One of the absolute hardest things to do in portrait photography is adjust the shoulders to look flattering. At least, that’s a technically tough part unless you really understand how your lenses work. But luckily, you’re about to read a tip that lots of photographers really forget about. And it really has to do with angles, lighting, and body language.
For more useful photography tips, click here.
This tip is inspired by an article we wrote over a decade ago. And it has to do with moving the shoulders:
In photos, squared shoulders can translate as wide and confrontational. Sometimes it actually makes an effective portrait, so if you’re playing around with different creative ideas, it’s fun to see what moods you can convey. But for a softer, more candid or demure feel, it’s worth altering the angle for variety in posture. Try turning your subject, or have them alternately drop and roll their shoulders away from you. The difference in posture can add interesting dimension and lines to the final image, which will in turn help lead the viewer’s eye around the frame. Shoulder positioning is a subtle detail that can entirely dictate the feel of a portrait. In a simple movement, the mood can change from soft and delicate to rugged and confident. It all depends on your intent.
Beyond this, I’m going to give you a tip on how to adjust your subject without even touching them. The key here: ask them!
- Ask you subject to stand straight at you.
- Close your right eye, and notice their shoulders
- Open both eyes, notice the shoulders.
- Close your left eye, and notice the shoulders
- From there, figure out which one is the higher shoulder.
- Using hand motions, point to the higher shoulder and ask the subject to move them back just a bit. Keep adjusting until you get something that looks even.
This works very well for standard portraits. But if you want to show more emotions, you can have one shoulder drop and face a tad more downward. Obviously, it all depends on your creative vision that you have to get in touch with yourself. But this is a worthwhile start.