Poses for portraiture is not a new phenomenon, rooted in centuries. For many years, the brush masters experimented with the position of the hero on the canvas relative to the objects surrounding him, looking for more advantageous positions. Often, posture variations directly depended on gender, age, and the title of the person being depicted. Also an important role in choosing the position of the hero was played by the traditions and canons of painting, which every self-respecting artist was obliged to strictly follow. Sometimes, due to the full observance of all the rules of depicting a person in a particular country, a portrait could look funny, however, it seems only to modern viewers. Art connoisseurs note that ancient poses for portraits were not only not funny at that time, but also showed nobility, willpower, dignity and wealth of a person.
The art of posing
The pose for the portrait is perhaps one of the most important components of the entire work of art as a whole. A correctly chosen pose will not only present the hero of the portrait in a favorable light, but also make his flaws virtues, beating them thanks to the correctly chosen position of the parts of the body. Since ancient times, tricks such as tilting the body, turning the head or a special position of the hands helped the character "get rid" of a protruding abdomen, second chin, too broad face or short limbs. Of course, in real life, nothing will change if you do not make efforts, however, a portrait is a completely different matter.
Over the long years of the existence of the portrait as a genre of fine art, resourceful brush masters invented a huge number of poses for any occasion, as well as for any type of client. Each artist wanted to get a decent payment for his work, therefore, it was necessary to please the client. And what kind of person wants to see his flaws in the picture? That's right, no. And the artist could not lie either, because the customer could simply not accept a too embellished portrait. Therefore, it was necessary to depict reality, hiding imperfections under clothing, behind a correctly selected background or with the help of a carefully selected pose.
Classic men's poses
Variations of the positions of men in a frame or in a canvas frame are endless and depend only on the client’s desire and artist’s ingenuity, however, there are still several traditional poses for the stronger sex that are usually used when the client wants to show his male self-confidence, prosperity, well-being and hardness.
Classic poses for a portrait of a man are distinguished by their restraint and are aimed at revealing the character and spiritual world of a person.
- Hands folded over the chest. This position immediately presents the man in a favorable light, showing his willingness to conflict with the outside world, as well as his self-sufficiency.
- Allotted shoulder. This pose for a male portrait gives its owner a shade of frivolous self-confidence. Usually a man leans against something in order to represent his shoulder and biceps, if he is wearing a short shirt or t-shirt.
- Tilted head. This position is used to create a close-up. Only the man’s face is placed in the frame, his head is slightly tilted forward, demonstrating a strong-willed character and firmness of spirit.
Other poses for a male portrait are variations of the above poses or a combination of several. This usually leads to a successful collaboration between the photographer and the customer.
Classic female poses
The portrait of a woman at all times was considered more difficult work than the image of a man. Despite the emergence of new technologies that allow you to create incredible photo works, even experienced professionals in the field do not always succeed in photographing a woman.
There are several classic poses, by accepting which, any woman will look in a very favorable light, despite her weaknesses.
- Over shoulder. This is a pose in which the model looks at the photographer over his shoulder. Due to the effect of an undisclosed image, a mystery remains in the woman, which attracts attention to herself.
- Hands on the face. A very comfortable position in which the special position of the hands allows you to hide the imperfections of the chest and face. Typically, this pose is used by models promoting cosmetics or hair shampoo.
- Hand behind the head. A hand wound behind the nape favorably sets off the model’s chest and neck.
- Hips The model is turned in a hip frame, exposing one side in front of the other. Extremely advantageous position for demonstrating the figure of a girl. Poses for the portrait of a girl are usually created on the basis of this one, since it is she who can show the female figure in all its glory
All other positions are usually variations of the above, with minor deviations or serious additions relating to other parts of the woman’s body.
Portrait
The portrait, in contrast to the photo work, was more strict and obeyed the canons of fine art, which, in turn, were dictated by fashion and the historical era, as well as the religious views of one or another people. Poses for the portrait were approved in special regulations for artists, which indicated whether it is possible to depict a person, and if so, in what position. Often everything was regulated, up to the level of the head tilt, the position of the feet, the wave of the hands and the position of the lips. Since in the past they mainly painted only religious figures, the kings, emperors and warriors were portrayed by analogy, without adding to their images only elements symbolizing the holiness of the depicted person.
