Models - How to snag 'em?

Darkhorse said:
My primary model is my fiance, I've posted several photos of her in the galleries and in threads. However, as much as I love her, she's not always in the mood to be photographed and would like to be left alone to work on her calculus.

I would love to have more practice shooting people to hone my photography skills. But how to do it? There's a group here in Orange County that gathers young budding models and any photographer that wants to come for $25 every so often. Problem is that these models can be a little too young if you know what I mean, and the number of photographers there is alarming. 1 on 1 work with the model is difficult.

There's also groups on meetup.com that meet locally but these shoots cost $100-200 a pop. Lots of T&A at these shoots though, it would be tough to keep it classy. But having said that I would like to do one of these shoots one day.

Which brings me to what I'd like, ideally. What would be a good way to find an aspiring model? A model I could work with one on one to hone both our skills? Would craigslist be OK to solicit this type of arrangement? Or would it simply be best to bite the bullet and dish out the cash? Maybe even take a course? There's a photography school near here but I work full time.

What can you suggest for me?
Click to expand...

There really isn't that much to it. You ask a bunch of people until someone says yes.
 
I signed up for modelmayhem.
A girl contacted me yesterday saying she'd like me to do some photos for her.
I said yes, and we're doing a shoot tomorrow morning.

Thanks for the modelmayhem recommendation. Hopefully things turn out OK.
 
It helps to work with models who are more experienced than you are and they will teach you a few things, on MM follow who the best shooters and models are and introduce yourself nicely. Don't be too wordy, get to the point, be complimentary but not an ass-kisser, and be yourself, which should not be creepy. And tell your wife. If you are trying to do anything sexy or naked, spend the bucks and hire a model who poses for money and you will get a lot more comfortable and learn a lot more than if you are stumbling around with some shy girl who is afraid. Afterwards you can shoot amateurs but learn from the pros, even if they are only 19.

Always give them jpgs and prints promptly, get a release before you shoot, honor your word and at least give them gas money and lunch, if not more. If you want them to pose in an outfit, splurge $20 on it, lol.
 
Thanks for the tips! I'm keeping my fiance abreast of all the details. In fact I'm sure she'd love it if I did sexy naked photos.

This is the model I'm going to be with tomorrow. She has a bit of experience, but more experience with photographers than I do with models.

I spoke to her on the phone earlier, and I did indicate that I would have images for her by the end of the day tomorrow (I have the day off).

Anyway here she is:
http://www.modelmayhem.com/855802
 
Reading back through this thread and looking at the original post and seeing the direction the thread has taken there seems to be an assumption of youth, beauty and the female gender ... or am I mistaken? There are a lot of people out there who can be very comfortable in front of a camera who don't necesarily fit this sterotype and photographing them can be a learning experience in itself.

My friend Carol is a classic example of working with a subject who can be flattered by my technique, or conversely a lot less than flattered if I'm not careful and thoughtful about my process... she never sees my total failures! 😛 Yes ... she has a very fit body at her age and is comfortable in front of a camera but she is fifty nine years old and that for me is the real challenge to work around and I have to be very careful with my choices of light, film and lens etc ... not to mention the perspective I photograph her from. I've certainly learned a lot from working with her and any crazy idea I come up with is taken in her stride ... the recent nudes I did of her by photographing her lying on the floor in an almost dark room with a thirty second exposure, painting her with torch light while she stayed statue still was an example of her willingness to help me experiment and learn with varying techniques!

Would I photograph a twenty five year old with the same approach, probably ... would it matter if she/he was overweight and lacked classic sterotypical features, I'd like to think not!
 
Last edited:
Keith said:
Reading back through this thread and looking at the original post and seeing the direction the thread has taken there seems to be an assumption of youth, beauty and the female gender ... or am I mistaken?
Click to expand...

Actually, Keith, I believe that you may be mistaken. This is the first post I've noticed where that assumption is being made.

The rest of your post is quite interesting. My favorite model was a 82 year old man. It wasn't always easy making him look "good".
 
Gumby said:
Actually, Keith, I believe that you may be mistaken. This is the first post I've noticed where that assumption is being made.

The rest of your post is quite interesting. My favorite model was a 82 year old man. It wasn't always easy making him look "good".
Click to expand...


So show me the male models on the main page of model mayhem let alone the eighty two year olds! 😛

More a drift than an assumption Gumby ... model mayhem has been mentioned frequently.

So show us the shots of the octegenarian ... nudes I assume! 😀
 
Mainly I shoot my wife - no puns please....... A friend at work is involved in amateur theatre and has recently suggested that a lot of people in these groups might like me to photograph them and their work for their portfolios. Good idea I thought - although I must admit I have not yet tried it. I must do so soon. As I recently bought a Nikon 180mm f2.8 AF I now also often shoot in the street where this lens' length allows some distance and the wide aperture blurs the background nicely. Check my Flickr page for a few examples.......................................

http://www.flickr.com/photos/80702381@N00/
 
So I had my first one-on-one photoshoot today. The real deal. The model was quite nice and helpful. She had a clear idea of what she wanted and had a lot of ideas. Unfortunately the morning started with a lingering bout of the June Gloom. Stupid inversion layer. But it burned off as the shoot progressed. But I had to start with the evil DSLR at 400iso. All my film speeds were too slow at that time.

01.jpg


Pretty standard glamor shot I guess.

But it was frustrating using a DLSR again after a long while of shooting film. So many buttons and settings... particularly white balance settings. I was constantly second guessing myself about whether the colors in my digipics were accurate or not. I thought I had the camera set to RAW so I could make more forgiving corrections in post, but apparently I did not do this as I discovered when I imported the images when I got home. Oh well.

02.jpg


The risky squatting shot.
In this shot I think I was too focused on the metering and composing, and not enough on the model. I don't really like where her right arm is, and she had her arm like that a lot in many photos, but didn't notice at the time. I should tell her about it when I get the chance. Lesson learned.

I also shot with my Oly OM1

After importing a few Portra NC shots I reviewed some of the digital photos and the colors suddenly looked WHACK.

My fiance liked this shot:
03.jpg


I liked this one but I had to do some color corrections because there was a lot of green light bouncing on her face.

04.jpg


I thought I was more happy with the NC shots than the digital shots, but then I looked at the results from my TLR. Woah. Love that square format. These are from a roll of PX125 and Ektar100.

I liked this because it looked pretty candid:
05.jpg


Ektar has a bit of a magenta color cast in the shadows but it's easily corrected with pleasing results for the most part.
06.jpg


I really liked these last two shots. My fiance saw them and said "I would kill for legs like that." and that, I think, may be part of the desired effect of fashion photography.

07.jpg


08.jpg
 
Good stuff for your first try! There are problems here and there but overall I like what you got.

I'm very used to seeing "model shots" by DSLRs only, so it was refreshing to see the film stuff and also very cool to see the TLR photos.

Thanks for sharing!
 
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