You value your legs ... but, do you value them enough - picture-wise? Do you realize how very important it is know exactly how you are posing your legs and how they look to the camera?

Inexperienced models exasperate directors and photographers by using the same, unimaginative cliche leg-position over and over for each pose. Capable models are expected to be - and are - more creative and flexible.

Imagine! You can perform dozens of different leg-positions, starting right this minute - without practice - if you only think of your feet as the hands of a clock. Practice will teach you how to hold your balance and to choose the ones best for you; but, just by thinking of the clock at your feet, you're off to a creative start. You won't even have to spoil every pose by looking down to see what your feet are doing. The correct arrangement of legs starts in your mind! So let's start your mind thinking about legs.

1) With your left foot as your basic-foot (supporting foot), execute 1:00 o'clock. Your supporting foot is at the center of this imaginary clock and is the hour hand, and the other foot is the minute hand. Remember that your show-foot(your non-supporting foot) should barely touch the floor. It must be free to make changes (ankle movement and foot positions) without leaving the spot. Remember, also, at all times, that 12: 00 on your floor-clock is always in direct line with the camera regardless of the direction your body is facing.

2) With your right basic-toe at two, stop your show-toe at each number on the clock ... repeating the time out loud as you do so.

3) Ask a friend to call out some time-positions and see if you can comply readily with them.

4) For practice in holding leg positions, see if you can balance without teetering while you count slowly to 100.

5) To help you plan ahead what you will do with your legs, watch the second hand on a clock and see how many times you can change leg positions every 10 seconds without losing the count or repeating the same position.

6) Clip at least 50 leg-positions out of several different kinds of magazines. Sort out all the pictures in which the weight is evenly distributed on both feet and note how some of the legs are close together, some slightly separated and others are wide apart. Also note that the body can face any direction while the legs are in any one of those positions.

7) Here are some of the interesting things you can do with the remaining illustrations when posing your legs (where weight is on one foot):

(a) Separate them into two groups: those that use the left foot as basic and those that use the right.

(b) Invert and diagram all those in which the right foot is basic. With half of these still upside down, write the time indicated along with a big 'R' (Right foot basic) at the bottom of the page. Turn the rest of this group right side up and print 'R' again at the bottom of the page with the time beside it. Set this group of pictures aside while you...

(c) Take all the positions in which the left foot is basic (separated in step a) and put a big 'L' (Left foot basic) at the bottom of the page. See if you can estimate the correct time for each picture without inverting it or diagramming it.

(d) Shuffle all your marked pictures together and stand before a full length mirror which represents the camera at 12:00 o'clock. Cover the illustrations one after the other except for the time you have written. Let your own legs be the hour and minute hands as you execute each time. After you have taken each position, hold the illustration in front of you (right side up and facing the mirror) and check to see if your position is the same as that of the picture.

It pays to know exactly what to do when posing your legs to achieve the best positions possible.