Model Posing Techniques: Foot Posing

In fashion, commercial and glamour photography, it is not just the posing model‘s face that makes the shot, it is her entire body.  Every part of her body, every detail, that makes up the composition of the shot contributes its the overall appeal.  While we often concentrate on the fact, it is actually every detail that contributes, including leg posing.  You want nothing to draw the eye, to detract from the final shot.  Photography is about angles and lines, so a foot that is poorly placed, or an ankle that is awkwardly cocked can ruin a really good shot.

The range of motion of the foot is the crux of foot posing.  The ankle acts as a pivot point for the foot.  It can roll in and out as well as up and down.  The ankle is often used to convey various looks and attitudes by cocking it to one side or another.  The best way to view this if from the front view where the ankle begins at position one – directly over the toes.  From there, it is cocked in toward the other foot or out and away from the other foot.

Photographers and models often refer to this action of cocking the ankle as “rolling.”  Rolling in means the ankle rolls in toward the other foot.  Likewise, rolling out means it rolls away from the other foot.   There are many points that fall between the extreme in and extreme out.  Each point can convey many concepts and attitudes.  Each point, of the three main positions, does have significance, but too much of an angle created from cocking the ankle can look awkward or unappealing.

A common female foot pose is with the ankle rolled in.  This means that it is cocked toward the other foot, creating a graceful curve that gives an air of elegance,sophistication and femininity.  The proper placement of the feet in relation to each other, though, is important to correctly execute this pose.  One foot is slightly in front of the other with its heel at the instep of the rear foot.  The toes of the forward foot are turned out slightly.  This basic foot pose for models is often used in fashion photography.  When the right foot is the forward foot, the pose is called a “right hemisphere.”  When the left foot is the forward foot, the pose is called a “left hemisphere.”  Modifications of this pose can be achieved by sliding the forward foot to the side or the front a few inches.

A straight ankle gives an air of arrogance, haughtiness and strength.  In this strong foot pose, the ankle is lined up directly with the foot.  In fashion photography this foot pose is usually found in shots where femininity is not necessarily desired or the garments are less feminine.  This may also be considered a rather masculine pose also, but many commercial models use it when they are trying to move away from the ultra feminine style.

Rolling the ankle out generally conveys immaturity or a casual air.  You will see this foot pose in high fashion shots when the photographer wants to achieve a more chic, funky attitude.  In its place, this pose is very effective, but don’t overdo it.  In many shots it just is not very attractive.  It really depends on the image or attitude that you want to convey, what you are modeling and the tone of the set.

While the ankle has a great deal of range of motion, the foot itself also lends a great deal of motion as well.  It moves in a arch, like a fan.  It doesn’t matter if the model posing is sitting or standing, the placement of the foot and ankle are very important.  You don’t want anything to draw the eye.  When the model is in a standing position, she usually has most of the weight supported on one foot.  This foot supporting the weight is the “basic foot” while the other foot is referred to as the “show foot.”  To illustrate, the basic foot in the right hemisphere would be the left foot while the show foot would be the right foot.  In this pose, the toes of the show foot may be moved at various angles to the body.  They can point straight ahead, slightly to the right or at a 90 degree angle to the right.  

Although the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere are the basic model stance, the starting point for walking and for other poses, there is another rather neutral position of the feet.  The side by side position of the feet is universally neutral and from there the toes can point in toward each other, point out or point straight ahead.

The extreme of the range of motion of the foot is not usually desirable.  Just because the foot can turn at a 90 degree angle does not mean that you should pose that way.  Generally, the foot remains in the neutral position with toes forward or slightly fanned out.

Childishness or playfulness are conveyed when the toes point inward, giving a pigeon toed effect.  This is also indicative of awkwardness, inexperience or shyness.

At the other extreme, when the foot is fanned all the way outward, the attitude is usually casual or unsophisticated.  Teen models often use this foot pose, especially when conveying a nonchalant tone or rocker image.

A model should have a clear understanding that each part of her body is capable or conveying certain tones, moods and images.  It is evident in every tilt of her head and every posing of her foot.  It is because of this that she should have solid working knowledge of executing poses and controlling the different part of her body so that she can create the clean lines that photographers want.