The body speaks, communicates, expresses, and much more than we think. Surely you have heard many times about body language. Well, today I am going to talk about this tool that you can use in your portraits to give them the emotion, feeling or state that you want to convey.
It is true that there are many studies on this subject, that each gesture can mean something specific and that this can also vary depending on the culture or situation. But it is also true that there are certain gestures, postures or body expressions that transmit sensations to us without being an expert in the matter.
Surely you have ever known that someone close to you was not in the mood no matter how much they told you otherwise, and surely it was without the need to analyze if they had their arms in a certain position or put their hands in a certain area of their face, it was something else intuitive. Imagine now that you also know certain gestures and postures that you can easily use in your portraits, do you want to take advantage of that opportunity? So keep reading, I'll show you some examples.
PROFILE-BASED BODY LANGUAGE
I am going to start with the types of portraits, because depending on the type of profile that we use, the image will tell us different things:
- Front profile: This is the profile in which the shoulders are aligned perpendicular to the photographer and the model's gaze is directed elsewhere. With it, escape, peace, tranquility are transmitted...
- Front three-quarters: with the gaze fixed on the photographer and the shoulders not aligned, but one directed at the camera, a point of aggressiveness is expressed. The model can appear more sensual , mischievous or direct.
- Frontal: with the shoulders aligned and the head facing forward, it is a simple portrait that does not contribute anything special unless you accompany it with a gesture, look or position of the hands. Look at these two images, doesn't the second tell you much more than the first? The defiant gaze and the setting give the portrait a more direct and aggressive attitude.
GESTURE-BASED BODY LANGUAGE
In a photograph we cannot capture the tone of the voice but if we can transmit that tone with one or more gestures, we will see what some of them mean or transmit to us.
THE SMILE
The first thing we can think is that a smile will always transmit joy, but this is not always the case. A slight, forced smile will indicate more insecurity than anything else, a lack of confidence or even shyness.
It can also indicate that you hide something that you do not want to share with the rest. A wider and more natural smile will show joy and pleasure. Oh, and be careful with crooked smiles, they serve to show sarcasm... ? Look at the following two images, what do they convey to you?
LAUGHTER
Because laughter is not the same as a smile, right? Laughter can indicate much more than joy, it can also tell us about fun and greater happiness. It is one that almost certainly infects the viewer and also ends up smiling.
HANDS ON WAIST OR "ON HIPS"
They indicate security, trust and willingness to achieve what you want.
BOREDOM
A yawn, the face resting on the hands and a blank look are unmistakable signs that the person in the image is bored.
SHYNESS
Hiding behind an object, covering your face with your hands or not looking directly at the camera show shyness, insecurity.
CROSSED ARMS AND LOWERED GAZE
You can achieve a defensive stance by folding your arms and looking down.
FROWN
If what you want is to show aggression , ask your model to frown, show her teeth, tense her body and/or clench her fists. Any of these gestures indicate aggressiveness.
OTHER GESTURES
- Sensuality: a fixed gaze, biting her lower lip, touching her hair, lips or any part of her body are some of the gestures that your model can make to appear sensual without having to wear her underwear.
- Nervousness: you can represent it with the model biting her nails or with her fingers in her mouth and looking away from the camera.
- Control and security: legs apart and a straight body, hands in pockets but thumbs out, or hands clasped behind the back and looking straight ahead, are gestures that convey control and even superiority.
- Concentration: with one hand on his chin and his gaze focused on a specific point, the model will appear to be very concentrated, even more so if he frowns a little.
- Self-confidence and superiority: if this is what you want your model to convey, ask them to sit with their arms raised and their hands behind their necks. And if you put your feet up on the table, the sensation is multiplied by 10!!
EXAMPLE OF BODY LANGUAGE IN PHOTOS
On the street you can do observation exercises, observe the postures and gestures of passers-by, the position and attitude of a person with respect to those around them. Let's see two examples:
1. What do you think of this photo? At least I get the feeling that the two gentlemen on the right are questioning what the one on the left is telling them. Does it give you the same feeling?
2. And what about these two young men? It is evident that they are two strangers, but it is more evident that they do not want to have the minimum contact, neither visual nor verbal...
Now a small gallery of portraits for you to reflect on what they transmit to you:
On other occasions we have talked in the blog about how to transmit sensations or feelings with your photographs, today we have presented another tool so that your photographs are even more loaded with symbolism, because as you well know, in a photograph not everything is about quality, the The story behind each capture or the protagonist is what motivates many photography lovers to keep pressing the shutter button.
