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Shoot: Minimizing Belly

Lesson 15 from: Men's Portrait Photography

Jeff Rojas

Shoot: Minimizing Belly

Lesson 15 from: Men's Portrait Photography

Jeff Rojas

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Lesson Info

15. Shoot: Minimizing Belly

Lesson Info

Shoot: Minimizing Belly

Okay first the foremost you're a great looking guy, right? Well, you know but I do I do I have a belly I do try to minimize it as much as possible but it's there and there are people with much bigger ones than I do so I think it's an important topic has something that allows people to focus on russ do if there was a way back as far back as you can without falling very important perfect spring this light and I'm just going to shoot you as you exactly are right now perfect. Russ do me a favor sit on the edge of the seat perfect uh hand straight back perfect not twenty belly not do what you just did perfectly just like that. Perfect. Now hands sword your sides just comfortable towards your sides pulled on your shirt tiny but I'm gonna help you perfect hands out of your pockets just standing towards the port point of this is to show the way that arm's on the way that we're looking at towards the belly perfect cross your arms perfect we'll put a seaman in fact bring your arms back down for ...

me and put them in your pockets ministry a couple go to poses and what not to can I see that the last five images together there's a point to this russ feel free to make me do bad hostess I am oh there's a hose is in there okay to purposely there's there's no worry there's bad news I haven't switched lenses were only focused on how to not show his belt like what we're doing to photograph his belly what does go to post where's my eyes leading right to the belly that's your first thing that you're doing next it looks wider but it's not as defined I'm not really looking at that I can use a thirty five and start sending you out I know that for a fact that's the same thing I'm starting to look in these areas I'm not looking in your belly so much okay belly again just the nuances of putting your hands in your pockets on focus there the other thing that you did was just perfect move your hands perfect lean in a tiny bit awesome perfect can I see that last photo uh compared to the first script put then that foot down for may perfect just like that edge of the chair awesome let's see those last two images uh together that first photo is russ's pose letting me believe that he has a really large bell it's not it's photo photographing him where I'm hiding his his weight by shifting his chest forward bringing his belly ever so slightly back letting the shirt fold up I'm not distracted by some of the shadows that are underneath his hand position his leg position also helped me again, it's at a forty five degree angle so it's not totally for short and I'm seeing this leg out, I'm focused around this area that's here I'm not looking at his stomach, you know, not not drawing attention or the crotch even though the hands there it's still yeah, so again, I'm gonna do the same thing they pose that you're posing now again looking at men as they are naturally I know that russ is trying he's doing this isn't the first thing, so what I know it's uncomfortable for him so he wants to showcase is best as possible. This is the conversation we're having. What is that doing for him so long? Getting the body? I'm not looking at the belly so much, those are things that he does naturally that I don't need to look at him and ask him to pose he's doing it instinctively so I can start defining okay what's making his belly look a little bigger is that the shirt? Can I use his arms actually lengthened amount so turning over to the side watch this perfect let's see those last two images together and face me directly forward like that legs together those last three image images simultaneously, so how much does moving him overto a forty five degree angle, moving himto a certain angle starting to lessen his wit you know those considerations we have? I'm gonna shoot you the same way thirty five or to the side like the left photo the first photo there I'm going to switch lenses too thirty five shoot portrait style a little bit of a closer and let's see how that works for you want to three awesome let's see that left hand a photograph so starts the longest his legs therefore it's not showing me and the photograph in the same position we had before. So what are you doing in that last image that thirty five what is it doing? Elongating his body it's stretching them out right? So I'm not so inclined to thinking he's as heavy is the first image so I was able to define or take away our visual interest from his belly to that last photograph where I'm just looking at length and he looks a little heavy but not not the heaviness that we see in the middle photograph or the left hand photograph so just using lenses also help it's about standing up I know that in groups or just even just standing by yourself like a shot of a groom standing man tell how would you how would you do that it's the first thing we want to do is never hide a subject, okay, I had that discussion with you guys earlier never hide a single subject it is not okay it is not pc making people feel their best for us we've done this dance before perfect what not to do awesome turns inside thirty five degrees thirty five degrees I was explicit on that one awesome watch this must stay there for me there's a point to this you're supposed to yell out perfect little tiny bit over to the perfect drop your hands at your sides perfect pulled on your shirt for me awesome do a fair and just kind of put your hand on your wrist perfect and don't look so happy you basically know what certainly one of the gangster mode for the way way to start doing laying poses next quickly that's for you do to our photographers what is that doing? I'm able to hide his midsection without necessarily drawing attention to anything else right? Because using his hands to create visual contrast I'm looking here this is where my eyes are saying I don't have to hide the subject behind something literally all I'm doing is making sure that he's tilted a tiny bit hand comfortable hand placed over the second option so we don't need again I'm gonna have you do the same thing facing forward is a perfect awesome you look like a bouncer awesome turn to the side one more time do the same thing awesome awesome and I'm gonna have you do me a favor and do the same thing again crossed arms chest towards me it's tiny but um leaning in towards me right there perfect awesome he's a year I know what's the first thing when you see russ when he when he's standing straight you see this leaning forward a tiny bit brings it back brings the chest forward brings chin out he's like yet let me see the last three images together how does leaning forward ever so slightly help out rust in his weight and removed from the wait here moves the chest forward doesn't work for every subject we talked about stony before was stone if he moves forward, all he's doing is broadening his chest men with a little extra love you can you can move them forward you could move them forward in belly back that's okay, not every subject is gonna look the same. You're trying accentuate its best possible visual interest is no longer at the belly on that last one it's very much on the hands you know, so subject like that in a suit looks awesome because you're not looking at with your not looking anything else styling wise I would generally use something let's say white underneath black contrast so if they're ah larger man picture russ in a suit you know what they have your blazer do you mind putting this on and the same pose senor two seconds I don't think you're getting the thing on with the clip on their thank you same post we had before it goes back tio okay forty five chest forward slight back shoulder back awesome looks great. Perfect when we changed about russ contrast okay let's see how that looks do you mind laying from perfect john if we could move this light down as far down as we can get it there were starting light room so you guys will get to see some of the images that we had before john lorenzo I've seen you do a couple of family poses and in different ways perfect. This is actually one of my favorite goto poses and it's very, very, very natural. The only thing I would have to say is that you're hiding. Okay, I think second to last photo so we can see russ quickly perfect bring bring that light towards lauren's a tiny bit this is gonna be fun for you. Wait taking you to our photos but there's my first go to post because it's very, very natural there's a lot of triangles in there. If we see triangle in the leg extension of the like that way, what do we do if somebody has shorter legs? How doe eyed along get those amusing a thirty five right now so do me a favor and turn actually total opposite stay there for a second mister the difference see there okay bring you like always back keep going keep going keep going just like that perfect perfect awesome let's see those last three images very very short leg now we're going to elongate it ever since lightly planned long leg move that light towards me a tiny bit awesome other things that you can do do me a favor put your weight on your elbow kate rescue had perfect awesome so what we getting you can imagine him with his little like robot his little rose in his mouth honey perfect I'm sure that one more time awesome perfect we're gonna get you with your eyes open promise and okay john if you could move that light ever since slightly yes that's what we need to do a perfect awesome awesome so I like that post because it has a lot of triangles in it and it's shifting weight now most I just pictured you doing them again just wait so what we see here I mean it's it's a it's fine or guard says elbow and his weight I would just say natural hand can you place your palm down for me on your right hand? Okay, perfect bring that hand over to the other hand perfect and perfect leg up for me again awesome I can tell you what this looks like it looks like the fire man and that they put in new york city calendars but here's that here's the honest truth art poses like this that you look shifting weight look a lot more comfortable and fluid as opposed to do a favor and just laid down like every normal guy would lay down regards to like two elbows back exactly wait tiny bit that way perfect and then head up from a awesome watch this I've seen a lot of these these mother may on dh you look so manly there yeah, yeah okay he looks short and fat and he's not and that's not what we want using thie angles using the triangle's longest his body definitely helps what about sitting ling sitting poses to mayfair it do the same thing that you're doing before leg up from a left perfect awesome bring that hands for the thie other opposite risk awesome perfect and sit back about a foot and a half being explicit there look that perfect awesome sitting on the floor perfect let's see this one more time? Perfect. Now next what I want you to do is you're just making me now, theo other thing a lot of guys do is they dio and indian squats, they do this, you know I could do it myself since you can't do I might have to do it this is fine, but this doesn't you still see crotch, right? This is what I'm saying. This is what I'm saying, there's a lot of other ways that you could do that, I actually feel more comfortable guy look more comfortable, I wouldn't do it at this angle, I wouldn't photograph there, I would try to find ways can you make my position here? I would try to find positions that feel more comfortable and, uh, switch legs from thank you perfect and then forearm on elbow supported so forum here and risk down awesome. So what I'm saying is that he has a lot of support I don't want to see crotch like that's what I want to completely avoid and I want a long get his body when we make him look a little taller, well happens if he's a little heavier and if you start looking at me from the side, I'm still using areas to kind of give me a tiny bit of negativity in this way to kind of give me a little bit of negative space, so I'm not as wide as if I did this for your things from side in my back like that's how why they look so just trying to use a little bit of space and this is this is kind of mean, do you feel like you could be at the park like this? You're just comfortable watching your kids like it feels comfortable. To go to pose is what we feel comfortable doing. And again, a lot of the posing that I do is its very much comfort, no it's things like this. If you if you kind of put your legs over, what is that doing? It's going to create train triangles in the bottom, getting triangles underneath, getting triangles from the floor in structure and support, and I feel comfortable that way. I wouldn't photograph forward because crotch up, avoid the crotch shot. If you learned anything today.

