Perhaps a few facts to start of with.....
Lydia is not a Full or
Part time Model but is certainly looking to join those ranks which is
why She approached me to help get some photos done for Her portfolio.
We spent 4 hours , went through 4 outfit changes, and took about 800 +/- photos in total.
I used a Canon EOS 400D with a Sigma 500 Series Flashgun, with
a separate tripod to which place the Flash on via a off camera cord. (
I will be getting a wireless unit)
Used black sheets hung on the wall , with a black sheep skin rug, and used in some shots soft light from the patio glass door.
Lydia approached me and asked if I would be interested in
producing photographs for her portfolio for submitting to certain
alternative Model Agency's.
As i have some experience in that scene myself and I wanted to expand on my own portfolio I agreed to this.
First we meet up , as i always believe that meeting with people
you are going to be working with gives you a lot more information on
how to prepare for the shoot , also it tells me if they are for real or
not , as I'm sure any photographer will know through bitter experience
there are allot of girls or wanna be models who are all talk but no
show.
We discussed and agreed on what we both wanted, firstly to expand our portfolio's, this was a must and works for us both.
We
then talked about why she wanted the photographs in the first place and
what She was going to do with them. as it turns out She wanted to
submit them to not only a model agency in Sweden but also to a magazine
in the UK. Suffice to say that if either of those ventures work out for
her Ill be very happy.
As with anything planning your first step usually leads to a successful shoot and in this case i believe it was achieved.
I checked and doubled checked my gear , charged up the battery's , made sure i had spares for those and memory.
Also checked the Map as to where she was as i always believe on being on time when agreed on.
Lydia
was great on her side , She made sure she had time to do the shoot ,
made sure that the apt was clean and we had the needed space to work
in. She even offered me cups of tea during the shoot which through a 4
hour period is always nice.
So we started at about 1 and finished around 5 with breaks of course, ( I'm not a slave driver!! )
During
the shoot , i was always looking for her to be more expressive with her
eyes and face , to give something interesting to the camera and in turn
the viewer.
This was helps by the dazzling array of costume and prop
changes that she did but in the end i felt that being part actor as a
model is always very helpful.
The things that I have learned from the shoot may be different
from other but i thought id share them here for anyone else who needs
some tips or ideas.
1, As nice as the apt was it was small , so
its always a good idea to scope out the place a few days before you
begin the shoot. That way you can be better prepared and in the end
confident.
2, 4 hours is a bit too long , even though we took breaks , i
felt the model was getting tired and losing interest which is never
good. So maybe 2 hours is enough next time.
3, Get the Model
release form signed before and not after the shoot , not that she had
an issue with it but makes it more simple for everyone,
4, Its no harm in mixing it up a bit , i felt the Model was getting
bored, so i got her to play to the camera , gave her tasks to don 10
secs etc....etc... in other words made it fun for both of us!!
I'm sure there are other points that id like to bring up but in time Ill do that via the boards etc..etc....
Hope people got some good tips on that.
Peter
--
http://www.pbphotographs.com
