When Body Posture Tells a Story
I’ve often found when photographing people, I find their body posture to be the most interesting form of expression. Without showing a face, humans can tell a story with the way their figure is shaped and interacting with their environment.
Capturing Feelings of Drama
Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, 1818,
by Romanticist painter Caspar David Friedrich
When thinking about crafting dramatic photographs, I often think back to the art movement of Romanticism. It was a time period that emphasized nature, drama, individuality, and idealization. One of the prime examples of artwork from that era is the Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog. The painting expresses searching, longing, desire, standing at the edge of the world, and the confrontation of self and nature. The posture of the body contributes to those feelings being evident. The one leg up on the rock as if the man climbed all that way and was standing at the height of his accomplishments, yet still so far from truly discovering the vastness of the landscape.
Middle of the Action
Showing the figure in the middle of movement can express to the viewer what came before, what is happening now, and what is to come. Movement also tends to be more exciting and/or dramatic, as if capturing an exact moment in time that will not be repeated.
Showing Relationships
Two surfers on Lake Superior start their day, the first walking confidently into the water and the other running to catch up.
Where the Head is Turned
Where someone is looking can express direction, future movement, or desire. If the figure is in the middle of action, where the head is looking can show future movement. If the figure is static, where the head is turned can express a desire.
Reveal Feelings Without a Face
The worn and weary wanderer wistfully watches the waves.
The Relationship With Environment
How the figure moves and exists within the surrounding environment expresses the relationship they have. What is the story? Where are they? What are they doing? Why do they exist in this space? What do these things reveal about the person being captured?
The posture of the body will reveal the connection a person has with their surroundings. That connection can express their identity, their lifestyle, their career, or their relationship with other people in their environment.
More examples…
Closing Thoughts
When trying to tell someone’s story through a photograph, that story is non-verbal. It is entirely visual. The person speaks with the way they move, they way they look, and the way they fit into the world around them. Being observant and aware of what the body is communicating in a single moment is key to photographing the story of others, especially in an outdoor setting where feelings of adventure are always there to capture.
Until next time, see ya down the trail!