How to direct and pose like a pro

HOW TO DIRECT AND POSE LIKE A PRO

How to go from taking average photos to creating awesome portrait and lifestyle images – for pleasure or profit.

This world class course will show you how to direct like a pro and reveals the secrets top photographers use to produce such stunning images.

Calling the Shots Course

Ready to take your portrait and lifestyle photography to a whole new level?

If you want to create magic in your portrait photography, you need to connect with your subject. Whether you’re shooting women, men, groups or children, you need to know how to direct and pose them so they look natural – and amazing.

When it comes to shooting people, it takes more than great technical knowledge and smart lighting skills to really get the perfect shot.

It can be frustrating when you know that you’ve done everything right. You’ve found a great location, the lighting is sublime, your gear is working perfectly, you know the ideal F-stop and shutter speed to use – but your shots just turn out …. okay.

Well, all that is about to change.

In this course, Gina will teach you:

  • The posing secrets used by top photographers
  • Smart hacks that show how to really get the best out of your subjects
  • How to put your subject at ease – whether you are photographing the girl next door, a supermodel, or a football team
  • How to banish awkwardness, nerves, insecurity or arrogance
  • What you need to do in order to get the shot you want.

This comprehensive guide will change your photography forever.

The number one name in portrait photography

When it comes to portrait photography, Gina is the number one name in Australia. She has spent the past 25 years shooting everyone from high profile A-list celebrities, to CEOs to the guy who runs the corner store.

Her work has been featured on magazine covers, billboards, and in editorial spreads and advertising campaigns all over the world.

Learn from Gina’s 25 years of experience

Improve your photography RIGHT NOW

You are going to learn so much from this course and will be able to put your new skills into practice immediately.

And you can get started straight away. With over 74 modules – filled with 3 hours and 30 minutes of instructional videos – this course is full of practical examples and ideas that you can swipe for your own photography.

You can use these tools to improve and enhance your photography right now. 

Your shots will never be the same again.

What's included?

0+
modules
0+
minutes of amazing video
  • My classic “go to” poses and how to achieve themou need these in your toolbox. As a portrait photographer, you need classic poses you can rely on which look amazing (almost) every single time. You’ll also discover how to vary those poses to suit your own style.
  • 6 top ways to pose menYou want men to look great – without looking cheesy. Over the years, I’ve developed these poses that area ideal for men. We also cover the poses you must NEVER do!
  • 5 essential poses to make women look amazingWomen will love you if you can make them feel beautiful. However, every woman is different. I’ve developed 5 awesome poses you can’t live without.
  • The best way deal with childrenWhen you’re working with children, some photographers adopt the attitude: “Shoot as many frames as you can and hope something works”. I reveal my hacks on how to work with kids quickly and efficiently.
  • How to shoot couples without looking cheesyIt’s so easy to end up with contrived shots that make people cringe slightly on the inside. Here, you’ll discover the exact frameworks you need to shoot romantic (and platonic) couples.
  • Arranging groups for the perfect balance in your shotYou might be shooting a corporate group, a school band, or a family photo. Group shots can often look either messy or boring. Here’s the technique to make them look incredible.
  • How to take a great head shotMaster this and you can create an entire career just based on head shots. But you need to get them right. You’ll discover how here.
  • What gear you need to take great portraitsIf you want to get serious, I outline the gear you need to take great portraits.
  • How to create the right environmentNo matter where you’re shooting, creating the right environment is all about bringing the right attitude and vibe to the shoot. I’ll show you how.
  • What to do with hands and feetsThese pesky appendages often appear like they’re in the way! I reveal my techniques on how to incorporate them perfectly in your shots.
  • And much more!

Cheatsheets and Resources

When you enrol, you’ll be given instant, 24/7 lifetime access to a private training community featuring 74 training videos to give you the skills you need to transform your photography.

You will also receive invaluable cheatsheets and resources to help you:

  • Create professional run sheets for clients
  • Send pre-shoot preparation emails to female models on what to wear, what to bring, what NOT to wear and so on.
  • Send pre-shoot preparation emails to male models on what to wear, what to bring, what NOT to wear and so on.
  • Checklists for before, during and after the shoot.
  • Cropping and composition guidelines
  • Lens compression cheat sheets
  • And much more

Specifically: You’ll get all the training and tools you need to up-level your photography immediately and ensure your images look like they have been shot by a true professional.

For photographers at all levels

Whether you’re a newbie or a professional, this course will improve your photography.

How can a course cater to newbies AND professionals? This course does because it’s not about the technical aspects of photography. It’s about directing and posing your portraits.

It doesn’t matter whether you are the most technically proficient photographer on the planet – or whether you picked up a camera for the first time last week. When you learn the right directing and posing skills, you can use these skills immediately, no matter what level you’re at. And you’ll see a marked difference in your shots.

You’ll learn professional posing and directing techniques – the same techniques Gina has used with Daniel Radcliffe, Justin Bieber, Claudia Schiffer, Rebel Wilson, Rachel Griffiths, The Dalai Lama and many others – that will apply regardless of whether you have an entry level or pro camera. (And if it’s good enough for Harry Potter, it’s definitely right for you.)

Learn from Gina's experience

When I first started out in photography, I spent so much time trying to get the technical stuff right – you know, the lighting, the aperture, the softbox, the shutter speed – that it took me a while before I realised that I was missing a really key ingredient.

That all important connection with my subject.

I realised I couldn’t just plonk them in front of the camera, issue a few directions and hope that one of the frames was going to turn out.

