DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Spread ’em – A top tip for photographing tall & short couples

Nov 22, 2016 by John Aldred 3 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

tall-short-couples

Photographing couples can be great fun. It can also be a great big pain, especially when you are faced with a couple that have a pretty drastic height difference between them. The common tactic is to simply hunch the taller person over to match the height of the other. It’s not a very flatting look, and doesn’t really make for great photos, but it’s just a natural reaction.

Peter Hurley’s approach is a simple one. “Spread ’em”. The problem with having the taller person simply lean down is that it brings the shoulders forward, it shortens the neck, and just looks plain uncomfortable. Spreading the legs allows your subject to lower their height, while still keeping their torso and neck elongated and their head held high.

While it may look a little silly out of frame, nobody’s going to see it in the photographs. You have to admit, the results certainly look better than this. It’s more flattering for the taller subject, and doesn’t seem condescending to the shorter one.

peter_hurley_hunching

Whereas taller adults tend to automatically lean over to become level with shorter companions in photographs, I have noticed that some children often seem to instinctively “spread ’em”, when around younger, smaller children in a photograph. Funny how our thinking changes as we get older. But, regardless of age, or even gender, it’s a great technique to even out your subjects a little.

peter_hurley_spread_em

Spreading ’em can even work for photographers, too. Some of us may be much taller than our subjects, and spreading our legs to get lower is going to be much easier on our back then trying to hunch down for the whole session. You might want to practise to increase your balance and stability a little, though.

What do you think of Peter’s technique? Do you have a different method you use for photographing people of different heights? Let us know, and show some examples of your techniques in the comments.

[via FStoppers]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Here are ten go-to poses for photographing wedding couples Default ThumbnailNew Fad? Taking Videos While Dangling Over Tall Buildings This photo shows a rare symmetrical 65-foot tall dome of lava Quick Tip: Photographing a Reluctant Subject? Shoot From The Hip (Or From The Ear)

Filed Under: Tutorials Tagged With: couples, peter hurley, portrait, portrait photography

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« You can now use Nikon lenses on all Sony bodies
GoPro Karma owners to receive a free Hero5 Black »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Photographer’s Block? Here’s how to get out of a creative rut
  • Zhiyun MOLUS G60 & X100 LED lights are tiny-tiny powerful LEDs
  • Three new full-frame and APS-C Sigma lenses coming soon
  • Sony launches DSC-HX99 retinal projection kit for the visually impaired
  • DIYP Quiz: AI or photo?

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy