ARMS

can do one of two things: they can add to or detract from a picture! Legs may carry the weight of the model, but the arms carry the responsibility for balance, artistry and supporting expression.

Arms require more attention in model posing because arms attract more attention in the finished picture.

Posing arms requires care for they can wander in many directions, while the camera limits them to relatively few usable model positions.

Model posing, it's sound difficult? Tricky, yes, but not as involved as it may seem if you can begin to think of arms in three segments: upper arm, forearm and hand.

In your mind's eye, flatten the shape of the upper arm and forearm so that they appear to be cut out of cardboard and can be joined by cotter pins at the elbow and shoulder joints.

Can you visualize how each of these two sections of model can revolve in a circle, like the blades of a windmill, around its cotter-pin-axis ... without rising from our model posing page?

If arms actually moved in such a manner, they would never be a problem either to you or the camera.

MODEL POSING: SANDWICH  FACES CAMERA

AT ALL TIMES (MODEL MAY ROTATE WITHIN SANDWICH)

ARM MOVEMENT CAMERA-WISE

cannot precisely duplicate the flat, flat con­ception of our schematic cardboard and cotter-pin figure, but the essential move­ment is correctly represented by its wind­mill-like motion sidewise, rather than to­ward or away from the camera.

The camera's viewpoint must be considered whenever the model's arms are moved. If an arm moves toward the camera, a part may be foreshortened or enlarged. If directed too far away, a part may lose its identity or be grotesquely dwarfed. The closer the camera approaches the subject the more bizarre the distortion becomes.

The one-eyed cyclops establishes laws, restricts movement ...all must conform!

Although modern model posing pictures are allowed more creative leeway with distortion and perspective than formerly, smart directors and models start compressing the model into boundaries before it reaches the lens.

Model boundaries take the form of two large panes of glass, parallel to each other and perpendicular to an imaginary line extending from the direct center of the lens (lens axis).

These two pieces of glass sandwich the model and restrict the movement of her arms in model posing. Even so, her arms can swing freely to either side, meet overhead, or cross her body in the narrow zone between it and the glass.

Thus we begin to see that these restric­tions are not absolute in model posing. Each arm actually has great freedom within its limitations. Even though the movement of the fore­arm or upper arm is limited so far as depth is concerned, we discover many interesting positions still available to each arm.

UPPER ARM   MOVEMENT
FOREARM MOVEMENT

UPPER ARM

positions in model posing can be noted or directed by lo­cating the elbow. When the body faces front, the elbow may move, within its re­stricted area, out (away from the model body), up, in (toward the center of the model's body), and down again.

This circuit establishes four basic stops or positions for the elbow with many in­termediate positions.

In its normal position the upper arm hangs down from the shoulder and there­fore the most used sector for the upper arm is out and down

NOTE: This circle must remain facing the camera even when the model turns to '\ and side views. Therefore such directions to the model as in and out can be changed to front (model's front) and back (model's back) when the body turns.

FOREARM

positions are established by noting the po­sition of the wrist in relation to the elbow.

Since the elbow is the pivot point, the model posing position of the forearm is determined after the upper arm is set.

In its normal position the forearm also hangs down and its four basic positions are designated by the same terms as the upper arm; out, up, in or down or by indicating intermediate positions as in and down, up and out, in and up and out and down.

This circle must also face the camera regardless of the direction the body turns while model posing.

NOTE: In this schematic model posing diagram the forearm describes a complete model posing circle with one side remaining up. In practice the inner forearm sweeps half of this model posing circle, then twists to let the outer forearm com­plete the circle.

COORDINATING UPPER AND FOREARM MOVEMENT

centers in the placement of their common meeting point - the elbow. Its location not only fixes the axial point from which the model forearm takes action but it starts the line of the arm flowing from the shoulder in a specific direction. The placement of the wrist can continue this line or it can op­pose it. When both elbow and wrist are in the same quarter of the circle, obtuse angles are formed and the arm is at its longest. When they are in opposite quar­ters, acute angles are formed and the arm is at its shortest. If the two segments of the arm are in adjoining quarters many dif­ferent effects can be achieved.

The location of the elbow in relation to the shoulder joint is the key to determining the location of the model's upper arm. It is located down, up, in or out 'in toward the body or out away from the body' when the model's body faces either in full-front or full-back views.

In model posing if the model's body is in a 4 position (either front back) or in a side view, the positions to the right and to the left of the camera are designated in terms of the model's front or back, depending upon which way model's body faces.

