Modeling is both simple and complex. At its simplest, it is posing and/or moving to project an image that is either meant to be captured on film/digital image or to be viewed in a live venue such as a fashion show runway.
For many of us, the idea of “posing” for a picture is terrifying. As soon as you hear someone say “smile” you tense into an stiff and awkward pose and give an equally awkward and stiff facial expression that results in many “please delete that” requests to the person taking the picture. There are some people that have a more natural ability to relax and pose/smile nicely for a photo but even these individuals, if pushed to adopt different poses or different facial expressions often struggle. The reality is that while having an ability to pose comfortably for a nice casual photo with friends or family does not necessarily qualify you to be a model and, similarly, the terror of having your picture taken does not necessarily disqualify you from being a model.
Like anything you do in life, modelling is something that you can learn and, through practice, become competent and/or skilled at. The advice and tips that follow are meant to help you understand some of what goes into being a good model and to help establish your goals and identify skills that you can work on developing and improving.
General Advice – Use Common Sense and be Careful
Modelling, while often glamorous and fun, can also be dangerous. Models are often the targets of predators, stalkers and trolls (both on social media and in real life), shaming and/or stigmatization in society as quasi or full on sex workers depending on the genres of modelling engaged in. Unfortunately, sometimes the danger also comes from the photographer that the model may be working with. If you are serious about pursuing modelling in any form, you need to be prepared for dealing with not only the glamour and fun that comes with it but the potential down sides that come with it.
The following tips are meant to help you maintain your safety and try to minimize the amount of danger/grief you may experience while pursuing your modelling goals.
- Do not keep your modelling goals/pursuits a deeply hidden part of your life. It is imperative that at least some close friends and/or family know of your activities and are able to act as a safety nets and/or sounding boards for you. When going on shoots it is imperative that someone knows where you are, who you are with and what time to expect the shoot to end and for you to return safely.
- When attending a shoot, consider bringing a chaperone with you to the shoot. While some photographers will have a resistance to this based on prior experiences where a chaperone was disruptive or, in an even worse case, the photographer was basically assaulted/robbed by the model and their chaperone, the presence of a chaperone will normally not be an issue and it will be your job as a model to ensure that any chaperone is not disruptive during the shoot. Please also understand that just as you need to consider your safety, the photographer also needs to consider their safety and may seek references on your chaperone.
- When booking a shoot with a new photographer, investigate their portfolio and the models that they have worked with in the past. Do not get swept away in the glee of having found a photographer that wants you to model for them and is willing to pay you for modelling for them. Ask questions about the shoot and what will be involved, what compensation you will receive, how will the photographer use the photos, etc. Listen to the photographer’s answers and what information they are giving you. If answers or information given seems dodgy or evasive then trust your common sense. While many photographers and models work under pseudonyms for privacy reasons, ultimately for the legal purposes of completing the model release contract that should be entered into both you as the model and the photographer will have to reveal your legal identity to each other. This should happen before any photoshoot occurs and, in my mind, reluctance to reveal legal identity before a shoot should be a red flag for both the model and the photographer. Use your common sense in weighing the communication that you have with the photographer and if it does not feel right, decline the shoot. I assure you that, as the photographer, I am doing the same assessment on models that apply to work with me as I value my own safety and do not need to find myself in a bad situation with a model.
- When attending a shoot, know in advance exactly where the shoot will be occurring, during what time periods and what will be being shot. The details of the shoot including the time and location thereof should be known and agreed upon in advance of the shoot and not disclosed as a last minute detail.
- Approach social media with a large degree of salt and expect to be trolled, stalked and generally harassed on it. How you govern yourself on social media will directly influence how much of this type of negative behaviour you attract. If working under a pseudonym, expect to be outed at some point and be prepared for it if you have not already made your activities generally known to family and friends.
- Be aware of your own mental health and the impact that being a model can have on it. There is a lot to deal with when you start modelling and the impacts can be overwhelming in a harmful way. Take your time and ensure you are able to deal with both the good and the bad that will come from it. If you need to take a break from modelling, do it.