Poses from the past
Almost all the poses for the portrait came in modern fashion from the past. Even the ancient Egyptians were the first to understand the factor of the "working side" of a person’s face, and the ancient Romans realized that if a person is depicted sideways or half-face, he will not look as full as it is in reality.
Over time, only the form of clothing and the style of the characters in the portraits changed. Also in the middle of the last century, brushes and paints were replaced by photography, which significantly accelerated the process of creating a portrait.
The ancient Greeks for a long time studied the advantageous positions of the human body in perspective.
However, the poses themselves, as well as the character of people who want to look more graceful on paper than in reality, have not changed at all.
Photo portrait
Photography, as a genre of fine art, arose at a time when traditions and canons no longer had such an impact on the public, however, nevertheless, at first, photo artists worked according to special rules, photographing noble gentlemen and ladies according to the canons of secular etiquette.
The poses for the portrait created with the camera in the mid-nineteenth century were quite simple:
- Marital posture. A man sits on an armchair or chair in a photo studio, a woman stands next to him, putting his hand on his shoulder. In addition to strict formal attire, all the necessary attributes, such as a monocle, lenses, glasses, a cane, reticule and hat, were taken with you to the photo shoot.
- Family pose. All family members stand in a row in front of the camera lens, the older ones stand behind the children, and the very elderly family members sit in the very first row on the chairs. Similar photos were from any more or less prosperous family of that time, which was able to hire a photographer to take a photo portrait of the whole family at once.
- The pose of a gentleman. A man is standing next to some rather large object, which could be a vase, an armchair, a column or something else, and is holding a cane or cylinder. Sometimes a representative of the stronger sex could tuck a leg or lay one foot on the other, if the photo shoot was held in a sitting position. This gave the image of a gentleman imposing and relaxed, acceptable by the standards of the time.
- Pose for a portrait of a woman. The lady sits on a chair, spreading the dress as wide as possible to demonstrate all its beauty. Usually, girls tilted their heads slightly to achieve a “dreamy” look. Such photographs were incredibly popular among the young ladies of the early twentieth century. They were sent to lovers along with special letters. Thus, this pose has already become a kind of ritual of romantic relations among the educated part of society.
Just pictures
In this style of art, special poses for the portrait are almost never used. Usually, the term “simple photographs” refers to homework, when relatives or friends photograph each other just like that, for memory, without pursuing any aesthetic goals. Such photographs are of value only to their authors and recipients, representing no interest to art lovers.
Romantic style
The so-called love story style photo shoot also requires certain poses, although, according to the assurances of most photographers, young people or respectable couples in love just act as their heart tells them, and all photo portraits are very sincere and incredibly lively. There are no special rules or skills, you just need to be open and relaxed, and also trust your loved one.
Poses for an acting portfolio
A completely different scheme is used when creating a portfolio for people with creative professions. Here, the most important criterion is the versatility of a person, therefore, instead of just one pose, the photographer offers models to take pictures in several poses, and from the resulting material creates a collage that most fully reveals the creative essence of the customer. Instead of using waist-length poses, the artist often works with the full figure of the actor, forcing his ward to sincerely jump, smile, make faces, make pathetic waved hands or kneel, imitating the actors of the classical genre.
As a result, instead of one or two photos, you get a full-fledged collage, which can include several dozen recorded facial expressions and poses of a creative person.
Official style
The official business style in the portrait genre is far from a new phenomenon. Serious and strict poses for a woman’s portrait or photograph of a man have long been considered classic for people who are close to seriousness and efficiency.
"Business Poses"
The so-called “business photos” are usually taken either by employees of official institutions or corporations, or by people who want to show everyone their success. Beautiful poses for a portrait in a similar style are almost not used, since for these works it is important not the aesthetic content, but the material filling of the frame. Usually, men or women in strict business suits are present in the photo, with expensive paraphernalia of famous brands or expensive cars, which, in theory, should emphasize their high financial position in the eyes of the viewer.
Business photographs are, in fact, work done in the same official style, with the difference that the official style does not set the goal to show the luxurious life of the character of the photograph.