Master Posing Guide for Portrait Photographers: A Complete Guide to Posing Singles, Couples and Groups

If you've moved beyond the very basic of photography - the rules of thirds, getting on the floor to photograph the baby at eye level, then this book is for you. It explains how to see relationships of the body, i.e. shoulders as a base to head. How to slim down a heavy person by twisting the hip and moving arms away from body. The book covers detail to body parts such as hands, feet, legs, and how to posture them. Author is heavy on the 80% mental / 20 % technical, which is true. Heavy emphasis on communication with subjects - which makes for better posing / relationship with the camera and photographer. Useless are the books with picture after picture of excellent posing. They don't teach you how to look at the person first and then feel out the best poses for person to strike. I found it more effective use of my time to use knowledge gained from this book, rather than trying to copycat poses from other books. Drawback of the book? Doesn't elaborate on technical terms like Rules of Thirds, and at times does not draw diagram to illustrate: "...a line running through the pit of the neck and drawn perpendicular to the floor shows where the feet must be placed in order ..." However there are a lot of photographs that serve as examples - the bad paired with good to illustrate the book's advice / concept .

This book is very easy to read and explains all technical issues but in an easy to understand manner! Good examples throughout the book along with some sensational pictures that just make you smile! I ordered two books on posing & portrait photography and the Master Posing Guide book is SO MUCH BETTER than the other book which was good reference but was too technical to read smoothly, and the author used more professional equipment than I could afford to own at this time. In the Master Posing Guide the primary camera used was a Canon Rebel 2000 which is the camera I own so made it seem like an extra bonus!I'd give this book 10 stars if I could!

This book explains clearly how to set up portrait shots of different kinds of people in different settings. Well organized with good examples of images.

Everything you need to know about posing children,groups,pets you name it it's there.

J.D. Wacker, one of the country's formost portrait photographers, has put together a book that redirects photographers back to the essentials of their craft. Too many books and articles today teach tricks and techniques that rely on fads or the latest (but soon to be obsolete)equipment. They forget that the most important aspect of photographic success is the photographer's own perception and insight into his subject's personality, not the equipment that he is using. This is the joy in reading this book. Nothing gets between you and the subject.Mr. Wacker covers posing children, high school seniors, women, men, groups, action, among other things. Unlike other books on the subject, he also covers problem situations. Things do not always go as smoothly in real life as they do in predesigned examples. His book is filled with practical tips, from how to keep a baby happy to how to pose an executive. (A hint, they both have to be photographed quickly, but the executive will probably not respond as well to the bubbles.)I recommend this book to anyone who's photography concentrates on people. Although it is written primarily for professional photographers, it is refreshingly free of jargon and would be useful for anyone who wants better photographs of their friends and relatives. I guarantee that the information in this book will make a difference.