Technique 3: Posing the Face

This section is about the actual position of the face, not the expression. When posing the face, keep in mind the neck. I look for contrast between the neck and the head. Without contrast separating the two, the neck will blend with the face, giving you one big mass of skin—which is not flattering to anyone. You can achieve this contrast through:

• Lighting, by making the face brighter than the neck.

• Depth of field, by focusing on the eyes and choosing a shallow aperture to blur the neck.

• Changing the angle of the chin by moving the head left or right so that at least part of the chin has a background other than the neck. The background can be the person’s hair or hand or simply the actual background of a wall or foliage.