Shooting with Models

A Primer in Art and Glamour Portraiture

Jim Hooper. Model Casey DuPont. Rochester, NY. Image for submission to Nephilim Magazine, March 2018. Behind the scenes image captured by Joann Long.

Perhaps you’ve never given much thought to photographing beautiful models in lavish wardrobes lounging in gorgeous scenes, but many of us have probably had the experience of being approached by a friend or a family member “since you have a really nice camera” and asked to do senior photos, or family pictures, or something of the sort. Or maybe you’re genuinely curious about exploring a whole new genre of photography. I started off shooting wildlife and landscape images over 20 years ago, but I have shifted to shooting primarily glamour and fine art portraiture over the past four to five years. Over that time, I have learned a great deal, and I will be sharing a lot of those lessons when we meet in October. In preparing for this workshop, I wanted to share some thoughts here in the Contact Sheet.

There are many reasons why people start shooting portraits. For me, my first portrait shoot was a senior portrait for a co-workers daughter, many many years ago. It was a unique challenge, and having never photographed people (aside from events, which is still very different), I spent a lot of time trying to learn poses and lighting for people pictures. Luckily, that first shoot turned out some good images, and I didn’t run away crying! That shoot led to more opportunities for senior portraits, and in my current job working at 4-H Camp, I have a steady stream of 17 year old camp staff looking for senior pictures. Each of these sessions gives me a chance to learn, hone and improve my skills. Once I moved back to New York in 2005, I connected with a local area model, and we did a few shoots, which really got my interest going. I set up an online portfolio with the images I’d shot with the model, and began actively looking for more opportunities to shoot with new models.

In the years since, I have had the opportunity to do close to a hundred different photoshoots with people, including many model shoots. The Rochester area has a number of very active Facebook groups devoted to local photographers and models, and I’ve networked with a good number of folks on some really great collaborative efforts. This article will share my top ten tips about shooting with models, so maybe you will have a chance to test the waters yourself! We will cover these, and more, when we do our October Education Night, when I have model Nici Johnson in studio with me. We will have a discussion with Q&A, a quick shoot, and a little bit of an editing demonstration as well! Hope you can make it!

Tip 1: Finding a Model to Work With

In the world of the internet, it’s becoming easier than ever to find models willing to work with you. While there are certainly modeling agencies out there, they don’t want to work with hobbyist photographers, so I don’t recommend seeking an agency. Rather, networking websites like Model Mayhem or One Model Place are an option for hobbyist photographers to network with non-agency models. To be honest with you, I’ve had a portfolio on Model Mayhem for over 15 years, and I’ve never actually booked a shoot directly because of it. That said, I have connected with local models on Facebook and then later found that they also had a portfolio on ModelMayhem.com where I could read their bio, stats, look at their images, etc.

Facebook and Instagram have been far more productive for me in identifying models to work with. As I mentioned before, the Rochester modeling community has several Facebook groups where you can get a feel for who’s who. There are frequently both models and photographers posting opportunities there. Even new photographers can post, letting models know they are interested in doing a photoshoot and often an available model will respond. Once you’ve made a connection, you can check out their images, and have a bit of a dialog, which leads directly into Tip #2...

Tip 2: Open, Honest Communication

Great! You’ve made a connection with someone who is interested in possibly modeling for you. It is absolutely critical that you begin an honest dialog with them. Just like photographers, there are different types of models out there, and you don’t necessarily want to shoot with the first model that replies to you. You will want to get a sense of their goals and aspirations, the different types of looks they are comfortable with, and a general sense of their professionalism. Likewise, they will be trying to size you up as well. I always prefer to err on the side of talking too much, rather than too little. If I am getting the sense that the model is kind of flakey, or not taking things very seriously, I may opt to move on and look for another model.

Tip 3: Game Plan.

There are a couple of different schools of thought on this one, but at the end of the day,you’re going to want to have a solid game plan well before you meet up to shoot. If you are reaching out to connect with a model, they may be expecting you to have a theme or a style already in mind. Other models may have their own ideas and be willing to steer the ship, so to speak. Often times, however, you will find that neither party has a specific plan when they first connect, but rather, will prefer to discuss some options, and work together to determine a theme. For me, personally, I am in love with Pinterest, and I always have several different pinboards with different ideas. Sometimes I see an idea and I might think to myself “Nici would be PERFECT for this look!” and I will message her. Other times I will see something and think “I’d love to do that, if I ever found the perfect model for it”, and then when I am making arrangements with a model I may go back to my boards and see if the model would be interested in shooting something from my wish list.

Tip 4: Have a Contract

I know, I know... You probably aren’t looking to get paid from your first model shoot, but having a contract in place is really important, even if there is no money exchanging hands. Even when you are good friends with the model (or the coworkers daughter you’re photographing, etc), it’s always a good idea to have something that spells out some of the details like costs (if any), how many finished images the model can expect, how long they can expect to wait to get those images, image resolution, copyright, usage rights, and more. I’ve heard models tell me that they shot with a photographer 6 months ago, and they haven’t gotten a single image from the shoot yet. For me, my contract says I will deliver a gallery of proof images within one week of the shoot, and I will deliver a minimum of ten fully editing images within one week of the models selection. Every photographer is different. I always allow the model to select their favorite images, but many photographers simply select their own favorites, and the model simply gets a low resolution copy of the photographer’s favorites. Bear in mind that if there is no money being exchanged, then the final edited images ARE the compensation for both parties, so to me, it makes sense to be as generous as possible, especially when you are just starting out.

