Big shoot later today. And I mean 6' 3" and 340 lbs ...

any tips on how to slim down this OL / DL kid while shooting his senior pics late afternoon / early evening today? I'm not sure it's possible due to his size and weight, but I believe shooting DOWNWARD angles might help?

What makes it worse is I'm about 5' 10"! I'm thinking of bringing a milk crate to stand on as my tripod is up to the task.

Tips, please and thank you.

dave

Yup, I bring a collapsable step stool that has a hand hold so I don't fall off when I'm paying too much attention to the person I'm photographing. A 4' ladder would also be perfect as it's light and fits across the back seat of your car.

You absolutely want to bring a step stool/ladder for this. I typically would bring this regardless, but definitely in this situation. You don't want to completely eliminate any photographic reference to his height and weight, that is part of his "story", which you are to document. You just want to do it in the most flattering way possible. Your goal is to capture his internal essence, which is much more difficult than the external....

just photograph him in a toy rail road town

You may want to consider some shots where your subject is angled away from the lens slightly - say, if you are at 6:00 on the clock, have their torso facing something like 4:00 or 4:30 on the clock, while their head faces you. This may help in making them look not so wide.

Clothes that feature vertical stripes can also add a slimming perspective, if that's an option.

Good luck with it!