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Shoot: Slimming Poses

Lesson 11 from: Pose It, Light It, Love It

Clay Blackmore

Shoot: Slimming Poses

Lesson 11 from: Pose It, Light It, Love It

Clay Blackmore

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Lesson Info

11. Shoot: Slimming Poses

Lesson Info

Shoot: Slimming Poses

What I want to do now is have fun really I want to do some glamour and some fashion type looks but I think we need to start talking about more of the full body and the slimming of the figure and I know towards the end I'm going to give credit to some of my friends back home but right now I'd just like to say that we've had a great response on our own facebook and my own text and were called clay and company and I could never do all this without you know all the people around me so I shot out tio michael jordan jeff medford bart you know my wife my son really I'm a product of a lot of good people around me so somebody said surround yourself with good people but more importantly listen to them you know, take their advice so I'm sure there's a lot of people that I just want to show my appreciation to creative ideas okay? The picture on the right we talked about was an idea I picked up from a book but this picture right here I love this image isn't this gorgeous I mean, this is a totally s...

hadow this image you see how do you think that was a little I mean we put a white paper correct now I could probably create that in this studio because in the studio there's about eleven lights around here but in your own home you don't have eleven lights, do you? So I was thinking one day we had to photograph a product for ebay and we stuck the product in a little tent little light ten you ever seen him? We got a hole in there and you stick the lens in there and you put the earrings or the jewelry in there and you take a picture and you just you just put the lights outside and its shadow us well, one day I was teaching a class and I said, why don't we just build a big white tent? Somebody said, how would you do that? Well, I happen to be very good friends with some decorators because we do a lot of big weddings, a lot of garments is and they need pictures, they need family pictures so I'm in tight like this if I need flowers I called the florist. What do you need? We'll send him right over because we always you know, work together. The allied vendors are my friend. So let me show you how this picture and this wedding portrait were made think you'll be surprised at the effort and I threw a little filter on top of there, but I really enjoyed this day this is about a half a day shoot let's go to the little film wait, wait hey, it's pretty fun, right? If you could only see what was going on on the other side I had a class going on, so it was part of the fall workshop. It was a spring workshop, there were about ten of us and a video camera all shooting that having fun music was playing. We just had a really good day with it and I mean, when I look at this image right here, look at the beautiful lighting on her face and what I've done here is used that riel chrome on the cadillac, that beauty light coming right on the edge of the face here and I mean, if we just had a pretty bride in a nice wedding gown, I mean, look at that portrait to me this is just everything I stand for I mean it's beautiful it's, elegant it's current and it's you know, it's fun. So that's what that's what you know stretching out is all about so we're laying foundations and now we're going to hopefully loosen it up right now. One thing I really want to share with you is I think, one of the best techniques I see everybody missing this and that's feet position I'm out there teaching, working and I see this over and over something like this slide right here let's take a look the feet just spread apart so how do we know how to pose the feet here's what it should look like right here okay so why don't I just do it with a man and she's got great shoes on I made her take him off earlier and we'll turn your light on and we're going to call this the five feet position five feet position now some people I kind of laughed at you know that I would really pose models because models know how to pose themselves right? But I find that a lot of girls on models like direction because sometimes they're a little nervous and they're really not sure what to do and if I start saying I'd like to show you some feet position and I'm running them through these little exercises you know what they start to feel more confident hey, this guy knows what he's doing because all of my other um subjects you know and they come to me say you know I've shot for ten photographers you know what they do they go like this yeah yeah yeah yeah that's great yeah yeah yeah yeah beautiful yeah and it's just that's it they don't even give any direction it's all working by field can I relate hannity you work with a lot of photographers to do that seriously? I mean, do you work with photographers that they just yeah, it just so you here like this? Yeah. Oh, yeah. It's great. What? You're lives I love it that's great, but I think having direction is much stronger and so coming in and giving them little things to do, I think works very well. Some models don't do well with it. And then at that point then I know that I just have to kind of unplug from that model and let uh let her do her thing. You know you can't bridal it but I guess the hope more of the story is I work my method not my field. Let me slide you back and get right about here. Let's go live on the camera and I'm just going to kind of let the video camera go here alive. You I really I'm going to show it to you first of all let's go the other direction I'll tell you why my point here is that this whole circumference right here the radius is a clock so the clock is