Photographing Women

PHOTOGRAPHING

Women

POSING, LIGHTING, AND SHOOTING TECHNIQUES FOR PORTRAIT

AND FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY

JEFF ROJAS

PHOTOGRAPHING WOMEN

Posing, Lighting, and Shooting Techniques for Portrait and Fashion Photography Jeff Rojas

www.sajorffej.com

Project editor: Maggie Yates Project manager: Lisa Brazieal Marketing manager: Jessica Tiernan

Copyeditor: Valerie Witte Layout and type: WolfsonDesign Cover design: Aren Straiger Interior design:

WolfsonDesign Indexer: Maggie Yates

ISBN: 978-1-68198-174-1

© 2017 Jeff Rojas

All images © Jeff Rojas unless otherwise noted Rocky Nook Inc.

1010 B Street, Suite 350

San Rafael, CA 94901

USA

www.rockynook.com

Distributed in the U.S. by Ingram Publisher Services Distributed in the UK and Europe by Publishers Group

UK

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016941046

All rights reserved. No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized

in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage

and retrieval system, without written permission of the publisher.

Many of the designations in this book used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are

claimed as trademarks of their respective companies. Where those designations appear in this book, and

Rocky Nook was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been printed in caps or initial caps. All

product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the

benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark. They are not intended to

convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book.

While reasonable care has been exercised in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume

no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained

herein or from the use of the discs or programs that may accompany it.

Printed in Korea

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For all of the beautiful women in my life. Mom, Grandma, Fallon, and Melissa

—thank you infinitely for being such a positive influence in my life!

A special thank you to Ted, Scott, and the rest of the staff at Rocky Nook for

making this book a reality! I couldn’t have done it without you guys! Thanks for

putting up with my shenanigans all these years!

Miguel, thank you for being the older brother I never had! Let’s keep hustling!

And lastly, thank you to each of you who’ve believed in me and continue to be

such supportive individuals. It’s through that support that I find the motivation to

continually move forward.

Thank you all, Jeff

JEFF ROJAS is a photographer based in New York City. His primary body of

work includes portrait and fashion photography, although he has also directed

fashion films and commercials. Additionally, Rojas is a photography instructor

and educator who has taught on various photographic platforms, including

CreativeLive, Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI),

PhotoPlus Expo, Gulf Photo Plus, and American Photographic Artists (APA).

contents

Introduction

PART I DEFINING FEATURES

CHAPTER 1

Face Shapes

Before We Begin: My Ethical Responsibility

Choosing a Lens

My Method

What I Learned from a Makeup Artist

Square

Round

Triangular

Oblong

Oval

Diamond

Heart

Finding Your Subject’s Face Shape

Postproduction: Dodge and Burn

CHAPTER 2

Body Types

Hourglass

Apple

Pear

Inverted Triangle

Rectangle/Column

CHAPTER 3

Perceived Flaws

Before We Begin

The Importance of Color and Matching Skin Tones

Color Spaces

Shooting

Editing

Delivery

Skin Blemishes

Eye Bags

Redness or Rosacea

The Ultimate Tool for Retouching: Frequency Separation

Retouching Tools in Adobe Photoshop

Acne, Scars, Wrinkles, and Stretch Marks

Large Forehead

Double Chin

Glasses

Symmetry

White or Graying Hair

PART II POSING AND STYLING

CHAPTER 4

Understanding Body Language

Body Language Made Easy

Body Language of Women Versus Men

Making Her Feel Comfortable

Using Curves and Negative Space to Your Advantage

Taking Up Space

Analyzing the Subject in Her Environment

Forget What You Learned About Posing

CHAPTER 5

Standing Poses

Finding Inspiration

Additional Inspiration

CHAPTER 6

Sitting Poses

Beauty Poses

Sitting Poses

Additional Inspiration

CHAPTER 7

Lying Poses

CHAPTER 8

Styling 101

Fit over Finish

Styling for Portraits

Hair and Makeup for Photo Shoots

Styling Tools for Your Studio

CHAPTER 9

Styling Difficult Features

Fuller Figures

Taller or Thinner Women

Shorter Women

Double Chins and Shorter or Wider Necks

Long or Skinny Necks

PART III LIGHTING WOMEN

CHAPTER 10

Introduction to Lighting Women

The Properties of Light Made Easy

Lighting Gear

CHAPTER 11

Portrait Photography

Portrait Versus Beauty Photography

Beauty

Classic Portrait

Boudoir Overhead

Boudoir Side Window Light

Vintage

North or South Window Light

Dramatic Portrait

CHAPTER 12

Commercial Photography

Hair Campaign I

Hair Campaign II

Beautiful Skin

Accessories and Shapes

Jewelry Ad

Commercial Portrait I

Commercial Portrait II

CHAPTER 13

Fashion Photography

Traditional

Dramatic

High Key

Lookbook I

Lookbook II

Jewelry Campaign

Fashion Editorial

Conclusion

Introduction

WE ARE ALL UNIQUE

I’m currently sitting in my apartment writing this introduction, less than a month

