How to take good engagement photos of obese persons?

Some friends have asked me to take engagement photos of them this weekend which I don't mind doing. The problem

is that they on the larger sidel. Can anyone give me tips on how to make

the pictures look good? I can't imagine full body shots are the way to go but remember both faces are quite

large too so I'm just not sure how to make them look good at all. I realize they both know they are overweight,

but I would still like the pictures to look good. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Just take the pictures like you would any other couple. So there over weight, who cares ! Your not going to hide that fact with a clever camera angle.

Amy,

 

There are several ways to capture appealing images is this situation:

 

1. Shoot from above. This will place less emphasis on their bodies, and looking up will help with double chins. Large apertures will help to put emphasis on their faces and blur their bodies.

 

2. Use a wide angle lens when shooting from above. This will shrink their bodies.

 

3. Short side lighting will put the broad side of their face/body into shadow and make them look relatively smaller.

 

4. Proper clothing choices.

 

5. Turn bodies. Never shoot with their shoulders square to the camera

 

6. Hide bodies. If she's bigger than he is, pose her behind him to partially hide her body. You can also use props to the same effect-light poles, etc.

 

7. Keep arms away from their bodies. When the arm rests against the side of the body, it flattens and looks larger (you can check this on yourself in the mirror). Pose so that the arm is away from the body. This will also avoid the ugly fold of flesh that occurs at the front of the armpit.

 

Paul

Paul is right on the money.

Thank you so much Paul, I appreciate how much you gave me on that answer!

Good info from Paul. My only question is about item #2. Won't a tele work better than wide angle? Seems to me that the wide will exaggerate their faces.

Be aware of the fact that if you approach your photo session armed with all the tricks you'll learn here that there is a strong possibility that they will figure out what you are up to and it "may" be offensive to them.

 

Just a good thing to keep in mind ... add the "tricks" in as part of a "normal" session or risk offending them.

 

Heck, you might just ask them how comfortable they are with photography ... they might be very uncomfortable and appreciate the tricks Or they may be Very Comfortable with who they are and they could be offended.

 

Just thoughts in passing.

Well lets hope that they dont google your name and find this post as they may get a little offended.

As a formerly super morbidly obese person, I would want you to shoot me as you would anyone else. The basic principles should always apply that have been mentioned here, but if their weight does not bother them dont let it bother you!

It's a perfectly reasonable question, no different from asking for advice on lighting groups of people with mixed skin colors, etc. There are several overweight women in my extended family and I wouldn't be worried if they discovered that I was trying to learn how to photograph them in the most flattering way possible.

 

This PDF has some tips that are similar to Paul's, along with illustrations. The photos are just okay but as illustrations for the technique they're good enough:

 

http://douggordonworkshops.com/extras/article7.pdf

 

I've seen other good illustrated tutorials on the web, tho' I've misplaced the bookmarks.

O.T. Lex... what pray tell, is a perpendicularity consultant's task?

 

ON topic, there are ways to help diminish the larger appearance. One is to shoot with longer lenses to flatten/compress the perspective. Another is to shoot from an elevated angle (big head, small body), and a third is to lay them on the grass facing the camera with feet out behind (this is just a variation of the shoot from above theme).

 

Best of luck.

Matthew's question is certainly reasonable, but it's all about proportion. By varying distance and focal length, you can balance the proportion without making the subject look like an alien.

You can also use the liquify command to subtly slim the bride.

 

On the other hand, maybe they need a wakeup call about their weight problems...

When I have photographed heavy couples I have viewed it as a personal challenge for me to be at the top of my game. Paul's advice is excellent and don't worry about posing the couple - they look to you to make them look their best.

 

One thing that is not obvious unless you have worked with heavy people is their limited mobility. Poses that would usually work with people with thinner builds will not work with heavy people as their arms are "shorter" with their expanded girth and they are going to be less comfortable in certain settings.

 

Give yourself plenty of time to work with them and try many different poses in different settings making use of stairs, benches, bushes, walls, etc both for posing and to block part of their bodies - shooting a couple through a gate with vertical rods is slimming as the viewer's eye is interrupted in moving across their bodies.

 

Choice of clothing is always important but even more so for heavy people. In particular avoid t-neck shirts and blouses - V neckline are much kinder to thick necks. Stay away from anything with a pattern and if you have the time it would be best to help them pick out their clothes for the shoot.

Paul....I really like your ideas.

 

I have a client I am very concerned about. I recently shot her engagement photos and she was very disappointed. She claimed I should have posed her differently. Her wedding is in a few weeks and I'm very concerned about this. I've shot weddings for 7 years and never had anyone complain about this. Any suggestions on how to handle the situation? Should I offer to "re-shoot" her engagement shoot and try some different things?

<p>Heavy-set subjects are in my view, the toughest by far to please. It can be done, but any resistance you get is probably mostly psychological in nature. What I am saying is most people subscribe to the myth that anyone can be made to look pleasing in a photograph; this just isn't true. All you can do is try to minimize the things that will make them look anything but <em>their</em> best. The only problem with this type of photography is at the end of the day, no matter how hard you work to follow all the previously listed rules, stay upbeat, and compliment the couple, the end result, no matter how terrific or flawed, will be yours and yours alone. No client in this category will see images of themselves and think "I don't look that great there, but then again, I don't look that great". They will blame YOU for their shortcomings. So brace yourself and good luck!</p>