- Use your common sense. If a proposal sounds too good to be true, it probably is not true. It is not uncommon for new models, especially young women, to be approached by unscrupulous modelling agencies and/or photographers with grand proposals of making them the next top model in the world. Usually all you as the model have to do is a free photo session (usually being pressured to do nudes) and/or pay a fee for the party to move you along the path to stardom. Do not get swept up in the lies and taken advantage of. Use your common sense and keep yourself safe.
General Advice – Set Your Goals and Pick Your Genres
So you want to be a “model”. Modelling has many different categories/genres within it and you need to know what category/categories you want to fit into as they will each require different skill sets. Some of the categories listed here may very well be frowned upon by others as not being “real models” but are included for the purpose of being inclusive and recognizing that while not always accepted as “modelling” there is a demand for this type of model.
Lets start first with goals for your modelling:
- Full Time Professional Model – This is typically someone who has modelling as a career and that earns their entire income from being a model. They may be at the pinnacle of the modelling world walking the fashion runways of London, Paris and New York or doing commercial shoots for world famous brands or they may be full time working models who do commercial shoots for smaller businesses and/or work with hobby photographers such as myself. Obviously, very few models reach the pinnacles of the modelling world but many can and do make a decent living as full time working models. If you want to be this type of model, you will need to make a strong commitment to the pursuit of this goal and you will have need to invest a significant amount of time in caring for yourself, both mentally and physically, and in perfecting your skills as a model as well as potentially managing your image and professional path. One segment of this market is what I would refer to as “travelling models”. These are models who spend most of their time travelling domestically and/or internationally doing modelling for primarily for professional and hobby photographers that are seeking to expand their portfolios with quality shots that they are more assured of getting by working with professional models.
- Part Time Professional Model – Very similar to their full time equivalent above, but typically only doing modelling on a part time basis as a means to earn some supplemental income. They may have previously been full time models or may evolve into a full time model and they will usually bring the same skill sets and dedication to their profession.
- Professional Amateur Model – This is a growing phenomenon as reflected by the growth of social media where more and more people are seeking to promote themselves on various digital platforms and, in many cases, earn income from their presence. As these platforms are usually visually based, the skills necessary to be a good model apply equally here as does the commitment. Self management of social media however is a completely different skill set that these individuals must master to be successful.
- Hobby Model – These are models who do modelling primarily as a hobby and for fun. They may seek to earn some extra income from their modelling but mostly they simply enjoy the experience of creating photos and being the subject matter of the photos. The photos created are usually created for limited or private use between the photographer and model and represent a collaboration between them to create the images. Hobby models often take their modelling very seriously and can bring a level of professionalism to a shoot that can rival a professional model.
- Amateur Model – This is a person that usually has no experience as a model but wants to “try” for the experience either once or a few times and has no real interest in pursuing modelling as a hobby or for ongoing income on a professional basis. For this type of modelling, you will very likely be looking at working with either a hobby photographer that is willing to do a photoshoot with you for fun and for their own personal portfolio or you will be hiring a professional photographer who can provide you with guidance and coaching on how to pose and model to get the best photos possible.
Once you have determined what your goal is in modelling, you will need to decide what genres of modelling you will pursue. Genres are broadly broken down into two categories: commercial modelling and amateur/hobby modelling. Commercial modelling is basically modelling done for commercial purposes where the images taken of you will be used for commercial purposes. Obviously, when posing for commercial photoshoots, you have to accept that the images taken will be used for the commercial purposes agreed to in any contract entered into and when agreeing to this type of modelling you should be careful to understand the intended use of the photos. Commercial modelling is usually governed by a model release contract and you should carefully review this prior to agreeing to a shoot to insure you the terms of your photoshoot and use of the photos are in fact clearly agreed upon.
