Time for a review, this is the one, two, three of my approach to portraiture. One lighting pattern on every thing that you see here the same lighting pattern on every thing for the basic pose and the feminine pose. Two poses, the basic pose and the feminine pose, and three camera positions for face, two-thirds, and profile.

So let’s go over one at a time now. For the basic pose, the head and body face the light. The head tips perpendicularly to the slope of the shoulders, and we get that slope of the shoulders by leaning the person forward at the waist towards the knees. Let’s talk now about the body position between the full face and the two-thirds in the basic pose. What’s the difference? There is no difference the head moves to the two-third view and the body stays the same, but of course, when the head moves to the two-third view the main light has to move with it to keep the light pattern in the same thing.

To get that body at 45 degrees such a really good idea to start with her shoulder facing straight to the camera, and don’t forget you pull out the arm that’s farthest away from the camera, the back arm pull the elbow out and the hand back to the camera, and that is going to create this line that completes the base of the photograph.

For the feminine pose now for the feminine pose the body faces away from the light, and the head turns back to the light. The head turns and tips to the high shoulder and the high shoulder were creating by what? By leaning the body forward at the waist, and remember when you have this full face if the shoulders are sloped down slightly like this. When you dip the head to the high shoulder the head remains straight up and down. When you tip the head of a high shoulder the head is straight up and down. You don’t want to tip it too much because it looks too artificial.

So now let’s look at the two-third view on the feminine pose. This pose stays the same. Everything move, the shoulders move, the face move, and the light move to retain the same light pattern. So for the feminine pose two-thirds this is the only time the body faces the camera.

The profile is the same for men and women. All profiles are range from 45 degrees angle body position and the feminine pose for everybody to give us the base to the composition. And one thing that I’d like you to look at is look at the placement of the nose in the profile. If not it, the very end it’s just around the middle or passes the middle giving her lots of space to look into. And I realize now that I’m shooting digitally with this format I’m doing almost all my profiles in a horizontal position, but the camera in the horizontal position, so I don’t cut off the bad of the head, and I still have lots of space in front.

Once more the one, two, three of my approach to portraiture one lighting pattern for everything, two poses, the basic pose and the feminine pose, and three camera positions. Camera position is an angle of the face. Camera height, for the full face and the two-thirds is slightly above the subject’s eye level and lowers a little bit for the profile, so you see that’s space between this chin and the shoulder. That’s our approach to portraiture from now on and this is going to give the freedom for creativity whether you’re photographing in the studio. Whether you’re photographing outside or you’re doing photo journalistic coverage. Look for those angles of the face. Look for the body positions. Keep it simple and you’ll be happy with your results.

This is a very quick, simple review of the camera position for window light portraiture. To retain the same light pattern on all three views of the face you cannot change the face. You move the camera, so for the full face the camera is right against the wall. That’s the only way you can be in placed to get that light pattern. She stays the same to get the two-third view you move the camera into the room just a little bit. And for the profile you move the camera into the rooms still further. Most of the people make a mistake of turning the face and losing the light pattern, so from now on when you’re working with ambient light and you can’t move the ambient light the subject’s stays exactly the same in position and you go from full face to two thirds to profile by simply moving the camera.