In the first part of this article I dealt with the
obstacles that seem to prevent models from getting
good shoots. In this Part I’m going to address the
nuts and bolts of the shoot.
1. Communication and Planning with The
Photographer.
A legitimate photo shoot (the type that produces good
results) takes planning and preparation. Talk to the
photographer before your session and find out what
ideas he has in mind for you and convey the things
you’d like to try. Agreeing on concepts could get
tricky, but it’s important to know what you’re doing
before arriving at a shoot. When I first shot with
Bria Myles we met once just
to test the concept
before the shoot
actually happened. This was probably
overkill, but I hadn’t shot in a while and I
wanted make sure the lighting and colors were
what I wanted. This made the day of our actual
shoot that much easier because we had already
squelched any awkwardness on our test run.
I recommend you meet with the photographer at least
once before your shoot, just to see what your energy
is like together. Photo shoots are partially about
chemistry between the photographer and the model, and
if you don’t feel comfortable with the photographer
it might show in the photos.
A Note Regarding Escorts: Personally, I’m not a
fan of escorts – especially boyfriends – on photo
shoots. Still, I understand the occasional
necessity for them. Again, meeting with/speaking to
the photographer beforehand will go a long way
toward telling you whether an escort will be
necessary. You should also check the photographer's
references. If you meet with the fotog and still
determine you need an escort, you probably
shouldn’t be shooting with them. Also, keep in mind
that if you’re partaking in a professional photo
session, there will also be a hair person, a
make-up artist, and possibly even a stylist present
on the shoot with you. With that said, model
comfort and safety are paramount on a photo shoot.
If having a friend with you will help, the
photographer shouldn’t have a problem with it as
long as it does not interfere with the
model-photographer dynamic.
2. Working Out The Arrangement to Get Your Photos
and Determining Photo Usage. This rule is simple:
you should demand that all of your photos be
delivered on a CD
the day of the
shoot, especially if you’re paying for the
photos. This is the number one problem with photo
shoots for models -- they trust the photographer to
deliver the pictures and for one reason or another,
it doesn’t happen. If a photographer balks at the
idea of giving you photos the day of the shoot, it’s
probably because he doesn’t want his work out there
without his post-processing editing on them. That
leads us to the next issue: photo usage.
I see a lot of models demanding photo releases on
shoots. This is not the solution to your problem (see
my blog entry on model releases), as the standard
release gives the photographer more rights than they
would have had without one! What you should be more
concerned with is
how your photos
will be used and what control you have over that.
This doesn’t require a lawyer. All you need to do is
send the photographer an email (that he confirms
receiving) making your concerns clear. For instance
“Dear John Fotog,
I look forward to our shoot this weekend. I just want
to be clear that we are using these pictures solely
for our portfolios and to promote our work. Neither
of us will sell the photos or distribute these
pictures publicly without the consent of the other.
This means that we both have to give the other our
consent (not to be unreasonably withheld) before
posting photos from our session on the internet or in
any other medium.”
This should not be a problem if you paid for your
photos. In fact, you should ask the photographer to
assign his copyright in the photos to you if
you've paid for the session. If the photo shoot is
TFP, the photographer may not like having you dictate
which photos they can post. However, if the
photographer asked you to shoot
you should be
able to set the terms of your arrangement. If
you approached them, you may have to forgo this
right. Again, this comes down to working with a
photographer you trust and that has good references.
3. Make Sure You Take Versatile Pictures. You
can’t book a Target catalog or a McDonald's
commercial if you’re oiled down in a thong in every
shot. These days, swimsuit and lingerie photos are
all the rage, but you’ll need headshots and some
lifestyle/editorial shots if you want to get work in
something other than a music video and urban
magazine. Ask the photographer if he’s willing to at
least take some headshots before you get into the
more risqué stuff.
4. Avoid Taking Pictures You’ll Regret Later.
It’s easy to get caught up in the momentum of a shoot
and maybe go further than you intended. Photo shoots
may look like a carefree romp, but a serious model is
always clear headed about what she’s giving the
camera. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve shot
with models only to have them later say they hate the
photos and don’t want me to use them. This can be
avoided by simply looking at the photographer’s
results during the shoot and taking a moment to
evaluate the direction the shoot is going in. This
may not always be easy, but it’s a lot better than
ruining your goodwill with a photographer and getting
a reputation for being difficult.
5. Make Sure You Have Good Hair & Make Up.
This may be the last point on this list, but it is
probably the most important. Really good pictures are
always a collaborative effort, and a big part of that
collaboration is hair and make up. For some reason, a
lot of models think they can just go out with a
photographer and get results that look like the stuff
in Allure magazine with no hair and make up on set.
For the most part, it doesn't work that way. Finding
a quality hair stylist and make up person for your
shoot is just as important, if not more, than getting
a good photographer. If a photographer has no plans
to even have hair and make up present on the shoot,
you may want to reconsider. When evaluating hair and
make up it is critical to find out whether they have
worked on models with attributes similar to you with
success.
Tags:Getting Quality Photos