Amateur/hobby modelling tends to be less formal in nature and usually done for non-commercial purposes such as building a model’s or photographer’s portfolio and experience. The use of the photos is typically more private as between the photographer and the model but you should still consider having a written agreement that sets out the agreed upon ownership of the photos and agreed upon use of the photos by each party. As a model you need to understand that the photographer will own the copyrights in the photos and that without an agreed upon licence to use the photos the model has no ability to use the photos. Failure to record limits on a photographer’s right to use the photos in an written agreement could result in a photographer using the photos in a manner you did not wish. Hence, even with amateur/hobby modelling you should be familiar with and seek a model release contract from photographers you work with.
Within both commercial and amateur/hobby modelling there are specific genres of photoshoots you may participate in as a model. We have listed below some of the top level genres of modelling you may wish to consider but each of these genres can be broken down into various sub-genres and there are definitely overlaps between the genres. It is also not necessary that you limit yourself to one genre but in some cases, participation in one genre may make it more difficult to secure work in another genre, such as participating in adult/xxx level type work may make it more difficult to obtain work in promotional type shoots for mainstream businesses that are reluctant to have their corporate images potentially associated with a model that has engaged in adult/xxx levels of work.
- Promotional Photoshoots – These tend to be photoshoots that are done for specific businesses as part of their advertising and promotional concepts. The photos from these types of shoots will be owned by the business that typically hires the photographer, model and all of the other parties involved in the photoshoot. In these cases, the company organizing the shoot will likely be looking for professional models with certain looks and skills to ensure that the desired results for the business are achieved.
- Fashion Photoshoots – Fashion can range from casual to high fashion to bridal to pregnancy, lingerie, fitness, swimwear, basically any item of clothing you may wear and, as such, can cross over into many different types of other genres listed herein. A model should identify the type of fashions that they are comfortable with shooting as certain types of shoots may require specific body types or the wearing of clothing that covers more or less of a model’s body.
- Art – Art concepts are usually concepts shot for intrinsically artistic purposes and may involve costumes, nudity, make up, hair styling and the use of creative sets and/or props, but ultimately are photos that are taken to obtain some form of artistic expression. Art is of course subjective and one person’s art may be another person’s trash/porn or simply something they find offensive. A model seeking to do Art modelling will have to clearly define for themselves what limits they have on projects they wish to participate in.
- Cosplay – Cosplay is definitely a large genre that covers a broad range of concepts but is typically focused on recreating popular fictional characters from various forms of media. Within the cosplay community there will definitely be genres and types of cosplay that you may wish to engage in and others you may wish to avoid.
- Implied or Art Nude – Implied/Art nude is a type of photography that many may consider to be “soft porn” in that it may be clear from a photograph that the model is naked but it may not be possible to see any nipples, pubis/penis or buttocks or, in the case of an art nude, may show nipples or buttocks but will not include and frontal nudity that shows any part of a pubis/penis. What will often make the image an implied or art nude is that the nudity, implied or actual, will not be the focus of the photo and will be an integral part of the overall image.
- Erotic Nude – Erotic nudes often will include full frontal nudity but without explicit views of a pubis/penis. The focus of the image is meant to be erotic, but not overtly sexual in nature but this is often a distinction that is highly subjective as one person may see an image as erotic and another may see it as pornographic. While the concept of nudity, including erotic nudity, is becoming more socially accepted and carrying less stigma, there may still be stigma attached to models that participate in erotic modelling and this is a factor a model should bear in mind when determining if this is a genre of modelling they wish to participate in.
- Dance – Dance is a genre that obviously requires the specific skill of being able to dance. Like most other genres, there are a diverse sub-categories of types of dance that can be part of a model’s skill set and these dance types can be combined with any type of fashion style or even performed in the form of a nude performance. The ability to dance however may help a model with fluid movement that assists them in posing skills for other types of photography.
- Fetish – Fetish can include fetish style fashion or fetish style activity. While many people associate fetish with kink, this does not necessarily have to be so. Fetish styles can be very glamorous or very similar to a form of cosplay, which in many ways is also a type of fetish for many people. When participating in a fetish related shoot a model should be clear with their limits and be aware that being associated with this type of modelling can carry a higher risk of social stigmatization with it than many other forms of modelling.
