I like to think the goal of any pose is not just to look natural, although that’s one objective. but perhaps to tell a story and there are many ways you can pursue that goal.

As a young boy I looked forward to watching the International Race of Champions (IROC) series on the Wide World of Sports. The unique concept was to have the best-of-the-best racers from around the world compete in identical cars.

In my book Studio Lighting Anywhere I quote the late Richard Avedon who once said, “I think all art is about control—the encounter between control and the uncontrollable.” That’s what a dedicated studio, no matter what size it may be or where it may be located, can offer a photographer.

he definition of monochrome is an image displaying a single colour or different shades of a single color. Monochrome photography is photography in which the entire image is recorded and represented by differing amounts of light instead of different hues.

If few portrait subjects are perfect, no single pose if perfect either! That means compromises are inevitable and any “rules” you hear from me or anybody else should be considered suggestions to get you started.