A couple pennies for your thoughts

Hey all,

I was wondering if anyone had some thoughts on a couple things;

First, my friends asked me to take some of their graduation pictures. They're thinking of going to a local beach (Baker's Beach, for those of you from the Bay Area ) to do this. Does anyone have any ideas in regards to posing, or some creative ways to approach this assignment "creatively?"

The second thing is actually related to the graduation pictures. I think one of the people I may be shooting will be a little more heavy set. Are there certain ways you have all found effective for taking pictures of people on the heavier side?

Thanks!

Just a couple of ideas to throw at you.

Think of their personalities and try to reflect that in their photos. Are they serious book types? Take them reading. Are they fun sports types? Shoot them playing footbal or something.

As for shooting larger people, I would suggest shooting from slightly above - it is more flattering.

Hey Neil, thanks! I appreciate your advice.

Funny you mention personalities because this batch of friends all have unique and tangible personalities! I will definitely need to find a way to make that work.

With regards to shooting larger people, I'll keep that in mind, rest assured!

That is the main thing about portraits - trying to capture the essence of a person in a photograph.

It is easy to get a "professional shot" that conveys nothing of that person (no emotion or hint as to the type of person, bog standard backdrop etc).

The trick is breaking away from the standard and capturing the person's spirit (getting the cheeky grin or the raised eyebrows etc) that people will associate with the person.

Another thought on the posing - be careful of what angle they are to the camera as it might emphasise their size (angled is probably best).

Being a person of size myself, I find the most flattering shots of me are three-quarter chest-and-above shots taken at eye level. Shooting at my eye level de-emphasizes the torso.

Shots showing my whole torso in either front view or side view are most definitely not flattering, though they do show how much of me there is to love.