three o'clock six o'clock nine o'clock twelve o'clock so the first feet foot position is five. Thirty so hands on your hips and turn this way a little bit more and point your toe right to me good now bring your foot over just a little bit just a little bit and then bend the knee in front perfect now that's it there's where she needs to be let me see if I can see the knee if I back up a little more now I'll tell you a great trick hanna jump out here real quick and I'll just show you another way to do this just stand right over here next next to amanda right there it just fine in there and here's a great way because we've already got a man to perfectly pose now looks stay right there look how stiff the front leg is the front knees it so watches pick up your left heel when she picks the hell up where's the weight it's all in the back isn't it it's on the back and we'll do a little jerry jonas now and say just kick your knee and so I showed her how to do it you know she's mirroring me even if she's under a wedding gown this is important very important so amanda you slip out for a second no I'm sorry amanda stay and I'm sorry hannah used about cause I got him I think the jeans and the shoes here working perfect against the white paper turned the toe right to me a little bit the total me a little bit right there hands on your hips now this is great I wish I could just throw on ah a wider lens but the audience at home are they seeing one of these cameras because all I can do here is why tip your head here fold your arms like this and tippy are here what is she and now basic pose where's the life right here how about tip you head this way what is she and now feminine pose where is the light now here hey it's starting to sink in right crystallizing so this foot position is my favorite the next one is the five this is five thirty the next one is five o'clock you just come out a little bit now roll up on the toe yes this is a little more sassy little more sexy and I like this is well for these type of photographs that were doing now these full linz that's beautiful right there I love it and I'm not lighting her face if you're a home and you're seeing a feed I'm trying to put the light low on her on her feet so that I see the light on the face is looking a little bit like monster lighting from below thank you that looks great bart now five five thirty the next one let's just say we have a little chair but bring me that chair please right there, huh? Because a lot of the homes I deal with have period antiques or we have some pretty cool furniture around town stay right there put your left hand right here uh right hand I'm sorry the next one is you bring your foot out uh huh and you look right down your tow line huh? Good she's definitely going to be in a feminine pose here and how about the need in a little bit right there perfect turn you knows that this way a little bit more and she's going to look right down her tow line that's the third foot position where's the light she's in a feminine pose the lights right here see that okay so this chair is really not helping us that much move your hand for one second please and put both hands like this uh and then looked down your tow line there drop your right shoulder uh huh. So now she's in a feminine post look right here in me just kind of loosen up here lean forward a little bit like this yes now your nose this way now look down the toe down the line there I can't stand to look att this without having a little bit of light where it goes and that's kind of the loop shadow I would be looking for taking that hair light away and the next who poses are very casual the next two feet poses so the next one how about loosen up here it's going to feel kind of funny? I wantto put your foot around the back yet hands on your hips now around the front yeah, there you go five feet position how about I review it? Pivot around the other foot okay, so now you're gonna bring your right foot to me yep. Face this direction there we go and that is five thirty but look how stiff the knee is been the knee and perfect that's five thirty bring it out a little bit role on the toe that's the sweet and sassy win the very sexy one and that's when you see a lot of that's that's the five o'clock you can see where that would be five o'clock correct the next one you come out a little bit more hands on of chair doesn't have to be but fake chair put your left hand down here yeah now look down your total line good of course the lights on the wrong side now and then look at me real quick how about go like this and give me those two casual ones one around the back that's kind of hard you're going to kind of reset don't you? I do that you almost makes you want to fall over come around to the front first with your left foot like this yet upon your toe yes that's easy and now swing it around it's a little easier yep ok five feet position so that's great now take a break let's do a little bit of beauty lighting okay beauty lighting would be kind of like that light coming from underneath right so let's just have some fun bart you stay close I don't know what's gonna happen but I know what a lot of times when I'm working in trade shows with cannon they give us like thirty forty minutes and they said you know joe just make some great pictures and that's what we do worry mark come over here this is um you kind of have tio way catch that if you come out you khun somehow you have to tighten them I'm gonna feed you where's my stool right here I'm just going to do some kind of glamour lighting sit right here there you go you're gonna hold the light why you tighten you go you got it actually takes what's out take it out for a second we're gonna hit her knees with it now beauty lighting comes from below you've all seen it right jerry what what I want to avoid is monster lighting so