It is important to remember that both the upper and forearm circles always re­main flat to the camera, regardless of which way the body faces or turns.

When the elbow is placed near the waist­line several factors must be considered. If the elbow comes to rest in the edge of the waistline silhouette the arm often looks like part of the body, especially if the tone of the garment is the same at both elbow and waistline.

If the elbow is moved further away from the model's body on the same line, a lacework or air space develops between the two parts by separating them so that the background can show through. Such an area, surround­ed by parts of the body is usually called a trap and can be very useful in designing a pose.

If the wrist and elbow are both placed on the waistline the forearm comes straight across the model's body and cuts it practically in half. Few pictures of women require such severe geometric treatment.

On the opposite page you will find a chart representing the range of possible views the camera can use of the arms while the model's body is facing the camera at model.

You might direct or try each of the com­binations shown. Pay particular attention to the model posing positions which are natural and easy to use. The impractical ones are marked with a*

For instance, if the upper arm is in an out and down model posing position, the camera can see the:

Inner wrist with the forearm in either of the out positions or up and in.

Outer wrist with the forearm in any posi­tion on the model posing circle; however, up and out is not practical.

Thumb edge of the forearm in any position on circle (up and out is impractical).

Little finger edge of the forearm in any po­sition on the circle.

You might want to try these four model posing com­binations of the upper and forearm while the upper arm is in the out and down posi­tion. You might also like to experiment with the upper arm in each of the other seven positions shown.

COMBINING UPPER AND FOREARM MOVEMENT

PART OF ARM VIEWED BY CAMERA

UPPER ARM         ELBOW JOINT

inner        outer        thumb edge        pinky edge

'DOWN'   'OUT &DOWN'   our   'OUT & UP' UP' UP & IN'   IN'   & DOWN'

inside   inside   inside   inside back* back back   back   back inside*

The forearm has the freedom of each quarter indicated by the light area. *An arm can assume this position only under strain, tension or pressure.

TWISTING THE  WRIST	3/ 4 FRONT VIEW, PINKY LEADING EIGHT VIEWS OF THE HAND MADE POSSIBLE BY TWISTING THE WRIST

THE HAND

is controlled by the wrist camerawise. Since, at this point, becoming involved with a handful of fingers might prove confusing, let's consider the hand as one mass. Imag­ine it gloved in a flat, pointed box con­forming roughly to the hand's general out­line.

This box, like the hand, has broad sur­faces on the front and back. The narrow edges are easily identified as the thumb or pinky (little finger) edge. Many views be­come possible with two movements of the wrist called the twist and the break.

Twisting the wrist does not actually twist the wrist at all! To understand fully this model posing movement, you must think of the forearm and hand as a single, flat, continuous bar; the palm and inner forearm on one side and the back of the hand and outer forearm on the other. As the wrist twists it flips the bar from one side to the other or stops part way to display the edges. Breaking the wrist means breaking the continuous line formed by the hand and the forearm at the wrist junction. The wrist can break in two directions 1) sidewise, or 2) front and back. When the wrist breaks sidewise it can break in (toward the thumb) or break out (away from the thumb.) When it breaks front and back, it breaks forward (the palm toward the inner fore­arm) or it breaks back (the palm of the hand away from the inner forearm). As these movements are used singly or in model posing combination, many views of the hand become possible ... some more acceptable than others.

BREAKING THE WRIST

HAND POSITIONS BOLD AND TAPERED

result from movements of the wrist, the forearm or combinations of the two.

Side views of the hand, that form a long point at the finger tips and all other narrow model posing positions which add length to the forearm are said to taper, while any model posing position that stops the flow of line, foreshortens the hand or shows the hand as square or boxy is called bold and shortens the overall effect.

Tapered model hands . . .

primarily display the long inside or outside contours of the model hands.

They add length to the arm and grace to the picture as a whole.

Since they are used to express finer emo­tion and character, their message is relayed in subtle differences of position and care­ful attention to detail is of utmost impor­tance in their use.

Bold model hands at model posing . . .

display the broad flat palm, back of the hand or geometric shapes, such as a clench­ed fist. They are deliberate attention getters ... masculine and massive. Their abrupt bulk stops the eye. Bulk transmits positive feelings of physical vibrancy, strength, dynamic emotion or authority. Sometimes bold model hands are used to convey negative feelings of clumsiness or violence.

