Even though posing for a picture may come naturally for some people, the act is fairly mathematical. I’ve learned that when posing, you should try to create as many angles and shapes as possible with your body to create a dynamic photo, and this also comes with its own complexities and nuances. This information comes from my years of studying the art of posing, but despite watching countless videos on the subject and even attending classes for it, I always throw up a peace sign when someone takes my picture, anyway.
I guess some things just can’t be taught!
Not only have I undergone hours of training and studies in posing, I’ve even tried rehabilitating my brain to not automatically put my arm up and stick two fingers out. Unfortunately, nothing has helped. Even when my friends are taking my picture and start giving me concrete direction because I look lost and confused, I still can’t help but do the same pose I’ve done since I was in sixth grade.
Is it a sickness? Is it a curse? Is it something worse? Who knows! All I’m certain of is the fact that I have never posed normally in my life and I probably never will, and I’ve made peace with that.
I’ve even studied the greatest poses in all of art history, but even though I know the composite, contrapposto, adlocutio, pudica, serpentine, and odalisque poses inside and out, no amount of knowledge will stop me from smiling with teeth and striking the same pose I do every single time there’s a camera in front of me.
After all the frustration, I just started photoshopping my pictures so they would look a little less identical and childish. After all, I thought, if my own brain and body keeps betraying me, I might as well use the technology I have at my fingertips, right? Well, imagine my surprise when my photoshopped pictures all turned out to have my other arm holding up a peace sign too.
I just can’t escape this fate!
At this point, I’ve accepted the fact that I will never possess a photo of myself not holding up a peace sign. Sometimes, no matter how much you learn about something, it just never comes naturally to you, and that’s okay! There’s nothing wrong with holding up a peace sign. Sure, it’s trite and makes me look shy and unoriginal, but it’s all I have and I’m going to make the most of it. Also, I never know how to end personal essays in an interesting way, so…peace!
