The Adventure of Standing Still

As a new still-life model, I still can't understand how some people keep an inventory of their poses. Maybe they're just super good at memorizing movements, wing it as they go, or have a general sitting pose that they alternate slightly each time they do it.

For me, having a studied pose list is vital. Not just for giving the artists something to do for those 2 hours, but for my own peace of mind. Imagine showing up to school without your homework done. Now you're presenting it to the class and also you have no clothes on.

Setting up my pose list is probably the biggest thing that lets me get up there in the first place. If I know what I'm doing my stress level goes way down and I can focus on what poses I'm doing to do next instead of thinking of the little insecurities that like to creep in during a session.

Find a Pose that you think you could do (and that looks cool hopefully)

Researching poses for inspiration is pretty fun. A lot of the time I'll take a page filled with action poses and put them together in a way I think I could hold for 5-10 minutes. Okay, this person is mid-jump which is impossible for my purposes but I really like the arm movements so I'm gonna use those in a standing pose with one knee slightly bent to imitate that movement. Mix and matching is also a fantastic way to re-use old poses while still keeping it interesting for the artist.

Keep track of the length of each pose.

This is just so I don't mistake a 5 minute pose for a 10 minute one and immensely regret it 7 minutes in (the paaaiinnn). To make things extra easy I colour code the length of each pose. It also lets me realize if I'm lacking on, say, 20 minute poses. I'm seeing a lot of blue and yellow but not much pink?

Know how many poses for whichever group you're working with.

Right now I've got three groups on the go and they all have a slight variation on how many poses they prefer. The "Action Class" is obviously going to have more 5 minute poses as they want the movement. So I make sure to set up a few extra poses for them then I would the more traditional class (who likes another 5 minutes extra on the longer poses).

Keep backup poses and be prepared to improvise!

Maybe I'm just paranoid but you never know what might happen up there. Perhaps the stage is too small for a laying down pose so you need another sitting one, or it turns out that 10 minute warrior pose really tired out your shoulders and you need something that will give those muscles a breather. As a rule of thumb, if they ask me for 4-5 minute poses I'm going to try and find 6. Just in case.

However, this doesn't mean you're not going to get handed a random prop at some point (for me it was a plastic chain). Being able to improvise on the fly is something that is exciting and a bit terrifying. Usually I'm in this situation when I'm stuck with a chair that's unlike the one I practice on at home. Too wide to swing my legs over comfortably or no arms on the thing so I have to prop my hands somewhere on my body to be able to hold the long poses. Take your time getting comfortable (there's no rush when muscle spasms are involved) and settle into whatever new pose you've developed.

I've also found having something visual also helps the director if you're unsure of what to do (they don't have to be anything more than stick figures!). More than once I've opened my notebook to the artist-in-charge while talking to them about how we're going to schedule the night and they've looked at a completely different pose and said, "Hey that's cool, can you do that one too?" It really helps keep the creativity flowing during an evening where people come together to do just that: Be creative and have fun!