry (Jul 24, 2007)

glaston said:


> There's one thing to keep in mind when doing shoots with girls like this.
> 
> I can almost guarantee that she has problems with self image! All girls her age do.
> Which is the problem with her comfort level in front of the camera.
> ...



Fortunately, you're mostly wrong here.  Self confidence is hardly a problem for her at all (in fact, I'm looking forward to her getting a little older, and that over-confidence toning down a bit).  I'm not the least bit worried about that aspect of things.  

And I am not doing a 'farm theme' overall, though I'm sure there will be a shot or two that you can tell she's on a farm....I am just using outdoor places on her property as her backdrop.  And yes, she knows that.


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## Corry (Jul 24, 2007)

Naturegirl said:


> I've always been a big fan of
> http://www.madmediastudios.com/portfolio-1/



Thaaaaank you!  

Not a ton there, but there were some more creative poses and angles (not a fan of bland and overdone poses, though I'm sure I'll do some)


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## hudsonp (Jul 24, 2007)

i found this site to be very helpful for creative poses

http://www.glamourpixels.com/Gallery1.htm


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## Corry (Jul 24, 2007)

hudsonp said:


> i found this site to be very helpful for creative poses
> 
> http://www.glamourpixels.com/Gallery1.htm



Thanks! Ton of good poses there! I might use some of those!


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## glaston (Jul 24, 2007)

> and that over-confidence toning down a bit


 You mean fake confidence then.
Because there is no real 'over confidence'.  That's just to compensate for the lack thereof. A person gets older and they acquire real confidence, which means there's no reason for the fake 'over-confidence' anymore. 
Which could give the appearance that the confidence is being toned down. 
But in reality it's just being developed.
Yeah, I enjoyed abnormal psychology.

I apologize, I didn't mean to offend you or your family.
I jumped into my response and as a result offended you as a woman, with the whole confidence thing.
This has happened before.

Sorry...


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## Corry (Jul 24, 2007)

No one said you insulted me.  I just didn't ask for anything other than posing ideas.


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## NJMAN (Jul 24, 2007)

Maybe some of these poses might interest you:

http://thephotoforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=87477


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## rp1600 (Jul 24, 2007)

Corry
Try www.pbase.com and do a search for "senior portraits", "senior pictures", etc. It'll bring you back a wide variety of work from various photographers and a few snapshots as well that aren't so good. But i've found it an invaluable resource when looking for pose ideas.

also, try the stock agencies, i.e. www.corbis.com, etc. with a similiar search string. 

I've pulled tons of ideas from various teen oriented catalogues as well, i.e. abercrombie, old navy, etc. 

You can even check out www.onemodelplace.com. It's free to register for a basic page there but it allows you to search their "showcase" and there's a category for teens. While you're there check out my page at www.onemodelplace.com/rp1600...  all feedback appreciated. 

I did my first paying senior sessions this past spring and was faced with the same problem. Thankfully I shot at a location that had several old houses, rail fences, a barn, a lake, etc. that helped me along but i struggled.  

On a recent non-senior shoot Iwent out with someone and spent the first hour just walking around, talkign with the client about different areas to shoot, props we could use. Not only did that relax her but it gave her her own ideas. I even snapped a few candids while walking about. 

Hope this helps.
Ron


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## Corry (Jul 25, 2007)

rp1600 said:


> Corry
> Try www.pbase.com and do a search for "senior portraits", "senior pictures", etc. It'll bring you back a wide variety of work from various photographers and a few snapshots as well that aren't so good. But i've found it an invaluable resource when looking for pose ideas.
> 
> also, try the stock agencies, i.e. www.corbis.com, etc. with a similiar search string.
> ...



Thanks...looks like some valuable info.  It's too late to help me in this instance, as I already did the shoot today....but that's ok.  I think I had a fantastic session....I'm very happy with what it looks like on the camera, but will make a final verdict once I get them on the computer and look at them up close (just got home).  She was incredibly easy to work with....wish they all could be this easy.


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