- Glamour – Glamour can involve glamour style make up, glamour style hair and/or glamour styling clothing or any combination of the three. These types of shots are typically created using teams of professionals that may include make up artists, hair stylists and fashion designers are are usually meant to highlight and promote the skills of these artists.
- Boudoir/Lingerie – Boudoir and/or lingerie models involve a higher degree of intimacy and erotism than most other types of photoshoots a model may do other than modelling that involves actual nudity. This is also the type of shoot that many amateur models may seek to do with a professional photographer, either for sharing with their special partner or simply as a way to experience their own beauty as seen through the eye of a camera. These often tend to be very personal types of photos as a result. If doing this type of modelling for your own personal use, you need to ensure that you have a firm agreement with the photographer as to your rights to use the photos and limiting the photographer’s right to use them.
- Runway – Walking a runway is a form of active modelling. There are the glamourous fashion runways of New York, Paris and London that everyone is familiar with and only relatively elite models ever get to walk on, but there are also thousands of other runway modelling opportunities for fashion shows hosted by less known fashion brands to local community hosted runways to promote local designers or retailers. Obviously, this type of modelling requires the skill of being able to walk or strut your way down a runway, strike a pose or poses along the way, and promote the product or event you are at, all while being photographed.
- Sports/Fitness – These types of photoshoots will by definition involve sports/physical activity and being able to demonstrate fitness and the physical ability for the shoot in a visual manner that can be captured by the camera.
- Adult/XXX – Adult/XXX type of work still carries with it a fairly significant degree of stigmatization for participants and anyone considering this type of work should carefully consider the potential impact of this on the rest of their lives. While the sheer volume of adult/XXX material available on the internet grants one a certain degree of anonymity the use of facial recognition software by larger companies may lessen that anonymity in some cases. Similarly, clearly identifying characteristics, such as tattoos, piercings or scars may end up outing you even if you are careful to keep your face out of photos. This is also a part of the industry that has probably the worse reputation for exploiting models and widely distributing images with the result that a model who is trying to remain somewhat discrete with these types of photos, ends up being outed. The moral of the story in this case is that before engaging in this type of modelling, a model should carefully consider the potential impact that this type of activity may have on their future lives and, to some extent, those close to them.
Posing – Tips and Advice
Posing is one of the two most essential skills a model can have and bring to a shoot. Posing is the ability to shape your body into a position that will create an interesting image when captured in an image. The following points are meant to assist you in considering and developing your posing style as a model. They are far from exhaustive and I encourage you to seek out further suggestions via a quick google search. Hopefully you will find some of these useful.
- In a photoshoot a model may be asked to do two basic types of posing: 1) static posing where the model adopts a pose, waits until the photographer has taken the photo and then moves into another static pose; or 2) fluid posing where a model is involved in movement while the photographer is capturing photos of the movement. In some cases you may find that combining a partially static pose with some movement can create an additional effect. An example of this third style would be a model standing still but using her hands to brush her hair causing it to float/flip during the shot. Communicate with the photographer as to which style of photo you are going to be doing as often you will be mixing the styles up for differing effects in the photos. Do not try to move from a static photo set to a mixed or active set without communicating with the photographer as they will likely need to change the settings on their camera to adjust for the movement and avoid blurry images.
- When posing, keep in mind the angles of your body, specifically those of your hips, arms, neck and shoulders. Standing with your hips and shoulders level to each other is a normal position but altering these angles can create interesting poses. Redistributing your weight via a shift in your hip or shoulder angles can significantly impact what a pose looks like. Similarly, stretching your neck out or tilting it will move your head and change the relationship your face has to the camera. Your arms and hands also have a great degree of flexibility in how you can use them in a pose. Leaving them hanging limply at your sides should generally be avoided unless the intention is to capture such a look. Use the flexibility in your hips, arms and shoulders to effectively put your whole body into the expression of the shot.
