Last night as I looked over my collection of printed photographs i
wondered what is it that people really see in photographs when a model
indeed a fellow human being , is posed forever in a single point of
time.
What did some of the worlds greatest thinkers say?
Albert Einstein
"A photograph never grows old. You and I change, people change all through the
months and years but a photograph always remains the same. How nice to look at
a photograph of mother or father taken many years ago. You see them as you remember
them. But as people live on, they change completely. That is why I think a photograph
can be kind."
Mark Twain
"No photograph ever was good, yet, of anybody--hunger
and thirst and utter wretchedness overtake the outlaw who invented it! It
transforms into desperadoes the meekest of men; depicts sinless innocence
upon the pictured faces of ruffians; gives the wise man the stupid leer
of a fool, and a fool an expression of more than earthly wisdom.
If a man
tries to look serious when he sits for his picture the photograph makes
him look as solemn as an owl; if he smiles, the photograph smirks repulsively;
if he tries to look pleasant, the photograph looks silly; if he makes the
fatal mistake of attempting to seem pensive, the camera will surely write
him down as an ass. The sun never looks through the photographic instrument
that it does not print a lie.
The piece of glass it prints it on is well
named a "negative"--a contradiction--a misrepresentation--a falsehood.
I speak feeling of this matter, because by turns the instrument has represented
me to be a lunatic, a
Soloman, a missionary, a burglar and an abject idiot,
and I am neither."
- Letter to the Sacramento
Daily Union, written July 1, 1866
Both contrasting views , each with merit, one sees it as a remarkable
tool for mankind to fondly remember long lost family members and the
other it being nothing more then a twisted representation of the
fellow him self.
Who is to blame? Are they models? No, merely people caught in front
of a lens as them selves to which may or may not represent them as they
believe they see them selves.
Which brings me to my main question, what is a Model for?
- Model (person), a person whose occupation is to function as a living prop, often to display products, e.g. a fashion model
- Model (art), a person who poses for purposes of art, for example in art school
- Supermodel, a person who attains celebrity status through fashion modeling
- Fetish model, a model who wears the clothing and/or devices of sexual fetishes
- Promotional model, a person who promotes a product or service
So judging from the above a Model is nothing more then a tool , whose objective in their role is to serve as a "living prop".
That being the case from my view a model must be able to give
expression when asked, to give form to clothes when prompted, to be
what ever is humanly possible to achieve for the sake of art.
That said, to what end?
What as "Photographer" do we really hope to capture from a "Model" ?
Most focus on the beauty and form of the sexes, and why not , to see
naked body's before us is an easy trigger to stir feelings of lust and
want within us , and in the end grant a response to the photographers
need for feedback.
For others , a select few it is the opportunity to capture something
wonderful , to hold forever the smile, the look , the emotion of the
moment to let others years from now see and perhaps understand
something about that person and maybe about them selves.
For me a Model MUST be able to express emotion when needed, so as to
capture something special , be it a smile or sadness all emotions can
bring a uniqueness to the photograph.
I hope to meet a Model someday that is very well capable of this....
Peter
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
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http://www.pbphotographs.com
