Photography Cheat Sheets

very cool, thanks!

Ed, true, but the cheat sheet is a great way to find a base line when testing a theory or playing around. (not good on set, I do agree)

My argument is not that the cheat sheets are of no use at all- my problem with them is the become a "crutch" and pass over the basics of building poses, lightings and compositions. 

Few people realize that even a head and shoulders portrait or head-shots star with posing the feet, creating a comfortable stance or seated position even it the lower body does not appear in the image.  This is done as a matter of body mechanics to create balance, base and a good shoulder line and posture in the image,  Bad posture and not having the spine at full extension causes poor balance that shows up in the portrait and difficulty in sustaining poses for even a short time also occurs.  If poor posture and stances are present, perfectly fitted clothing can look ill-fitting.

By the same token, just placing a light by means of a diagram or even an illustration is not the same as customizing a lighting for each individual subject(s). There is also a correlation of lighting and posing and there are two form of composition to examine in a portrait.  One aspect of composition is how the subject is placed in any given format and the other is composition withing the pose, that is how placement of the arms and legs create lines that lead to the face in order for the face to become the motif of the portrait. 

It is a matter of building an image from the foundation upward to the face, not just trying to create an image with no base or foundation. 

All refference materials are good and helpful as long as photographers realize  that there are other important factors that are not in in books, on line, in the DVDs or the cheat sheets.   

All the best!   Ed Shapiro