Tip 5: Location, Location, Location

This is an old real estate term, but the same can be said for photography. Where you do your shoots is tied to the style and the theme for your shoot. Will you be shooting outdoors at a local park with natural light and

Model Janae Genna, Rochester NY. Image for portfolio. December 2019.

wooded backgrounds? Is your theme better suited to a fancy, elegant indoor location? Is it more boudoir themed, where shooting at a hotel, or the model’s home may be appropriate? Does it require full studio lighting and gear? Sometimes the location can be dependent on the theme, other times the theme may be dependent on the location. For example, shooting in a park will yield a very different feel than

shooting in front of a sweeping spiral staircase in a luxury hotel lobby, which is going to be very different than shooting in the crumbling concrete ruins of an abandoned warehouse.

Tip 6: Lighting, Lighting, Lighting

We know that photography is quite literally painting with light, so any time you are using a camera, you’re going to need to understand lighting. Are you a natural light photographer? Are you using speedlights? Are you using studio strobes? If you’re shooting in natural light, do you know how to use reflectors and diffusers and natural obstructions to move, shift, and shape the light as you need, to make flattering images? If you are using speedlights or strobes, do you know how to balance artificial light with natural light? Are you familiar with lighting patterns and lighting ratios? In glamour photography, there is no right choice, but as a photographer, you need to be skilled in selecting the right setup for your particular shoot.

Tip 7: Giving Feedback

When you’re photographing a model, remember that even though you can see the images on the back of your camera, the model doesn’t until you show them. Remember all of the work you put in to having a plan and communicating with the model in tips two and three? You’re still going to want to be talking with your model during the shoot. Give them positive feedback as much as possible. If you are shooting away, and giving no feedback, they don’t know if they are giving you the look you want or not. And never ever ever look at the back of your camera and make negative comments or expressions! Your models will pick up on that every single time! Now, it’s fair that sometimes you won’t love every single image you see on the back of the camera, but keep talking positively. If something isn’t quite right, give the model feedback but frame it positively. Tell them what you need to change, but be respectful. “That’s great! Let’s get another shot where we move your hand to your hip... I want to give a little separation between your arm and your side.” or “YES! Now turn your chin toward the light... YES! That’s awesome!” will yield way better results than “move your elbow away from your gut, you look really heavy with your arm tucked in like that” or “You need to look toward the light because we are seeing your double chin when you look away”. Ack! Don’t do it!

Tip 8: Never Touch Your Model

This one really explains itself, but you should never just go up to your model and move their hair around or put their hand on their hip, etc. I think this one is especially true for male photographers working with female models. There are situations, however, where I may ask a model for permission to move their hair out of their eyes because having the model move it themselves may interrupt a particular pose. I always invite a model to bring a friend or a parent with them to the shoot, especially if I’ve not worked with them before, and this can be a good way to give the friend something to do, while also alleviating the need for me to touch the model. I will just ask the model if it’s OK for their friend to adjust the hair. Typically the friend can see what I am looking at, and can make the adjustment just as easily as I could. Model Tina Johnson, Phoenix AZ. Image created for submission to Myssfit Magazine, June 2019.

Tip 9: Be Prompt with Follow Up

After the shoot is over, I download all of my images into Lightroom, and then cull out the duplicates, the blurry images, the awkward expressions, the shots where my lights didn’t fire, etc., and then export a watermarked set of proofs within 24 hours. Again, there is no right or wrong answer here, but I like to turn things around as quickly as possible. I then use Pixieset to upload a password protect gallery of proofs. I can send a link for the gallery to model, and invite them to “Like” their favorite images. My contract specifies ten images so once the model “likes” their favorite ten, I will get an email that tells me a new favorites list has been created. From there, I simply pull up the list, and earmark those images as “2-star” images in Lightroom. Once I’ve edited them, I will mark them as “3-star” images. Then I simply export the collection using the specifications outlined in my contract. In my case, that means I export to 2000 px on the long side, at 300dpi, with a watermark applied. Most models are only using these in online portfolios or social media, so they have no use for the full res photos. If they are planning on printing, they can just let me know and I will gladly send them the full res. Again, every photographer will approach this differently, this is just the system that works for me.

Tip 10: Be a Good Human

Ok, perhaps this isn’t unique to art and glamour portraits, but I do think there is an element of special note here when it comes to working with models. In the glamour photography genre, our aim is to make the client as beautiful, sexy, and glamorous as possible. To make this possible, it is absolutely critical that you build a level of trust between model and photographer. That trust is based on all of the interactions you have with the model from the very first moment you contact them. Every interaction with your model is a chance to demonstrate your professionalism, and you should treat it as such. If your model has any reason to believe that you are being dishonest or just plain creepy, the images will show that tension. Additionally, they are likely to share their negative experiences with the modeling community, and you will find it all but impossible to arrange a shoot with another model. So, just be nice. Be a good human, follow through on your commitments, deliver on your promises, make good images, and enjoy the experience! 