My prevailing theory is it creates a hypotenuse that makes their hypotenuse-leg look longer and your brain generalizes tgat impression/illusion to the other obliquely (and therefore: skinny-er)?
You’re on the right idea, but it’s got nothing to do with triangles, and more to do with lens tricks and musculature.
The weight-bearing leg is positioned furthest from the camera, allowing lens foreshortening to make the active muscles seem smaller to match the front leg. The front leg is extended without bearing weight to smooth out the muscle fibers, and in this case creates visually-interesting leading lines. Sometimes they’re crossed in front too. Same effect, back leg bears the weight.
TOP ANSWER - Fascinating actually. Excellent take here :)
Where the heck did you learn all that?
I used to do photography as a side gig, with an interest in fashion and portraiture. When I was dealing with new models or doing portraits for friends, I had to do a lot of posing with people who don’t know how to position themselves for the camera.
Feminine bodies tend to look better on a 45 degree angle, making the entire frame look slimmer. Our stupid brains tend to only see the width in the image. Masculine bodies look more powerful facing the camera straight on, and with the lens higher than the subject, which makes an inverted triangle shape. Broad shoulders, skipped leg day, etc. For young guys, I’d generally get them to crouch, look up, and get up on a ladder, and then zoom in on their head & shoulders. Magic. Old guys can’t crouch. Bad knees LOL
High camera can also work well for some women, but tends to emphasize chest size, which isn’t always appropriate given what the portrait needs (ie, we doing a business headshot or a sexy dating profile?)
God i love this place
cause legs can be sexy? coupled with it being a somewhat dominant pose, I suppose?
To make the pose less boring
Nah they wanna look lankier/skinnier + everyones doing it!!
Triangles are peak performance
I mean not exactly like that but I find it comfortable to put the weight on one leg when stopped remporarily like for a light and let one leg not be weight bearing and rest for a bit.
I’m having trouble imagining what you’re referring to. Have an example?
I added a not extreme example of it (not 45° but still diagonal)
Because one of their legs is longer.
They all do it tho basicaly? I feel like its a physical convention of being photographed as a woman like in Hollywood
Same reason if you photograph a bunch of weight lifters they are going to pose to hilight a thinner waist and bulky arm/chest or god leg development.
Its a single snapshot that can capture your best or worst look.
Women posing are going to accentuate a leg or heel, rather than standing straight on with two boring front views of identical feet. Trends happen too, remember the bent over butt out pose that was super popular in the early 2000s
Do you agree with my hypotenuse/leg-lemgth theory?
What’s the theory? Pointed toe makes leg look longer?
The diagonal leg makes a hypotenuse which makes it seem longer and skinnier
Well as a mathy guy, only with a pointed toe, otherwise the hypotenuse would make their foot be short from the floor LOL
Its not about the distance to the floor so much as…something i cant quite put my finger on
To let out a fart
