Sometimes, you have to ask yourself “What did I do to deserve this?”
Most times you ask that, it’s in a bad way. Kelsey is the total opposite for me. Our shoots are what everyone should experience; total anarchy, loud, crazy and giggly.
I met Kelsey earlier this year. I liked her look right away and saw that she had some previous modeling photos. Naturally, my ego took over and decided she needed to have “better” photos than what she had read: I needed an excuse to shoot her.
To make a comfortable living at modeling, one has to either be signed with a major agency, or networked their butts off! Agency models if they work hard, can make a normal living at modeling. Other models can make money by networking, getting published and having their own portfolio sites. I’m of the opinion that every model should have his or her own portfolio site! One of the models that does very well with her networking and portfolio site is a friend of mine, Carlotta Champagne. Carlotta was a guest model of mine a few years ago at a Jay Kilgore workshop and she was awesome. She knew her body, knew how to pose so it made it so everyone got plenty of photos and we ended up with a lot of down time!
I saw Anna and right away thought she had a great, great look and amazing body! She has a GREAT personality and is amazing to be around. Here’s a few grabs from our session. I have to get her back in!
As of late, I’ve been dedicating blogs to everything except photos so lets return to our roots eh?
Taylor M came in a few months back for some photos. I think we got some awesome stuff.
Taylor, like many of the ladies I shoot, is beautiful. I really wanted to pull out her dark features, so I went with one strobe through beauty dish on a white wall.
This setup has always worked for me over the years and didn’t let me down again. The other photo is using window light and a reflector.
We’ve discussed the things you need to be a successful model;
Support group or person
Time
Financial means/Support
Dedication
Ability to accept rejection
Christine came in this February past. She took part of a Valentines day special I had run for the month. I will look for those images and post them later. I had her back in a few days ago because I missed her look. Here’s a 5 light setup:
13 years ago I realized that photography was more than just a hobby, it was my life. I couldn’t imagine life with out it so I wanted to get better at it. I was living in Duluth, MN and didn’t have any good photographers there. I found a fauxtographer in the cities and went to him to learn. Very shortly into that mentor relationship, I realized the fauxtographer wasn’t someone I wanted to be associated with so I started looking for real photographers to learn from. I found Art Ketchum in Chicago, IL and decided to go see what he was about.
One of the things I strongly dislike…alright, hate, is when a client is asking about her friend joining. If it’s a male, I don’t mind, but if it’s a female, it makes it difficult. Why? Simple; I tend to navigate to the more dominant personality. That person is the more outgoing and spunky one. I don’t know why I am, but I just am. The other reason I hate doing two people shoots is unless it’s corny family posing, I only know how to put sauce on the poses. Meaning they need to be hot, sexy and sensual. Those are the best kinds of couples photos imho, so that’s what I shoot.
I’m going to break this info up over a few posts. I want to spend a bit of time on each of what I consider to be main points. Most people think being a model is being hot and everyone will flock to you, sadly, that’s just not the case. Being a model-being a SUCCESSFUL model requires a LOT of hard work and determination. It requires money and dedication. It also requires support and the ability to take a licking and keep on ticking. Let’s get started shall we?
If you’ve been following along, you’ve learned that I first;
Start off easy. By starting easy, you let them know you don’t want to get them naked. You want to create a connection with them first and foremost. You are starting in Casual attire. I usually say “Lets start with whatever you’d be most comfortable in” By doing this, we let them know it’s ok if they want to start with more clothes until they get used to the idea of being half naked in front of a stranger. Regardless of how much they love your work, you’re still a stranger.