HAND-STOPS are the places where model hands normally stop. You should have used these ten hand-stops thousands of times without thinking of them... but can you remember them at the crucial moment? Knowing a few hand-stops will provide you with a sound basis for interesting, re­laxed, uncomplicated hand positions when you begin to wonder just what to do with a hand. When a hand stops - creative effort should begin. Opportunity for origination presents itself at any given stop. No turn or movement, however slight, is insignifi­cant. Never be afraid to explore all of the subtle differences that can be expressed with the model hand in model posing. Endless variations of actual model posing positions at each of these stops can be originated by: twisting the wrist breaking the wrist varying finger arrangements

Endless ideas for what the hand can do at each stop will stem from thinking about what you have seen and can do. For in­stance, a hand on top of the head might be pushing hair out of the model eyes, scratching the head in puzzlement, holding a hat in the breeze, simply model relaxing there, putting a pin in the hair, etc. If you'll form the habit of watching people do these things you'll soon discover that each of these actions can be done in many different ways ... with the hand remaining on top of the head!

Once the hand stops - start working with it to form bold or tapered model positions which help communicate the idea of the picture accurately yet conform to the limitations of the camera.

MODEL ARMS IN MODEL POSING PICTURES

are the despair of countless directors and models. Some even resort to concealing the arms, reasoning that 'no arm movement is better than poor arm movement'. And, to an extent, they are right. You can keep your head above water - but you will never win any races that way!

Arms are essential to quality model posing. Arms can be an asset or a liability and the only way to obtain effective results is to use them effectively.

If you are apprehensive about the prob­lem - cut it in half. Work with one arm at a time. Remember that the camera is me­thodically collecting space and pressing it into a flat picture surface. You as model cannot ignore model posing rules.

The design in which the three segments of the arm reach this flat surface is of prac­tical importance. Because the arm is fasten­ed at one end and telescopes to the other, it seems sometimes to take on properties of direction in its flow of design.

At other times it seems to encircle or bound areas - mentioned earlier as traps.

While some directors are sensitive to the excessive light these traps hold, all find them most useful in design.

When the arm makes a trap, its size, shape, location and position can be used to photographic advantage.

If the arm assumes direction and seems to go somewhere ... it does so in a continu­ous line or a broken line.

When you look closely at the arms on these pages you soon see that there are two kinds of continuous lines. One is absolutely straight: upper arm, forearm and model hand in a line. The other is a flowing line composed of these same parts arranged in a curve.

When the line is broken it takes the eyes around right-angled corners, or down and back with acute angles at elbow and wrist.

The direction of the arm, from shoulder to finger tips, moves: toward the model body (up or down) away from the model body (up or down) across the model body (high or low) parallel to the model body (high or low) or, relates itself to the horizontal, diagonal or vertical lines of props or to the pageitself by crossing, becoming parallel to or striking it at an angle. Whether you use dynamic symmetry, a special formula or your inborn sense of balance to arrange them - one thing is sure: there is a myriad of excellent model posing positions to choose from.

Can you

... recognize the general design of each arm in model posing? Does it make a trap, a continuous or a broken line?

... spot and identify any rectangular traps? Many sizes of triangular ones?

... state quickly the general direction of each line? (Up, parallel to the body; out, at a right angle to the support, etc.)

... direct yourself or someone else in the specific position of each upper arm il­lustrated? (Use basic positions and sec­tors on page 60)

... recognize each model posing forearm position illus­trated (page 63)

... recognize each model posing hand position illustrat­ed? (Use pages 66 and 67)

BUILDING THE POSE-DIRECTOR

Arms pose no problems...

if' you remember the following points:

1. All final instruction must come from you, the director, who can see what the camera is doing to the arms.
   
   
2. Keep the model's posing arms and hands from reaching toward or away from the camera to any great degree.
   
   
3. Tapered model's posing positions of the hand add length to the arm and bold positions shorten it.
   
   
4. Both arms do not have to show in every picture. In fact, in £" positions, placing one arm behind the body often gives clean delineation to the body's outline. But if the forearm does not show, it is best not to let the hand pop out of the outline unexpect­edly. It is quite distracting to a viewer to see a hand appearing from nowhere at the  waistline or to notice a strange bump in a pocket.
   
   
5. Sharp angles at the elbow can be soften­ed, if desired, by moving the elbow slightly toward or away from the camera and a right angle (from the camera's viewpoint) can be made obtuse by the same action.
   