When I took the time to really connect with my subjects, I ended up with shots that graced magazine covers or were used on massive billboards that I would stare at while driving down the freeway.

The secret is that you don’t have to spend a lot of time to connect with people. (Sometimes I’ve been allocated a mere five minutes to shoot them!) You just need to understand what you need to do in order to get the shot you want.

Over time, I developed a proven framework to get the best out of people. And I worked out a series of “go to” techniques to take amazing shots of men, women, children, groups and couples. I’ve used these techniques in all my photography – and it gets results every time!

I’ve worked out how to deal with insecure people, arrogant people and everyone in between – not only to produce shots that they love, but that look great as well.

But it doesn’t have to take you 25 years to learn these techniques. Why? Because I’ve packaged everything I know about directing and posing people into this course. Think of it as a comprehensive guide that will change your photography forever.

3 of the most common challenges facing portrait photographers

No matter how good you are technically, portrait photographers often face the same dilemmas.

  1. Your “model” feels awkward or nervous.
    As photographers, we’re not always blessed with professional models who know how to strike the ideal pose at the drop of a hat. We’re often shooting “real people” who can be nervous in front of the camera. Even if they say they’re ok, their body language tells another story.
  2. Your “model” is insecure of his or her looks.
    There are tonne of things that can be running through your model’s head. “Am I too tall/fat/thin/short?” “Are my arms too big?” “Does my bum look big in this?” “Is this the image I want to convey?”
  3. Your shots are good – but you know they’re not great.
    Your pics are missing that X factor. There’s nothing especially wrong with them but they are not jumping off the page. They’re not going to win you awards or score a lucrative editorial or advertising job.

“CALLING THE SHOTS: HOW TO DIRECT AND POSE LIKE A PRO”

START LEARNING TODAY WITH THIS JAM-PACKED ONLINE COURSE. IT’S DESIGNED TO TEACH YOU VITAL DIRECTING AND POSING TECHNIQUES USED BY PROS. THIS IS NOT TAUGHT AT PHOTOGRAPHY SCHOOL. AND IT WILL UP YOUR GAME AND ENSURE YOUR PORTRAIT SHOTS ARE BETTER THAN THEY HAVE EVER BEEN BEFORE.

BONUS Resource #1

Cheat sheets and templates that pro photographers use. These include:

  • The ultimate portrait checklist – On the day
  • The ultimate portrait checklist – Before the shoot
  • Portrait Shoot Call Sheet – great to give to your clients and crew
  • Pre-shoot preparation email for female models
  • Pre-shoot preparation email for male models
  • Portrait backgrounds: ideal backgrounds and ones to avoid
  • Lens Compression Cheat Sheet: should you shoot wide or long?
  • Cheat Sheet: Cropping and Composition: fine-tuning your portraits

BONUS Resource #2

My exclusive Portrait Power Pack of 50 Lightroom presets (Valued at $97)
These are the presets I’ve used on iconic images I’ve shot for magazines covers, billboards and advertising all around the world. And now you can apply the same techniques to your own images. If you’ve never used Lightroom, don’t worry. I’ll show you how – it’s easy! (And you can try it for free thanks to the 30-day free trial.) With 50 amazing presets to choose from. These include:

  • The B&W Old School Collection: A faded grunge look and hint of grain to give your portraits a retro film look with a slightly warm tint. Use them to add a retro edge or old school film look to editorial and portrait shots.
  • The B&W Split Tone Collection: The split tone pack contains 10 presets to add a subtle split tone to your B&W images.
  • The B&W Retro Collection: The black and white retro collection was inspired by 1950’s and 60’s black and white film era when photographs had grain and contrast and everyone looked so cool.
  • B&W Roma: Inspired by 1950’s Rome. It’s a contrasty black and white preset perfect for street portraits.
  • Date Nite: A black and white preset with a broad tonal range that has been specifically created to rescue overexposed highlights.
  • Fidel: A soft pastel preset designed to give your portraits a cool retro feel with a bit of edge.
  • Gorgeous George Collection: Designed specifically for portraits of men. Ideal for editorial and advertising jobs.
  • Happy Highlights: This is for character portraits shot on the go, it adds more detail to highlights and texture to the skin and hair.
  • Jaipur: Inspired by the soft dusk light in Jaipur, India. Use this preset on travel images if you want to create more of a cinematic feel.
  • Musk: Use the Musk preset if you want to create a softer look on your images. I first created it to use in a series of images of a ballerina from the National Cuban Ballet company.
  • Open Shadows: Ideal for dark moody images that need more detail to the shadow areas. Perfect for low key or moody street portraits.
  • Ping Pong: This subtle preset is great to give skin tones and midtones a little kick.
  • Pushbike Romeo: This matches the black and white film stock I first started shooting with more than 25 years ago.
  • Rainman: This brings out tiny details in portraits like rain or water droplets, with a touch of grunge.
  • Rockstar Tommy: Designed for photographing rock stars. It’s gritty and grungy and tough just like all rock stars should be.
  • Sunshine 30: Add a splash of sunshine to your images with this preset. Perfect for adding a hint of sunshine to images shot on overcast days.
  • The Ratpack Collection: Inspired by 1960’s Vegas. Use them to add a cool vintage look to your portraits.
  • The Vignette Collection: This is a collection of borders to give your images a slick finished look. A vignette draws the eye of the viewer into the frame and helps to highlight the areas you want people to focus on.