- When posing, there will always be some form of light source being used for the photos. The relationship of your body and pose to the light source or sources present will change as your body moves and turns. Remain cognizant of and play with the light source by adopting different poses that will use the light source to illuminate or highlight different features of your body or face and cast shadows in equally interesting ways. The positioning of hands and the angles of your hips, shoulders and neck will also impact how the light from the light source and shadows will be seen through the eye of the camera. For this particular tip, the experience of the model and the photographer need to combine. As a hobby photographer who is still on a very steep learning curve, I have benefitted greatly from working with professional models who understood the geometry between their body, the light source and the camera lens. If you do not have this experience and are working with an experienced photographer, listen to them and their guidance as they are the ones seeing the way the light is falling on you from the eye of the camera and should be able to guide you in respect of how to pose for the most effective use of a light source and shadows. Similarly, if you are an experienced model and working with a less experienced photographer, hopefully they will not be so egotistical as to refuse your advice in respect to this tip.
- Learn to move while posing by altering the relationship of your body to the camera. Some poses will work best when the body is turned, slightly or intensely, away from the camera and some poses will work best when done straight on to the camera. Don’t be afraid to experiment and try the pose through a range of angles to the camera. Small changes to any particular angle during a pose can make huge differences in how a picture looks.
- Hands! Hands and fingers can be interesting or boring. They can hang limply at the end of two dangling arms or they can be part of entire image. They can be revolvers in front of a face that is saying “BANG BANG”; they can be communicating a defiant “FU”; they can be elegantly curved in a relaxed drape over the edge of something. Think about hands and how to integrate them into a pose and what will look natural or right with the pose.
- Know your own body and how it wrinkles and creases when you move. There is no shame in this as even models with figures that the rest of us would die for have skin that folds if they bend/move in the wrong way. While many of these less than flattering skin folds can be edited out during processing, knowing the poses that suit you and minimize these folds can be useful in helping you feel comfortable while posing and in making the photographer’s job easier in the processing of the photographs. Some tips on how to help deal with these skin folds! Firstly for folds around your neck area, think of having a string attached to the top of your head that pulls your head away from your body, thereby stretching your neck. Basically, do a turtle neck and stretch it out to elongate it and remove folds. Secondly, for folds in your body area, remain conscious of your spine and overall posture, keeping your spine properly curved and shoulders properly straightened and pulled back like there was a wire T shape in your spine and shoulders. Lastly, for folds in areas such as arm pits, holding the arms slightly away from your body will help reduce these types of folds that otherwise show up in photos.
- Take care of yourself. Posing is strenuous and often requires a degree of physical exertion and a degree of flexibility for a range of motion. While you do not have to be an athlete or have an athlete’s body to pose, you will need to be in at least good enough shape with enough flexibility to adopt and hold a range of static poses or move through fluid motion posing in order to get a good assortment of images. Lack of capacity will restrict the number and type of interesting images you can project for a camera.
- PRACTICE! I cannot reiterate enough how important it is to practice posing. Like anything, the first few times you do something you usually need to concentrate on it. As you practice, it becomes more natural to you and requires less direct concentration. If you are concentrating on a pose during a photoshoot, it will probably show in your face and, while the pose may look fantastic, the shot overall will look less than fantastic because your face will probably look like you are in the midst of doing a number two in the bathroom or trying to solve a calculus problem in your head. One of the marks of a professional model is that they can adopt a pose or move through a movement while maintaining a face that shouts “this is entirely natural”.
The foregoing tips and advice are meant to be general for improving your posing. For examples of standard types of poses that the foregoing tips can be used with click here
Facial Expression – Tips and Advice
Facial expressions are the other essential skill of a model. While missing a pose while giving good face to the camera may create a unexpectedly satisfactory photo, there will seldom be a case where striking a perfect pose and giving bad face to the camera will create a satisfactory photo. Giving good face to the camera comes relatively easy to some people and seems impossible to many. Fortunately, you can learn many little techniques that will help you give better face to the camera. The following points are meant to help you develop the skills of giving good face to the camera!