   
6. An arm can always be made to appear more slender by diverting the wide inner elbow and flat forearm away from the cam­ era.  There  is  a popular misconception that the full width of the elbow cannot be turned away from the camera without turn­ing the hand also. Nevertheless, it is possible and most models posing can do it naturally or with a little practice ... whether the hand is sup­ porting the model body or not.
   
   
7. Keep the elbow away from the waistline. If the model's arms must cross a standing figure, they should do so above or below the waist­ line. An elbow at the waistline makes the body appear thick, heavy and masculine unless an air space or contrast of tone pre­vents the arms from attaching themselves to the silhouette and adding weight and bulk to the outline.
   
   
8. Soft flesh is distorted by pressure. When the soft part of the arm presses into a hard­er surface it may lose its smooth outline. Pressure can be eased by leaning lightly, or when possible, carrying most of the weight on the hard parts of the arm such as the shoulder bone, elbow, wrist or hand.
   
   
9. An arm supporting the weight of the model body, should not reveal too much rigidity or tension. Strain can be eased by better weight distribution or a momentary shift to ease it just before the picture is taken.
   
   
10. When thought is put into the proper loc­ation of the elbow, no additional adjust­ment of the upper arm is necessary. Also, with the capricious forearm secure at one end, all creative effort can be concentrated on the location of the other end of the fore­ arm and the position of the hand.

It's simple if we take a tip from stage directors and chalk guide lines right on the floor. Make two lines parallel to each other and at right angles to your lens. Place your model between them and explain that she is standing between two larges panes of glass that have been set upon those lines. (The space between the lass depends upon the distance from which you are shooting and shouldn't be more than 14 or 16 inches apart if you are working fairly close.) Show her that the glass will limit her movements to positions acceptable to the camera.

Help her adapt the idea by letting her move her arms between the imaginary boundaries. Stop model posing when she strays out of bounds! A few minutes of experimenting will give her confidence.

While she is still mentally between the glass, ask her to turn model's body to a J or side position and move her arms again ... reminding her that the glass has not moved.

Then explain to her that although the glass sandwich does not move when she moves ... it does move when the camera moves. If you move your camera to one side the sandwich base revolves to face the lens. If your camera moves low and tilts up, the sandwich tilts forward. If the camera goes high and tilts down, the sandwich tilts back. (The model posing remains free to turn within the sandwich, regardless of which way it tilts or turns.)

In addition to briefing model posing on perspective you might also give her a quick review of hand-stops (five or more) to show her how many natural places there are in which to put each hand. The few minutes you spend explaining the rules of the game puts the model at ease, so working as a member of your team. The actual practice you receive while indoctrinating her will clarify your own thinking and help you to formulate a method of clear-cut and simple instruction.

Thus you'll soon turn a stilted subject into a sympathetic and creative model posing.

Fortunate is the director who works with a creative model. More fortunate the cre­ative director who can guide his subject into preconceived or inspired attitudes. But most fortunate is the creative director who knows how to exploit a model's posing creativity!

When your model suggests poses by in­itiating action and you select what you want, a casual or candid type picture usual­ly results. In order to save great amounts of time, you would do well to give your model a quick summary of key points in arm movement related to the camera as a basis for making more of her suggestions pho­tographically useful.

If, on the other hand, you have a pre­determined position that you want the model posing to assume as naturally as possible, you must be able to give simple and precise direction to bring it about.

Close your eyes, think of an arm posi­tion down to its smallest detail. Direct some model in the position of which you have been thinking. Ask yourself this question: Does it fit the mental image? Teach your mind's eye to see a picture first... then all you have to do is direct it. Practice until you have a bag full of tricks; pet phrases, subtle sug­gestions, key words, gestures, etc. that form and transform your model's posing position quick­ly and easily to the positions you want.

When these two methods of arriving at a pose are combined and you have a tal­ented model who is able to create arm po­sitions; when you have become a skillful director, able to select and correct, the basis for the third method of arriving at natural and interesting arm positions has been established. Pictures resulting from such a set-up invariably rate high.

Self evaluation . . .

will show you in which departments you need to develop more skill.

