Shotcaller+Magazine+SPLASH (2)

Bear claws and lobster mitts are a
no-no. There really isn’t much I can
offer other then try to have little
bends in the joints, and keep the wrist
loose, but not so loose that it flops.
Another thing that many photographers
do on a consistent basis is hide a limb,
almost always make sure that all four
limbs of the body can be seen, even if
partially. It looks pleasing to the eye
to see limbs.
Let's move to joints. NEVER EVER
CROP AT A JOINT, if you know that
you will crop in post and your camera
shooting position is steady enough to
not get blurring, focus your lens on
the eye and shoot the body as a whole
and crop up to where you want. I have
seen to many beautiful portraits ruined
because the photographer cropped at a
joint or cropped the foot in half. The
biggest offender is from the knees
down. Crop at the shin or don't crop at
all.
If you are going to put a subject in
frame within your image, make sure we
can see at least both thighs, or just
below the knees, or just above the
waist.
Another critical thing is the face, most
non models have a single facial
expression, Chandler Bing for example.
Rather than shoot them with the same
face or attempt to get them to change
that expression, which will looked
force, converse with them elevator
style. Talk about generic stuff, how is
life, why they came to you, find out
their hobbies, or what they do for
leisure. Don't ever get personal unless
you know them on a deeply personal
friend level.
The Female Form
Stay on super generic topics. Once they open
up they won't have any problem adjusting their
expression, or shoot on two rather than on
three.
The broadest part of the body is the bicep, the
thigh and the broad plane of skin on the hand,
always turn these to the side or resist the
urge to compress these areas. Instead hold the
arm centimeters away from the body, change
the weight distribution if they are posed in a
way that compress or shows the thigh in all
its glory.
Keep ankles stiff, don't bend sideways. It looks
awful.
Another thing I like to say is break the
parallels. You have at least 6 points on your
body that form parallel lines when standing
upright. Your eyes, shoulders, elbows, hips,
knees and ankles.