So, for those of you who don't know what this is all about, I majored in Radio-Television-Film at UT-Austin and concentrated on audio production. I want to be a Foley artist (someone who creates all the non-electronic auditory effects in a film, like footsteps, rustling clothes, makeout sessions, etc.) I believe that Foley is the only thing cooler than location sound, which, of course, is also an audio thing. Booming is part of location sound, and a boom is a microphone on a stick, essentially. Say you're a boom operator; you hold the boom over your head such that the mic on the end of the pole will pick up the sound of the actors, or whatever, in the shot.
Now, because your arms will get really tired if you aren't holding the boompole properly, you have to position yourself in a certain way. First, you balance your weight very evenly on your feet, spreading them about a shoulder width apart. Then, and this is the most important part, you hold your upper arms parallel to the ground and your forearms perpendicular to the ground, holding the boompole over your head, such that your body is shaped like an H. Not a 7, an H. See this picture? That's close but not quite. That's more like someone who's getting into position but not actually there yet.
(Actually it looks more like this but this is kind of crappy . . .)
But what did you notice about the pole? It was as short as possible. That's the most crucial element in positioning a boompole; keep it as short as possible and as close to the subject as possible without getting into the camera frame. If, as my foolish and RTF-clueless friend Russell insists, you are shaped like a 7, the boompole will be too long, it will weigh down on you and the weight will crush your arms.
The only other major thing to remember about boom placement is that you should take off any jewelry you have on your hands/wrists, goddamnit, and you shouldn't move your hands when you're holding a boom. Should you ever have the opportunity to work in this particular field, you'll undoubtedly hear all kinds of tips as to which method of moving the hands when necessary is best. Some people prefer to slide their fingers along the pole, others prefer to use their fingers in a spidery fashion to creep down the pole. I myself believe that the sliding method is the best. I also agree that you should wear white editing gloves if you can when booming as an extra precaution against unwanted noise.
That's all I had to rant about this time.