you hold this for a second let me get a main light in place wait todo I still want to remain true to the fundamentals I'm gonna put the main light over here okay and it's really going toe I really want to do kind of like clamshell lighting so this reflector may or may not play into this yeah right there now hands on your hips let's raise the camera all right lay that down face down and just turn on the light in the back that little kicker light and like the paper you know do you have any heroes and photography I have a lot of heroes my one of my favorite guys in the world douglas kirkland uh the man is just sweet as can be his wife francoise you just get around the guy and you just feel you feel lucky to be in this present I mean really he spent an evening with marilyn monroe when he was nineteen years old he has a book called um uh evening with maryland I think andy's photograph chanel he's done movies like the titanic his work is prolific he's just been on the set for australia he went over for the big movie the great gatsby he did all these portrait of leonardo dicaprio and all the stat all the cast you know how we shot him eight by ten dear door of camera I mean you're speaking to a guy right here I love film and so what douglas told me it was you know get one big light overhead which is kind of what we've just built here and let's get a little fan nearby I know there's one in the room somewhere and let's kind of get some power on that we might bring a little fan from below so that we're going to kind of get it soft light going here might need to help him jerry pull this out as a matter of fact my class has just been looking too comfortable all day long I want you to put those chairs on the wall and I want you to get over here and get involved just slide him over we're going to shake this thing up a little bit we might have you hold up hold something hold the light hold the reflector so here we go that's great right there hey don why don't you come down low and you take your need on and you just kind of light you just blow this fan on her hair uh douglas kirkland here is the whole story douglas said don't light the face with the kicker light with this underneath light take it bart and light that needs with the life we're gonna light the knees eso bart I'm gonna let you come over on this side of court there you go I might throw it over darling you know how the jury with that chord there we go now look at the light it's coming from below but it's not lighting the face it's lighting the knees up there we go look at that lighting we're just looking beautiful they're beautiful beautiful I think I got a home run there now what do we do chin up a little bit how about you start playing around I mean this right now is what she's tipping her head away from the light so it's not what we've been teaching this morning so I'm going to kind of play with a little bit and try to get us back on track maybe turn your knees this way and then chin up and chin up a little bit more and maybe your right hand like this and that yeah just like that beautiful right there chin up a little bit more now this is just three lights isn't a guys one, two three countem and it looks gorgeous your nose to the left a little more to the left a little more giving that beautiful smile teeth, teeth, teeth all the way I want your teeth just so white and beautiful chin up a little bit throw the hair off your shoulder a little more your left yep right there I mean that's a magazine cover right there. I just I think it's gorgeous. I haven't seen your facebook profile or your model may hand pictures really, but I think I just gave you years to cover shot chin up a little bit more how about let's just put both hands up? I don't know I'm just playing now right there yep zoom in the main lights just sitting up there on the little boom arm right there and I don't know what the audience at home gets to save so I'll zoom out here and just show you what we're doing here is just a boom arm right up there a t t three just three light bulbs coming down in the face there and I love it just like that chin up a little more good and right now this might be a time to just say let's just go soft let's put a little music on some patricia cost french singer maybe some delirium but the music come in because you know audiovisual we're all very audio driven and I think that to me you know the music would speak volumes and here's another trick I'm kind of at this point where I've done her portrait I know I've got it and I'm so you know what I'm gonna do I'm going to ask you to give me ten different looks I'm going to back you up a little first because I feel like we can get a little more intensity on the white and if you'll just back up here a little bit okay good right there so all right good one of the funniest things that happens in the classes jerry where's your camera by the way I want you to shoot tomorrow you bring your camera okay? I know you got a camera I want all of you to have a camera okay deal deal so good maybe you'll get in a contest right? They can can they enter? They should be all tender I'm working with a model and I feel like cash I've got the pictures done I'm feeling great so now let me just have some fun here's what I've done in my classes I'm taking these beautiful portrait I've got your picture you're looking great I'm really done with it and I say to my class to my students I say you know what I say jerry why don't you take a couple of pictures and so you know what jerry does? Jerry goes like this uh and he shoots like ninety pictures and she's sitting there he never says a word I'm sorry not disrespecting you, but in most situations the students just put it on motor drive they give no instruction and guess what when you get to your computer and you look at your photographs you've got like thirty pictures