| I was on the mountain at the scenic overlook and a | | | | several shots, with and without smiles and then I |
| group of men skied up for a photo. I was really | | | | gave each of them a card with the photo viewing |
| excited that this group of guys wanted to get a | | | | information and they skied off. This was a simple |
| picture they had on expensive Spyder Jackets, so I | | | | example of how the head spacing can make the |
| wanted to do a good job. I frequently see them on | | | | photo look better. |
| the mountain training and I always belt out a hardy | | | | So what is it exactly, that you space out? The |
| mountain yodel to say hi, as they ski by! | | | | cheeks, hair, hat ? Nope, Imagine a dot on the nose, |
| We chewed the fat for a few minutes and they all | | | | right between the eyes. The dot is the spot to |
| posed for the photo. Cuuut! Ok, I could tell they | | | | space. Now it's just a matter of connecting the dots! |
| were not models, sure they were a real nice set of | | | | Try this experiment. Next time your shooting a group |
| guys, but they were not posers. They needed a little | | | | of people set the photo up as you normally would |
| coaching to get a good shot, that's why they came | | | | and shoot the photo. Then take a moment to space |
| to me. With a group like this I'm not going to get | | | | the dots out perfectly and shoot another shot. |
| fancy. The first thing I want to do is tidy up their ski | | | | Compare the composition of the images, WOW!!! |
| clothes so they look good. This entails closing their | | | | What a difference, you'll notice when you get the |
| pockets, zipping up their zippers, you know details, | | | | dots spaced just right, the photo has such a nice |
| details! | | | | professional look to it. A money shot. |
| I stepped back to shoot the photo and looked at the | | | | Now that your familiar with Horizontal Subject |
| group. Tip: When you step back to shoot the photo | | | | Spacing in your portrait photos, get creative and |
| always do a quick scan and look for things you can | | | | combine it with Vertical Subject Spacing. By using |
| improve. The men looked good with their ski gear on, | | | | your models heights and having the subjects sit, |
| all lined up, with the beautiful Sierra mountains for a | | | | kneel and stand, combine vertical and horizontal |
| backdrop. But, something was out of balance? It was | | | | subject spacing. Try forming geometric patterns with |
| the spacing between the guys. Actually they were | | | | the dots. You can make circles, ovals, triangles and |
| pretty evenly spaced, it was just the spacing | | | | more, get creative! |
| between the subjects heads was not even. | | | | This is a quick tip is a photography technique you can |
| I had the men stand up straight and proud, and had a | | | | incorporate into all your group portrait images, to |
| few of the guys adjust slightly left and right until the | | | | improve the quality of your work. Use uniform |
| spacing between all the heads was perfectly even. | | | | subject spacing and watch your photography sales |
| This is called Horizontal Subject Spacing. I grabbed | | | | grow with your next shoot! |