Early photography required long exposure times so to avoid showing movement in the subject a posing stand was used for portraits to enable the photographer to get a good clear image.

As photography has developed over the many decades these posing stands have got lost due to the progress in photography. With wetplate collodion photography becoming so popular again with many artists, these posing stands are now impossible to find or buy so alternative devices are now being put together to solve the problem of movement within the image.

Having just started out on my wetplate collodion journey, I have already notice the importance of this piece of equipment. In my first couple of images without using the posing stand I could clearly see movement within the image, so to ask someone to stand or sit stilll for about 8 to 10 seconds, I learnt quickly that I needed this piece of equipment for my images to improve.

I have been looking all over for a posing stand and so far I have had no success. I spoke to Borut Peterlin about the one he got made but this was going to cost a lot of money.

The next thing I found was a web site by Maurits Bollen who had made a DIY head brace. From what I could see this was the cheapest yet most effective head brace I had seen so far.

I have now gathered the parts needed to make the head brace so it is now time to go make it and see how it works.

I will post the images once I have completed my project task.  

The finished posing stand