Look at the portraits of the four world leaders. Who looks friendly and approachable and who doesn’t? Who looks comfortable and who doesn’t?
It took only a moment for you to recognize that three of the politicians have slight smiles and one is almost scowling.
You also noticed that three have warm eyes and one has a furrowed brow and dark eyes. Three portraits have nice skin colour and good white balance and one has a decidedly cold tone.
Who are you more likely to trust or distrust?
There’s a lot more that can be read into these portraits based on the choice of background, lighting, crop, pose, body language and facial expression.
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Added: On October 31, 2017, the US Whitehouse released a new and improved official portrait of Trump. Apparently the first official portrait of Trump (shown above) wasn’t officially official.
On one hand, the new portrait has a nicer facial expression and a better colour balance. But on the other hand, it still has dark eyes, it’s underexposed and under-lit, and there’s a messy background. While the initial portrait had a dropped-in background (the blue-toned Whitehouse), the new portrait looks like it was shot in a hallway using ambient light and maybe a reflector.
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Non-verbal Communication
When it comes to portraits, and especially business portraits, some photographers are concerned only with proper exposure and sharp focus. While these are important, they’re only technical details.
Portraits are about emotion. Emotion comes from expression. Expression comes from language. So it’s very important for photographers to pay attention to their customer’s language — their body language.
In his 1971 book, Silent Messages, Albert Mehrabian examined how facial expression, tone of voice and spoken words were used to express one’s feelings and attitudes.
When someone is trying to express themselves, Mehrabian found that non-verbal cues were the most important and influential. Although the numbers in his equation were only approximate, Mehrabian found that:
Total Feeling = 7% Verbal Feeling + 38% Vocal Feeling + 55% Facial Feeling
This means that how someone feels about you depends mostly on your facial cues and other body language, partly on your tone of voice and only slightly on your spoken words.
The purpose of a business portrait is to express an attitude or emotion; it’s an attempt at photographic persuasion. Since a photograph doesn’t use words or sounds, it has to rely entirely on body language and facial expression.
It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.
– Oscar Wilde
Body language isn’t mumbo jumbo. It’s the result of hundreds of thousands of years of evolution. All of us have a common set of body language gestures and facial expressions that we do, and react to, every day, at least on a subconscious level. Even babies respond to facial expressions within a few days of being born.
Good actors will mimic certain body and facial gestures when an acting role requires it. A smart lawyer will also use specific body language when in front of a jury.
Some business executives will take body language training to improve their careers. Some police officers and investigators are trained in body language.
Use emotion to communicate
In any portrait, body language and, thus, expression are more important than the technical details. That’s not to say the technical aspects can be ignored but rather that it’s the emotion that makes or breaks a portrait.
(Warning: shameless name-dropping ahead.) In the 1990s, I met portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh. I asked him about the choice of camera equipment used for portrait photography by comparing 35mm with large format. He replied, “Remember, it’s not the technique, it’s the emotion.”
In a business portrait, positive body language can suggest competence, intelligence and likeability which can help build trust.
If we were to rephrase Mehrabian’s equation, it might read:
Effective portrait = 7% technical + 38% clothing & setting + 55% body language & facial expression
Body language versus posing
Posing on its own is different from body language. There are many web sites and books that have long lists of portrait poses. These poses are for flattering the subject’s appearance or correcting certain physical issues. They’re not for sending the right message.
For example, there are many posing tips for finger, hand and arm positioning. But they don’t address the non-verbal message of those poses. For example, a lovely hand/arm pose for a bridal photo won’t be suitable in a business photo.
It’s best to first understand the purpose of a portrait which will dictate the needed body language. This body language can then be fine-tuned with suitable flattering or corrective poses.
There’s no dictionary that gives exact meaning to each body gesture. Instead body language should be interpreted in clusters of gestures. For example, a tilted head on its own means very little. But a tilted head, open arms, leaning forward and a slight smile can suggest honesty and sincerity.