- The first thing to understand when learning to give good face to the camera is a bit of anatomy. You need to look at and understand your specific facial characteristics. Understand your own facial and overall head shape and the shapes of the parts of your head (eye, nose, lip, cheek bone, chin, jaw, forehead, hairline, etc) and set out to learn how to work with them. Figure out which angles and lighting accentuate the shapes of your face. Over the years I have found that a lot or most models have a side of their face that they favour and almost chronically turn to the camera as they do not like their face from the other side as much. This is a form of insecurity and can actually limit your range of poses. If you feel that you have one side of your face that is more attractive and that you like more, work on learning to love the other side and how to best express it!
- The other bit of anatomy that you need to understand is related to the musculature of the face. The muscles in your face control how the various elements of your face are moved and, within limits, shaped. Most of us do not consciously focus on controlling the individual muscles that move and contort the elements of our face to create expressions. Learning to more consciously control your facial muscles to shape your lips, wrinkle your nose or forehead, push out or pull in your jaw line, open your eyelids, furrow and lift an eyebrow, are all things that can be developed as a skill. As an example of someone that is probably a master of controlling his facial muscles to shape his face, think of Jim Carrey.
- Now, with the understanding of your specific facial characteristics and with consciously thinking about controlling your facial muscles, start trying to use your muscles to move your facial features independently and through a range of movements while watching in a mirror. Try turning your head to see what your face looks like from different angles while doing this. As part of this exercise, make up a list of different expressions: surprised, happy, sad, bored, curious, intrigued, confused, angry, etc and then make them and watch in the mirror. Once you have an expression, then try making little changes to it by modifying one of your facial elements such as your lips, eye openings, nose twitched, eyebrow raised, etc. Play around and see what works to make your face more expressive and interesting. Remember, expressions are controlled by muscles and muscles work best when they are regularly stretched and exercised!
- Do not be afraid to exaggerate expressions. Cameras often love exaggerations!
- Learn to change the focus of your stare. Sometimes it should be straight into the lens of the camera, other times somewhere off into the distance looking over the camera or to the left or right, yet other times intensely focused on some prop or item in the scene.
- Learn to express emotions through your eyes. Understand that your eyes should be able to communicate emotion to the camera and that the combination of your eyelids and eyebrows can combine to be very expressive. Practice opening your eyes wide, doing a small squint so that the eyes are narrowed without wrinkling the eyebrows or cheeks, winking. Your eyes should be able smile and dance while the rest of your face is expressionless.
- A little trick that many models use to help make subtle changes in their lips during a shoot and that does not require a lot of conscious effort to do is to softly mouth the vowels of the alphabet. Slowly softly mouthing “aaaaa”, “eeeee”, “iiiii”, “ooooo” “uuuuu” and sometimes “yyyyy” can create subtle different lip shapes for photos without having to focus much attention on controlling the muscles of the mouth.
- It is no secret that one of the main functions of our mouths is for putting food into. The construction of the mouth with teeth, tongue and lips should not be overlooked and the opportunities that they present to create an interesting look for the camera is almost limitless. Learning to do things such as a bite of a lip, a seductive licking of lips, a fun sticking out of tongue, a parting of the lips to flash just a glint of teeth can be a game changer for photos. Similarly, using the mouth to interact with an object such as a finger, a pencil or pen or the physical act of actually eating something, can animate a photo quickly.
Preparing for a Photoshoot
The following tips are fairly well known by most models with any degree of experience but it never hurts to restate them.
- To the extent possible, take it easy the night before a shoot is scheduled. Rest, eat decently, don’t over drink or over smoke the night before. Avoid salty foods and high sodium foods and caffeine. Salts and sodiums will contribute to you retaining water and make you feel/look bloated. Caffeine can contribute to dehydration and interfere with your rest with a resultant loss of energy on the day of the shoot. Hydrate on water at least two hours prior to a shoot and then consume moderate amounts of water during the shoot to remain hydrated.
