In a recent post on Threads, skilled portrait and wedding photographer John Branch IV raised the point of not touching models while on a shoot. Instead, he put forward the idea of showing your models how to pose by doing the pose yourself. It raises the question: is physical touch okay in portrait photography?

Portrait photography and physical touch

I’m best known for travel and street photography. However, although portrait photography isn’t my go-to, I’ve done plenty of portrait shoots throughout my career. With that, I feel I have enough experience to offer my thoughts on whether or not it’s okay to touch models during a portrait shoot.

First we must define what we mean by “touch”. In the case of portrait photography, touching would mean helping your subject pose correctly, or readjusting hair and clothing. Anything outside of this is unnecessary and, of course, inappropriate.

In the appropriate sense, I think physical touch is okay in portrait photography. But, as you would in any walk of life, before any touch occurs, a photographer should always get consent.

I put this forward on Threads, and another photographer responded: “If you ask they might say yes to avoid awkwardness but still feel weird about it”.

It’s a fair point, and models with less experience may feel they need to conform rather than say no. To counter this, I always present two options, simply asking “would you like me to position you or would you prefer for me to show you?”.

If you’re a good person, your tone and body language should give anyone enough confidence to respond openly and freely about their preference.

What about creeps in portrait photography?

Naturally, the issue with touch stems from the bad eggs in portrait photography. We know they exist and throughout my career in journalism I have done my best to call this issue out.

However, out of the many portrait photographers in the industry I’d like to believe most of them have good, creative intentions. Human touch isn’t objectively a bad thing, quite the opposite. And helping someone look their best for a portrait is one of the most rewarding parts of the craft.

So, is physical touch okay in portrait photography? Yes, it’s fine. As long as you conduct yourself correctly, present options to the subject and act like a decent human. Never touch anyone without consent and ensure you create an environment that makes everyone feel they can be transparent about what they want and how they feel.

As a tip, if the shoot involves a male photographer and female model, where the dynamics can be different, I’d always recommend having a second person on set. Also encourage the model to bring a friend if she prefers. This will help create a safe space for them.

Beyond that, enjoy portrait photography. It’s one of the most beautiful human interactions we have.

What do you think? Is physical touch okay in portrait photography? Let me know in the comments. And if you’re a fan of portraiture, I recommend checking out this interview with the super talented portrait photographer Ivan Weiss. Thanks for reading.

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