that look a tentacle I know you're out there can I get a witness? I know you're out there. I used to do that too. Why are we doing that? I mean, in the film days we would never do that we would make these pictures count so here's what I'm going to do, I'm going to say amanda, you've got so many new pictures you've got so much beautiful things going on I would like you to do tend different pictures for me and I'm just going to get started let me get you focus I feel like I'm a little hot they're right that we goto desoto were emmanuel let me bring that down there we go that's pretty good isn't exposure I say pretty good it's plus a half anytime you're doing high key the white paper is going to shut the camera down to gray so I'm definitely going to go a little higher a little higher so I need something legendary I need you to do it for me look at that look at that almost wanna unplug off the live feed so I could get this camera going to ten frames a second alright here's here we go on your mark oh, look at that when you weren't even looking at the light that's okay one that let me take a look let's take a look at that that's that's beautiful one let me just make sure I'm focused here I got a zoom in they've just on the new camera they've moved the zoom on me so the zoom is on my left finger and I'm gonna zoom right up here right there I'll tell you another trick to I didn't plan it out my projector is here what would I bring my projector to creative live for you know why? Because I can go like this and I'm rolling ten a teepee beautiful video right now so how about just moving for me just like this yes looking up looking down having fun look to the left look to the right I love it I love it and just yeah that's it we're making a video right now what would I do with that video yes what? I could project this video right back up on top of her and if you're here tomorrow or the next day I've got this in my library for you because I've got you just yes look at that look at that she's just looking beautiful can you take all your hair up right there look at that we could also show this in slow motion I could shoot sixty frames a second or I could show it in reverse and in slow motion and why not you know that this is the fun time for our video so what are we going to do? We're going to take all this footage this asset and you know what I could do? I could make a photograph from any one of those video clips I just go slow stop and do a screen grab I could make an eight by ten from any of these pictures isn't the world changing that used to be something we used to say someday we're just going to videotape the wedding and make the album and it's here you could do that but I'm more you know I'm into the raw files and the portraiture but who knows where we're going to be in act like you know I think the industry is changing it's changed since we started this morning I don't know where we're going to be at the end of the day I can't wait to get on my computer and see what new software's come out so it says hey have you ever heard of you know done it at all right somebody ask me so you instagram I'm like I want to be but I just my mind can't wrap my head around it you know I don't have enough so here we go look at all this stuff all right let's take this off and make some pictures beautiful beautiful yet right there that's great how about turn sideways and tip your head way back how about look straight up into that light and put your hand down just to put it behind your head right there right there there is your shot right there going slow come on camera come on keep up with her don you're doing great let me even get in closer right here tip your head back a little bit beautiful right there alright beautiful I love it and how about laughing those big white teeth of years good good good I want to move this box out of the way so you guys can see what I'm seeing good. Come on, camera, go faster, go faster, keep up with that's. Great, don, what you're doing, how about spin around your back and look over your shoulder at me? Yeah, right there. Yes, turn your nose to the light a little bit more to the left, to the left, more and, yeah, right there, and perfect, beautiful. Take a break. How about a hand for amanda? That was good? No it's, really good.

Class Materials

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Clay Blackmore Top 10.pdf

Ratings and Reviews

a Creativelive Student
 

Clay Blackmore is the real deal in portrait photography. The guy is a bundle of creative energy and technical mastery. I took portraiture with Monte Zucker, and am glad to have Clay now as his successor. This concepts in this course are the rudiments. They'll never change, regardless of trends and fads. Clay is also very likable and fun to watch work. Keep your ears peeled for every word. When Clay points out those many little details, they all count. Love the course, and have a ton of respect for Clay. He's a portrait master, and a great guy. What else could any portrait student hope for?

Rosina Ortwein
 

This a wonderful class. Clay has worked w/Montey and brings a supreme knowledge to photographers who want to learn more. His skills are creative and insightful with a modest personality. This is an amazing class that comes with a great price.

Tom Lokos
 

Of all the courses I have purchased without exception this is the best. Clay is an excellent teacher. When he speaks he is saying something and not just talking. He explains his lighting techniques in great detail while demonstrating them . He is clear, concise and fun to listen to. You will learn how to pose individuals all the way to large groups, while learning the correct way to light them. All this while being entertained by one of America's great portrait photographers.

Student Work

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