- If you will be doing a shoot that involves any degree of nudity, implied, art or erotic, avoid wearing tight or restrictive clothing on the day of the shoot as the clothing will leave imprints in your skin.
- Practice your posing and look through magazines, online images to get ideas for new poses you may be able to use during the shoot. Experiment and try something new in the way of a pose or facial expression. My suggestion is to try this before the shoot so you can feel comfortable with the new pose at the shoot as opposed to having your face clearly focusing on getting into and holding the new pose during the shoot. Old adages such as “practice makes perfect” often have a lot of merit to them.
- Stretch to loosen yourself up and maintain your flexibility. Modelling can be a strenuous endeavour and, just like you should stretch before working out to help avoid injury, stretching before you model is equally beneficial. If you are serious about modelling, taking up yoga or palliates will help expand your range of body movement and allow you to master poses less flexible models will struggle with or be unable to do.
- Pick out some props and/or accessories to bring to the shoot. The photographer may have some props and accessories as well but having some props or accessories you are familiar and comfortable with may bring an element to the shoot that would not exist with out those little extras. Props and accessories, such as a long necklace, can give you something to interact with during a pose and interactions with objects can often create images that viewers can identify with based on their having had similar interactions with similar objects, or in some cases, engage a viewer based on their never having seen a similar type of interaction before. Sometimes the best pose for a photograph is not actually a pose but an interaction between the model and the prop/accessory.
- Complete any necessary grooming. Small things will show up in photographs and stand out like sore thumbs. Most models are expected to show up clean and decently groomed. Unless called for in the shoot, your hair should be clean and groomed, nails (fingers and toes) clean and at least neatly filed, body hair (unless called/agreed upon as being present for the shoot) removed and done far enough in advance of the shoot not to leave a visible rash on the shoot day. An often overlooked point of grooming is the soles of one’s feet. If the shoot may involve your feet being bare, be sure to properly clean the soles of your feet and remove any calluses. Dirty soles and bald white calluses do not look flattering in photos. Similarly, if you are asked to bring shoes to a shoot, consider the soles of the shoes and try to pick a pair that do not have excessive wear or gum or stickers on the. bottom.
- Do not make any major changes to your appearance prior to a shoot! Do not use any form of bronzer to change your skin tone or colour before a shoot without speaking with the photographer first. Some photographers will ask a model to apply an oil or other form of bronzer to their skin to help highlight the muscle definition and overall contours of the model’s body. If you have applied a bronzer of your own prior to the shoot this may result in streaks in your skin tone for the shoot. Any significant impact on your skin tone may also adversely impact a photographer’s concept for the shoot and, as such, should be discussed with a photographer before you make such a change. Please note that this would also apply to any other significant changes you may make to your appearance, such as cutting or dying of hair, getting a new tattoo or piercing immediately prior to the shoot, etc.
During a Photoshoot
- Communicate with the Photographer during the shoot. The photographer is able to see you through the camera lens and should be in control of the light and shadow and focal range of the photos. The more a photographer can communicate to you about what they are seeing behind the lens, the better you will be able to pose and express for the camera.
- Similarly, you are the subject matter of the photo and know your body features better than anyone. Communicating to the photographer how a pose may be more or less flattering to your body features is important.
- When posing, wait for the camera shutter click and hold the pose for a moment to give the photographer an opportunity to ask you to hold that pose for another shot or to check how the shot came out. If the photographer does not ask you to hold the pose in that moment, then move onto the next pose or, make a subtle change in expression to give the pose a different feel.
- Try to stay relaxed and enjoy yourself. Yes, being the model is a very difficult job and both you and the photographer know not all photos are going to turn out. There will be photos where you are caught mid blink, just opening your mouth to say something, stumbling, etc. Accept that there will be throw aways and just work on nailing the minority of the shots. This is why we as photographers take so darn many shots nowadays!
