Sexism In Portrait Photography!

Today's tip involves portrait photography and sexism!

Here is a simple tip where if you do this right -you are golden.

Do it wrong and no one will like your photos and winning that photo contest is never going to happen. What's worse, their dislike will be on a subliminal level and no one will know WHY they don't like it, just that they don't.

I could have titled this one as: "How to be politically correct and ruin an otherwise great photograph!" It's all in the angles. This applies whether you are doing a head and shoulders portrait, three quarter pose or something larger.

Rule of thumb: Men don't like to appear feminine in their portraits and women don't like to appear masculine.

And yes, this photography rule is sexist and falls back on the old male/female stereotypes. (Male dominant, female submissive.)  Sometimes it just works out that way. I'm about as enlightened as anyone I know, but in the real world these stereotypes exist and we have to accept it.

First the basics... For both males and females, unless they actually ARE a football player - on the field in full uniform - we don't want football shoulders. Have them turn their body to about 45 degrees to the camera. Then we can make adjustments.

If you are shooting a male in your portrait,  make him look aggressive and masculine.

There are three ways to do this...

One - have him leaning forward into the camera.

Have him lean forward at the waist and slightly jut out his chin. Be careful that you don't overdo it or it will look comical. This is more a subtle adjustment than an aggressive stance.

Two - Lower the camera a bit in relation to the model. As kids we always "looked up" to authority figures and it has become ingrained in the way we see things. To give your model more authority, have the viewer looking slightly up at them. Again, it's a subtle tweak. If the viewer realizes what is happening, you've gone too far.

Three - In all portraits, we want the shoulders to be at different levels. This is a continuation of the anti - football shoulders rule. If the shoulders are at different levels, that means one is higher than the other. (Duh!) 

Have the male tilt his head TOWARDS the lower shoulder!

This is a big one. Tilting the head towards the higher shoulder will definitely make him appear feminine! Never violate this rule.

Want a feminine look? Do the opposite!

Have her lean slightly away from the camera, raise the camera angle so you are slightly higher and tilt her head toward the higher shoulder.

BTW - In females, the head can be tilted either way - and still look good. But traditionally tilting toward the upper shoulder is more feminine.

Women can be posed either way but men must tilt to the lower shoulder.

These three portrait posing rules will definitely set you apart from the crowd. In no time you will be winning photo contests and getting all the "ooohs and aaahs" from your friends and relatives. Isn't that what you want? Isn't it why you got into photography to begin with? For more information, check out the resource box...