after the release of my first book, Photographing Men . I’m proud to say that

I’ve received endless positive feedback—regarding the book and also from the

innumerable men and women who’ve applauded my feminist perspective on

photographing men. While that sounds contradictory because it’s a book about

photographing male subjects, it’s actually quite fitting. After all, feminism is the

belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities—I just

happened to apply that belief to photography. My stance is that both men and

women should be able to look and feel their best.

As I’m writing this, the inquiries are pouring in; I get a handful of emails every

day, requesting that I put together a book on photographing women. Because

there are literally dozens, if not hundreds, of books on photographing women, I

couldn’t rationalize how my perspective would be any different from other

authors. It wasn’t until a close friend reminded me of a very important fact: as

artists and individuals, we all have unique circumstances that form our

perspectives in life and in art. That’s the beauty of being an artist. We are all

inherently unique.

So, what makes my perspective on photographing women different from anyone

else’s?

I sincerely believe that my experience working alongside truly amazing people

—on both sides of the camera—has directly influenced the way that I approach

photographing anyone. I’ve had the pleasure of working with an eclectic mixture

of subjects from all walks of life and also an amazing team of creatives, who’ve

all spent decades working in the industry. All of our stories and experiences

combine to create the work that you’ll find in this book.

MY EXPERIENCE PHOTOGRAPHING WOMEN

Believe it or not, I never intended to become a photographer. On the contrary,

my goals and endeavors were always aimed toward the corporate world. I truly

never understood how artists sustained themselves without a guaranteed source

of income—a paycheck every two weeks, if you will. That’s simply because the

most creative and artistic people in my life all had full-time jobs in order to

sustain themselves and their families. That disposition would later change, once

I met my first photography mentor.

Before I committed to becoming a professional photographer, I worked in a

corporate office, which afforded me the ability to purchase my first DSLR—a

Canon EOS Rebel 450D/XSi. I originally purchased the camera as a way to

document the restoration of a classic car that found its way into my garage. As

time passed, my interests shifted from the restoration project to my DSLR. I

quickly became obsessed with photography and was extremely eager to learn as

much as I could about light and composition. It was time to invest in

photography classes.

As you’d assume, finding workshops catering to photographing people was

easier than it was for cars. Through a unique series of events, I eventually found

myself assisting the event coordinator for a retail camera store in Fairfield, New

Jersey, called Unique Photo—pun intended. In exchange for my time assisting

her setup on workshop days, I had the opportunity to listen to various lectures by

some great photographers, such as Lou Freeman and Robert Farber. Each of

them had decades of experience photographing women for major brand-name

companies. That was absolutely invigorating to see.

I would eventually meet my first photography mentor, Lindsay Adler, a portrait

and women’s fashion photographer. Lindsay was by far one of the most

hardworking and dedicated individuals that I had ever met. By 27 she was the

author of two books, and she was already working on her third. She balanced

shooting full-time, writing, editing, teaching, and running her business on her

own. It was the first time in my life that I’d met anyone with that level of work

ethic. About a week after meeting Lindsay, I was laid off from my full-time,

salaried job.

Needless to say, that was quite unexpected. Lindsay was kind enough to hire me

as her full-time studio manager and assistant. We spent countless hours in the

studio, primarily photographing independent labels, fashion editorials, and

female athletes. About six months later, Lindsay and Lou Freeman would

partner to teach photography around the United States, and I went along for the

ride. Two and a half months and fifteen thousand miles later, you could say that

I’d learned a thing or two.

After that tour, I could literally replicate every single lighting setup and pose that

they used. After all, I’d listened to their presentations dozens of times. This

would eventually lead to creating my own stylistic approach to photography and

my work being published in magazines across the globe. As of right now, you

can find my work featured in publications from the United States all the way to

the United Arab Emirates, like the cover for Velvet Magazine (Dubai) in Figure

I.1 . In fact, most of my notable credits, such as images appearing in Elle and

Esquire , were featured overseas—and they’re mostly of women.