Go back to those old prints of yours (the good and the bad ones) and look through them for examples of:

1. Model's posing arms that flow in the right direction.
   
   
2. Model's posing arms that stop the eye when you want it stopped.
   
   
3. Model's posing positions of the arm that parallel the body, the page, a prop.
   
   
4. Arms that seem to balance the body nicely.
   
   
5. Mismatched hand sizes, excessive fore­ shortening or distortion.
   
   
6. Variety of arm angles. Do you seem to have any favorites?
   
   
7. The upper arm in positions other than the out and down sector.
   
   
8. Soft flesh pressured out of its natural position.
   
   
9. The elbow touching the waistline.

10. Model's posing arms crossing the body and not interfering with waistline definition.
    
    
11. Bulky hand positions used to advantage.
    
    
12. Right angles at elbow or wrist used un­ intentionally (combined with acute or obtuse angles).
    
    
13. Right angles put to dramatic use.
    
    
14. Foreshortening of the forearm.
    
    
15. Elbows too near or too far away from the camera.

In other words, does your use of arms show variation, creativity, ease and natural­ness? Have you leaned too heavily upon one or two hand-stops without suggesting others? Are any positions masculine that should have been feminine? Any feminine that should have been masculine? Are any sophisticated that should have been ado­lescent or naive? Are any candid and loose that should contain dignity and formality?

Further your self-evaluation by doing a little research into the methods of current photographers who are having their work more frequently published than you. From several different magazines (in order to get a good cross section of work) clip all the hand positions you can find.

Separate them into the hand-stops we have illustrated and make separate piles for the extra hand-stops you will undoubt­edly run across.

Now start evaluating the model's posing pictures in each pile. For instance: hand on the hip. Are some hands placed lower than others? Do some use the thumb in front of the body instead of the model's posing fingers? Do others, with the fingers in front, use a different break of the wrist? Can you see more of the back of the hand in some? Note the most effective va­riations in each stack and try to determine what they add to the picture as a whole. Did you find any new ideas?

Try to imagine each picture at its incep­tion and what direction must have been necessary to attain the result.

In order to evaluate further your ability as a director, clip a picture from a maga­zine, study it (body, legs and arms) and lay it aside. Now, without looking at it again or letting the model see it, try to move model posing with words. Face away from your model, direct her from your mental image of the pose studied. When you have finished, turn around and see how closely your verbal direction reflects what you want!

BUILDING THE MODEL POSING

Adding to your many charms,

You posses two lovely arms.

They must be properly used,

So their worth is not abused;

For assets of utility

Can prove a liability.

So, our best advice to you, whenever you are modeling for a picture ... come armed with a working knowledge of what you can do with your arms!

Physically, arms . . .

... support the body in whole or in part,

... support an object,

... touch  an  object  supported  by  other means,

... may be concealed to give prominence to other parts of the body,

... balance the body.

Artistically, arms . . .

... express emotion,

... add design or balance to the composi­tion,

... direct attention where desired,

 .. add interest or story to the picture,

... add character or color to the model posing.

Remember, also, that a pre-requisite of appropriate arm movement for the camera is a general knowledge of how the lens ap­praises arms. In order to appreciate its viewpoint - go to your mirror. Put your face ten inches away from the glass. Hold each hand up beside your face, palms to­ward the glass, thumbs touching the lobe of each ear. Compare the length of your hands, from the wrist to finger tips, with the length of your face, from the bottom of your chin up to your hairline. They are ap­proximately the same size.

Now, move your right hand about five inches toward the mirror and your left hand about five inches away. Close one eye and compare the difference in the appar­ent size of your hands. With but few inches difference, the hand that moved toward the mirror will appear much larger than your face, while the hand that moved away will appear much smaller. The hands, in comparison to each other, will show even a greater difference.

The camera sees things in relatively the same manner. Movement to or away from the camera can play havoc with your pro­portions, or if you know how to use it, can help you.

Your natural question then is, 'what can I do when I can't actually see myself, and I don't know just how far I can move with­out distortion?' The answer is easy. First, listen to your director and think before you respond. Secondly, when you are ex­pected to suggest poses yourself, mentally set your boundaries and keep parts from straying to or away from the camera.

Feel yourself sandwiched between two parallel panes of glass. (Illustrated and explained on page 58.) These panes of glass will enable you to move your arms sideways as your body faces the camera, or forward and back as your body is in a side view.

To familiarize yourself with this move­ment and establish an indelible awareness that will serve you well, take the time to make your own cardboard and cotter-pin figure as shown on page 148.

