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Combining stillness and movement in a portrait collection

Give a small portrait set variety by placing a moving moment between two more settled poses.

The standing portrait gives a clear view of the patterned dress, striped stockings and small bear accessories. Its settled arrangement can introduce details that appear differently in the next photograph.
The standing portrait gives a clear view of the patterned dress, striped stockings and small bear accessories. Its settled arrangement can introduce details that appear differently in the next photograph.
Rilakkuma Lolita · Photograph: Yenra · Credit: Jenni Bon
Captured: 2015:11:01 13:47:13

Yenra Photography ·

A portrait collection can make room for both a settled pose and a moment of movement. One photograph lets you look closely at details; another changes their outlines. Together they can show more of an outfit and a person's chosen gestures than either frame alone.

This new editorial selection brings together three Anime USA 2015 photographs credited to Jenni Bon. Each retains the supplied title Rilakkuma Lolita. The standing, turning and seated portraits were recorded at separate moments, giving us three complementary pictures to arrange.

Introduce the outfit in a settled pose

The standing portrait gives a clear view of the patterned dress, striped stockings and small bear accessories. The skirt makes a broad, settled shape, and the hands rest behind the body. You have time to notice the bands of pattern and the details at the waist.

As an opening photograph, this frame introduces features you can recognize again. In your own selection, look for a still pose that offers something specific to remember: a fabric pattern, a sleeve, an accessory or a line of the body.

You do not need to show every detail at once. Choose a photograph that feels useful and enjoyable to begin with, then ask what a second picture could add.

Make room for a moving moment

The turn spreads the skirt and hair while a bear accessory swings outward. The changed outline and visible blur bring another kind of information to the collection, even with the face turned away.
The turn spreads the skirt and hair while a bear accessory swings outward. The changed outline and visible blur bring another kind of information to the collection, even with the face turned away.
Rilakkuma Lolita · Photograph: Yenra · Credit: Jenni Bon
Captured: 2015:11:01 14:01:12

The turn spreads the skirt and hair, while a bear accessory swings outward. The dress now has a different outline, and visible blur changes how parts of its pattern read. The face is turned away, giving the collection another view of the outfit.

A moving frame can contribute even when it is less suited to inspecting small details. Compare what you gain here with what the standing portrait already provides. The two pictures can support each other rather than compete to do the same job.

For your own collection, look for a movement that the subject enjoyed. It could be a small hand gesture, a turn of the head or seated movement. A twirl is one possibility, not a requirement. Select the photograph for what it adds to the set.

Return to a different kind of stillness

A seated profile places the hands on the chair arms and gathers the dress and accessories across the lap. This gives the set a different final arrangement while retaining the outfit that connects all three frames.
A seated profile places the hands on the chair arms and gathers the dress and accessories across the lap. This gives the set a different final arrangement while retaining the outfit that connects all three frames.
Rilakkuma Lolita · Photograph: Yenra · Credit: Jenni Bon
Captured: 2015:11:01 14:03:28

The seated profile places the hands on the chair arms and gathers the dress and accessories across the lap. The outfit remains recognizable, but its arrangement changes again. The chair and reflected shapes introduce a different surrounding structure.

This final frame gives the collection another settled moment without repeating the opening pose. Look at how the fabric rests, where the hands sit and how the face is shown in profile. There is fresh information within the quieter arrangement.

The source times are 13:47:13, 14:01:12 and 14:03:28 on November 1, 2015. They describe separate recorded moments. The three-picture rhythm is an editorial choice made from the archive, with each photograph keeping its own source record.

Give each frame a contribution

  1. Introduce the details: a settled standing portrait with a clear view of the outfit.
  2. Change the outline: a turn that spreads the skirt, hair and accessories.
  3. Find another settled arrangement: a seated profile with the dress gathered across the lap.

Try another order together

Move the turning photograph to the beginning or end of your own small set. Notice whether you start by discovering movement or arrive at it after studying details. Keep the whole frames so each composition has room to contribute.

Review the selection with the person pictured and choose photographs they are happy to share. Keep factual captions, source links and current credits. A useful collection can hold several kinds of portrait at once, including a frame you might have passed over when judging each picture on its own.

Look back with curiosity.

  • What does the moving frame add to the collection?
  • Which details connect the three portraits?
  • Where would you place the moving photograph?

Keep exploring

Exploring movement in a portrait · Varying pace in a photo story · Choosing between similar portraits

Browse the complete Anime USA 2015 gallery.