If you have the privilege of planning your family portrait before it’s taken, you can choose the portrait colors, frame and layout based on where you plan to hang it. For portraits that have already been taken, you can usually find a great hanging spot in at least one room of your home.

Hang Portraits to be Seen A family portrait is meant to be adored by your own family as well as guests. The first choice to hang a portrait is usually the living room or dining room, but there are other hanging places you might not realize. Two areas often overlooked are the entrance and hallway. These are where your guests will enter and exit, and they’ll often notice whatever is hanging on the walls. An entrance is where your guests are first greeted by your home decor. Why not greet them with a beautiful family portrait?

Hallways are usually dull or dark areas of the home. You can hang a family portrait on your hallway wall and place two decorative wall lamps on each side of the portrait to draw attention to it. This adds light to your hallway and attracts attention to your portrait.

Another excellent location for family portraits is the wall along a staircase. Staircases have a natural way of highlighting what’s hanging on the walls around them. They provide additional framing for a portrait that makes it even more attractive. If your stairs are in an open area of the home, guests can see the portraits even if they don’t walk the stairs.

Hang Portraits Securely No matter where you hang your family portrait, secure it well with sturdy picture hooks, and use molly bolts for very heavy portraits. A portrait should be secure enough to withstand any shaking in the room or wall that could cause it to fall. When hanging a portrait near stairs, be sure to hang it where it won’t get knocked down easily while people walk up and down the stairs.

Recreate Old Family Portraits If you have an old family portrait you’d like to hang on the wall, but it’s just too fragile or worn to hang, you might consider having an oil painting made of the portrait. A skilled artist can bring out the best in any photo. Your family portrait is too precious to waste. You can preserve it as an oil painting on canvas, and transform your family portrait into a treasured work of art.

- David De Groot

When it comes to location, you have many options. Choosing where to take the portrait may depend upon the time of year or the resources available to you. Keep in mind that a portrait does not have to be the traditional head-tilting, arms folded, seated pose. Choices are endless!

Taking your child’s portrait outdoors can provide natural light and the beauty of nature. Trees, fences, flowers, fields, and even rustic barn doors create a wonderful backdrop to your picture. Taking a drive around the area where you live may help open up new ideas for backgrounds.

Local colleges typically have beautifully landscaped campuses. Sometimes they may also have a peaceful setting with a bridge and stream. Take the time to explore the areas around you. Often it may depend on what type of theme or idea you are trying to convey.

Flowers are naturally beautiful and therefore make wonderful backgrounds. Flowers around your house or perhaps at a nearby park could be used for your portraits. If you have a planter of flowers, put your child right next to them. Children holding some wild flowers is another option for your portrait.

- Christina Moyer

Portrait photography was the first popular picture in the history of camera, family pictures were discovered to date back even more than two hundred years ago. Over time technological advances gave photographs the possibility of catching images that occurred faster than you could see. Like a painting, a photo captures the mood and thoughts that show on the person’s face.

Portrait photography was popularized as a cheaper and faster alternative to portrait paintings, as a person could be represented almost perfectly. In the case of a painting everything was up to the artist’s talent but in the case of photography experience is more important than talent. Back in the 19th century when the exposure time was a problem people used all kinds of light amplification methods in an effort to provide best possible conditions. Thus it was common practice to use several mirrors to reflect the light on the participants.

As photographic methods evolved people started to move over battlefields or across oceans and into the wilderness in an effort to capture unique images. Those were the beginnings of our modern photography, when photographs needed an entire wagon for their equipment and developing tools. When compared to modern solutions those days may seem unimaginable but it is good to know where we started from to appreciate more the devices we have today.

When making a portrait photography in a studio the photographer has full control over the lighting of his / her subjects, and he / she can modify intensity and light direction as suitable. There are several lights in a studio than can be controlled directly: the main light gives the portrait primary focus and it is usually positioned to the left or right of the models under an angle of 45 degrees. A fill light appears in opposition with the main light, at a little distance, but it is of reduced intensity. This lighting item gives the photo depth and helps separate the models from the background. It is on such small details that the the difference between a great picture and a fine one is set.