The arm will consist of three parts; the upper arm, the forearm and the hand. In fact, make two versions of the hand... the broad flat hand like the one illustrated on page 64 and a taper-thin hand on page 149. Start manipulating the elbow first, then the wrist. Reproduce the arrangements you have originated before your mirror, or in silhouette practise.

Suggesting poses . . .

with ease and assurance, before the camera, results from concentrated observation and actual practice. Observation can be started by clipping forty to fifty £ or full length pictures from magazines and spreading them before you on a large table. Get ready to separate them several times. The first time into two stacks,

1. Continued-line arms (straight and flowing) lines
   
   
2. Broken-line arms (acute, obtuse and right angles)

Where the arms are in different positions, cut the figure in half so that you can put each arm in its correct pile. While you are sorting them notice ...

... how long the arms look in the continued-line pile,

... the masculine look of those at right angles,

... the graceful obtuse-angled arms,

... how every forearm reaching toward the camera is foreshortened,

 .. the position of the elbow in relation to the waistline,

 .. how the arm becomes shorter when the forearm meets the upper arm at a very acute angle,

 .. the expressive qualities of the arms in each pose,

... the different patterns of the traps formed by the arms in relation to each other and the body; triangles, rectangles, squares, trapezoids, etc.

Now, shuffle your pictures and separate them into another two piles, this time ac­cording to the position of the wrist.

1. Straight wrist
   
   
2. Broken wrist

Further separate the broken wrists into those that are broken in (toward the body), out, up, down, toward and away from the camera.

Look closely at the last two; broken toward and broken away from the camera. Can you detect the wrist movement or combinations of movement that produced these positions? (Look for the thumb and palm of the hand to key the identity of their movement.)

Notice in all of the wrist pictures how some make a slight break, while others make an extreme break.

Do the straight wrist pictures seem ath­letic, crisp and strong to you? Do they de­pict assurance?

Do the broken wrist pictures give you a feeling of grace, of relaxation or flexibility?

Now, reshuffle your pictures a third time into examples of:

1. Bold hands
   
   
2. Tapered hands

Do you notice that tapered hands of model are used frequently? And that bold hands rival the expression and importance of the face?

Can you detect any picture in which either hand is displayed poorly but could have been improved by a simple movement of the wrist?

Fourth step is hand-stops. Reshuffle and separate your illustrations again into hand stops (some of which appear on pages 68 and 69).

Which pile has the most variations of model's posing hand positions? (Do not count positions as different that are duplicates in reverse.)

Get in front of your mirror and see if you can originate at least five different model's posing hand positions at each hand-stop for which you found an example.

In your collection of pictures, have you noticed...

... any display of the broad inner elbow that could have been made more attrac­tive by bending the elbow slightly and rotating it so that the narrow side faces the camera?

... any display of unnecessary tension, sprung joints or distorted flesh when the arm supports the weight of the body? (Double joints at the elbow or on the fingers also appear to be sprung in a picture unless arranged to look nor­mal.)

... how the majority of model arms and hands crossing the body are usually in a con­trasting tone or color so they do not ap­pear as part of the body in model posing?

... the casual, yet expert placement of hands and elbow to preserve waistline profile?

... any model picture of the model arms crossing the body at the waistline? If so, do they seem to cut the silhouette in half and make it appear heavier than if they crossed above or below the waistline?

... that a hand extended toward the camera looks like a stub at first glance?

...model posing... how much faster you can detect what a figure is doing when the model's hands and arms are separated from the body with air spaces?

Taking model posing direction...

is an important phase of your being useful before the camera - particularly where arms are concerned. You, as a model, are composed of many individual parts. How­ever, you also must be composed when given direction as to which part to move. Becoming flustered may result in the loss of a perfectly model posing and wonderful picture, should you change a whole arm when all the director asked you to do was to break a wrist or twist a forearm.

 Therefore, complying with direction ac­curately is of utmost importance. You must know how every part of you is capable of moving camera-wise. When given a cor­rection, of arm or hand placement, think before you move, 'Does he want me to move my whole arm or just part of it?' 'Should I twist it completely or just slight­ly?' Then move that part naturally into position without looking at it. And one other thing, so simple we hesitate to men­tion it, but it is also so important, that we must ... do learn to tell your right from your left. When the director says right he means your right. If he says left, do not move your right!

A very worthwhile way of learning to take direction is to practise giving direc­tion. Pretend you are the director. Take your pile of model pictures, with a friend for a model, and one by one, see if you can give direc­tions for reproducing the arm positions of the subject to the finest detail.

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