Class Materials

bonus material with purchase

Photographer's Style Guide for Men
Men's Posing Guid
Photoshop Black and White Presets
Adorama Gear Guid

Ratings and Reviews

caroline ross
 

I watched this class for free and am saving up to buy it. First of all confirmed! Sigma lens are nothing to be ashamed of and since I love my one main lens, Sigma I immediately felt a rapport. Then listening to the fascinating insights about men and their feelings when confronted by a lens and...what to do with folks who have shaved heads or a little large. Some of the tips were great! Adding a decoration on suit front like a flower or handkerchief, and how to get the suits looking FIT! and well, I plunged into man world and it was a super education. By day two I was amazed by Jeff's generosity. Basically all his experience, all his favorite lighting techniques and painstaking attention to detail. I would have to watch Day two zillions of times to actually be able to absorb all the scenarios and effects. Im going to buy some suit clips Jeff and clip a bunch of suits in back and front to gorgeous my male subjects out. Thank you again for a wonderful, wonderful class.

Lee Crow
 

I've taken a lot of photography training in the last couple of years. Jeff is outstanding. I didn't realize that this content would have such an impact on me. The lighting sections were the best I've seen and the psychological impact of us men having good photos is a wonderful subject to bring to light. The class is great. Jeff is great. CL is great.

MizUniverse
 

this course was worth every penny. Full of practical information and excellent demonstrations. Jeff needs to quit with the crotch comments though ..it was like ...really AGAIN? why are you so obsessed with saying crotch crotch crotch good God. Apart from THAT (which I think was just silly nerves) I really do recommend this class. Jeff is actually very very good. I admire his work. Thanks Jeff I learned a lot!!

Student Work

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