- Muna wa Wanjiru

One very important factor in becoming a good model is posing, and in order for you to learn the different poses needed for the type of modeling career you are seeking it will take practice, practice, practice.

Make Your Posing Look Natural When preparing for your photo shoot, there are numerous steps you can take to ensure you are comfortable while posing and your photos will look more natural.

Get Posing Ideas Before you head to your photo shoot, pick at least ten poses you really like from fashion or glamour magazines, or poses you’ve learned from previous photo shoots. Take time to practice each pose in front of a mirror until you feel comfortable and have the confidence of knowing you look great doing these poses.

Hands and Facial Expression Also, focus on what to do with your hands and pay attention to facial expressions. A pose is virtually dead and unimaginative without a “look”. You should be able to close your eyes, imagine a thought, open your eyes and sell that thought. Practice this technique and your photos will come alive.

Become an Idea Factory Unless you are shooting for an advertising agency or some other type of special interest session many photographers recommend that you bring some of your own posing ideas to the shoot. In addition to your ideas, the photographer may have his or her own idea of how the session should go.

Rapport with Your Photographer Always work with a photographer you feel you can trust. This will make communication between the two of you easier and give you the confidence to express your own ideas.

Always listen to what the photographer tells you. If you are really uncomfortable with the pose, let your photographer know how you feel, in a nice way. Remember, he is looking through the camera lens and might see something you don’t.

If the photographer says she wants something different in the pose, try looking away from the camera or giving a unique facial expression. This is where your practice in front of the mirror really pays.

Posture When posing you should always keep good posture unless the photographer instructs you to do otherwise. Hold your stomach in to give your abdomen a more toned appearance. If you have gained a few pounds stick out your chin a little to avoid the appearance of a double chin in your photos.

Keep your fingers slightly apart and pointed away from the lens. Let your hands fall naturally into position whenever possible. Remember, you want to be yourself – on purpose.

Now that you have learned what to do, consider these things you should try to avoid while posing.

Things to Avoid when Posing for a Photographer

Misplaced Body Language Body language and expressions come naturally but the language you are projecting might not be what your photographer wants in a particular pose. You need to consciously focus on ways to prevent these habits while posing.

Don’t hold your breath during a pose. Stay relaxed and your photos will look as if you just happened to be sitting this way when the photographer walked up.

In most pose situations you want your arms, legs, wrists, etc. slightly bent unless you are directed to do otherwise Most people don’t stand or sit with their arms and legs completely stiff. A good point to remember is, if it will bend, bend it.

Mona Lisa Smile? Another posing tip to remember is that you don’t always have to smile. You should have a good variety of smiling and serious looks. But, sometimes you will want to give a large, open-mouthed laugh. If you are supposed to be happy, look the part!

Your Eyes are the Windows to Your Soul Don’t always look straight into the camera. When you cut your eyes to the left or right, you create an air of mystery. When you look up and away, you are annoyed. Tilt your chin slightly down and look straight ahead for a sexy look.

About Blinking Beware of the Blink! If you have to blink, try to blink between exposures. This is not always easy, especially if you are working in a photography studio. Some models get into a habit of anticipating the strobes and start to close their eyes when the picture is about to be snapped.

Get into the habit of not paying attention to the flash and concentrate wholly on the pose, your body language, hand position, etc. and your images will come out as you expect.

Be Bold!! Never be afraid to try out some of your own poses in front of your photographer. Most photographers are glad to hear suggestions from you.

How do You See Yourself? When you look at your final images don’t be critical of yourself. Find positive ways to improve your posing. Discover your strengths and weaknesses and shoot for the stars.

I am certain that Tyra Banks still works on her appearance and her posing artistry even though she has achieved a degree of stardom. Shouldn’t you?

- Bob Pardue