Theresa May smiles with teeth as she leans to one side in a slightly closed posture behind a desk, in a casual, home-like setting. She has casual jewelry and shiny patches of skin.
Enrique Nieto’s stiff, upright posture in a formal, regal setting implies status and tradition. He has an open posture with one open hand and one fist. He has a slightly aggressive look with only a hint of a smile.
Who looks more like a take-charge leader?
Fun fact: Nieto’s portrait cost about $26,000 (376,420 pesos).
Body Language of Groups
In an individual portrait, the photographer is concerned only with the body language of the one subject. But in a group photo, many things come into play: the body language of each person, the body language of each person relative to the group, the overall body language or shape of the group itself, and the overall image composition to help the viewer’s eye flow through the photo.
Image Composition
Body language should not be confused with image composition. Body language is physical gesturing by the subject to send a certain message. Image composition is framing the subject to emphasize that message and/or to create an interesting picture.
For example, if you must have a desk in a portrait, it’s rarely a good idea to have the person sit behind it. Positive body language says it’s better to have the person stand in front of the desk. Depending on the location, image composition will tell you if it’s better to stand in front of, stand next to, or sit on a corner of, that desk.
The portrait of Emmanuel Macron (above) uses image composition, and props, very precisely to subtlety send a message. Note the symmetry of everything to emphasize his centrist views. His arms equally “touch” both flags and he’s “connected” to both tradition (the old clock in the background) and new technology (the two iPhones in the foreground).
More than portraits
The importance of body language isn’t only for posed business portraits and editorial portraits. It also comes into play at business conferences when photographing people speaking on stage. The photographer has to recognize the right moments to make the most effective business photos.
Photographing the right moments means the CEO or company president will be perceived as being a trustworthy, competent, take-charge leader. The wrong moments can make someone look weak, passive and incompetent.
Quick Portrait Tips
1) CEOs, top politicians and other leaders probably should not show a lot of teeth when they smile. They could even do a closed-mouth smile. A no-teeth smile is more assertive and dominant. In the pictures above, only Theresa May shows teeth.
Smiling is used to seek approval. In a social setting, you smile with teeth to signal friendliness and win approval of those around you. Children smile at their parents to win approval. Students smile at their teacher for approval. Employees smile at the boss to get approval. In business, a CEO doesn’t need to seek approval from anyone.
2) Shiny skin implies nervousness and incompetence. Use a makeup artist or retouch in post. Good-looking skin implies good health. A healthy person is more likeable.
3) Leaders should rarely be posed behind a desk. A desk acts as a barrier. It adds distance between subject and viewer. Your portrait subject should be out in front like a leader and not hiding behind a desk.
4) If a clock is to appear in a portrait, consider setting the time to suit the photo. For an executive portrait, change the time to early morning (i.e. before 9:00AM). This will imply that your subject is a disciplined, early-riser who likes to get a jump on the day.
5) Some body language can be more feminine (submissive) or more masculine (dominant). A female subject can assume masculine body language to show leadership, authority and strength. But a male executive shouldn’t assume female body language such as certain head tilts and hand/arm positions.
6) Top executives need to convey competence, warmth and leadership. All of this has to be expressed with a relaxed look to show they’re in control. How do you show you’re relaxed? Most normal folks will lean back or sit back and let their shoulders drop. But this is the opposite of what you should do in a business portrait.
Body language often has both passive and aggressive gestures to say the same thing. Choose the aggressive version for executives. You can “relax” by leaning forward, opening your posture and smiling.
7) A high-profile business portrait can involve many marketing, communications and public relations people as well as stylists. Decide first what the message and tone of the image should be. Choose a suitable location. Work out the body language and pose. As you shoot, work the facial expressions by talking with the executive.
An executive portrait might take only a few minutes of actual photography but the planning and setup can take days and hours, respectively.
8) Portraits of top executives are about conveying the right business message. This is not the time for a photographer to make an artistic statement.
Great topic! Thank you!