'Extreme' posing?

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  • Alright so recently I've been practicing my 'Jojo posing' for an upcoming convention when I'll be doing Jojo cosplays and it's pretty likely that I'll be wanting to do it (especially as Dio) because it's iconic and fun for any Jojo cosplayer. More precisely, I've been practising the ability to lean right back and hold the pose.

    A good example of someone doing some 'extreme posing' like I'm talking about is here:
    [IMG]http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/152/140/2200668.jpg[/IMG]
    (Found on Google by searching 'Jojo pose', I don't know the cosplayer, sorry but I hope it's okay) although it is common for people to go even further/more extreme with it but I think this level of posing is my goal for now.

    Any tips on how to do it? I can't figure out what the strategy is for optimal posing. I've been practicing leaning back like that almost every day and I'm getting better at holding it but honestly I'm not sure what the best way to do it is. Does anyone know? The idea of holding out like this for photos seems like it's going to be painful.

    I really do wish I got good at playing limbo as a kid or something, ahaha.

  • was goin to suggest looking up tuts on limboing, but all you really find is
    walththroughs for various games titled limbo (or with a level called limbo)
    religous propaganda, or marital/sex help

    but thats really going to be the gist of what your trying to do,
    so only thing i can think of thatd be similar is learning to do a bridge from standing
    and perhaps theres a few yoga moves thatll help
    but i really wouldnt know

  • A lot of it is just strength building-- it takes a lot of core muscle to hold that sort of pose!

    Points of contact are also important. You'll notice the cosplayer appears to be resting a lot of weight on the side of the shoe, as opposed to just on the toe or heel. Maximizing the amount of contact you have with the ground (or a wall or anything else you can support yourself on) helps with balance!

  • Not really photo help here, but what I suggest is kneeling upright, then leaning yourself, back, back, until you hit that sweet spot where you can feel the strain but your legs aren't shaking yet. Knees a little spread to give yourself a good base. You should feel it in your thighs, butt, and stomach. Look up tips for belly dance training for backbends, and be sure to pad your shins when you do it (or get bruises like I did, your choice).

    Hidden support's also an option, but that requires some creative positioning or cropping.

    Until you're conditioned to the point where it doesn't feel like a big thing anymore, yeah, it's gonna be a pain. You also need to depend on your photographer to get a good angle that highlights the Jojo limbo, but I know nothing about that subject. I do know that most hall photographers won't be able to identify a good angle, so you might want to keep to your more tame poses for random photographers, and keep the crazy limbo for people who don't mind trying a couple times to get the shot.

    (Heck, there's one pose I've been trying to get a good picture with Sheik for a year and a half worth of cons and shoots, and I still haven't gotten it.)

  • Practice, practice.

    Have the photographer use a fast shutter speed (1/400 or faster, assuming there's enough light), then you can count down together and go "through" the pose, or into the pose and right back out again, and it'll still be crisp. This will take a fair amount of practice on your part too, to make sure you're maintaining the right facial expression and eye contact (or lack thereof) throughout the motion.

    The photographer can also use unusual angles, perspective, or the "dutch tilt" to exaggerate the appearance of the pose. I'm not a fan of tilted photos for their own sake, but when the tilt enhances the photo by giving it a feeling of motion, uneasiness, or off-balance, then it's a useful and valid technique.

  • Thank you both so much for the help, seriously, I appreciate it!! I'll keep practising and take all of this in mind when it comes to photos :D I'll definitely have more tame poses in mind too.

  • Core strength and tight buttocks, my friend. StarsOfCassiopeia also hit it on the mark that the person is hitting a wide triangle base with knees out and putting extra weight on the side of the feet. Part of makes a lot of these stances easier is to put your center of gravity as low as possible and whatever's left standing doesn't have to be balanced through the use of muscles as much. Spreading your knees and going lower with the legs means less work for your upper body. Theoretically it'd be easiest to just go knees to floor, but that probably isn't the pose you're going for. Though now that I think about it, I bet that might work, too haha

  • Wow that picture makes me want to double check for tiny wires holding him up!

  • You could try what statue mimes sometimes do, when they use a heavy base-plate to support a hidden metal bar that goes through your pant leg,and has a metal seat to support you nearly effortlessly, for long periods of time. You can cover the metal base-plate with a cloth, as they did in the photo below.

    [IMG]http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/12/10/23ACCD0C00000578-0-image-a-1_1418250877892.jpg[/IMG]