Shooting with New Models

[Benjamin Kanarek]

Shooting with New Models

I often find it more refreshing to shoot with new models than those with a lot of experience. They are often more open to suggestions and can often give you non-poses that are so totally off the wall and cool, even if that was not their intent. New models heavily rely on your input or lack of it. When I say lack of it I mean, telling them to do what ever they feel is appropriate and attempting to capture them in the non-pose before they are about to attempt to strike a pose.

This non-technique is something I love to employ when things re going a bit stale. I will look away from the model for a second or down at my camera so that the model thinks I am not ready to shoot. It is at that moment that I often get my best shots. They are honest and in my opinion capture the true essence of the moment.

One technique I employ on occasion is I have the model concentrate on a point of their body by saying, "pinch your forefinger and thumb together and put it behind your back or apply weight to your big toe of your right foot without making it too obvious. That exercise often renders some very captivation facial expressions.

My philosophy of late has been "Less is More" and thus, I generally give the models Carte Blanche to Fly. Of course if they are totally ridged, that is where I attempt to guide them, not by strict posses, but buy attempting to invoke an emotion in them that can hopefully be realized.

Always give a briefing before the shoot and let things go where they may, as long as they fulfill the objective of your project.

http://www.benjaminkanarekblog.com/?p=624

[Nicolas Claris]

Originally Posted by Benjamin Kanarek

Always give a briefing before the shoot and let things go where they may, as long as they fulfill the objective of your project.

Hi Benjamin
as among other threads with your precious and always interesting advises, I think that this one here is the more pertinent… especially when you can't communicate with the model later, i.e. from a chase boat at full speed or from an helicopter!

[Ian L. Sitren]

I think the bigger component for me with models is enthusiasm accompanied by personality. It can be very refreshing and a cause for creativity.

[Asher Kelman]

Ben,

I like you non-posed pose ideas! I was recently discussing with Jock Sturges how he takes photographs of his models. To my surprise he claims that he never poses them, just allows them to set themselves up as they so feel. Then he takes his 8x10 color film photograph. "It's that simple!", he says!

Asher

[Frank Doorhof]

It will depend on what you want to portrait.
Sometimes very posed will work great, sometimes it's terrible.
And all models are different of course, in the end it's always a game of searching for the right communication and what fits the mood/model.

[Ashley Karyl]

Generally speaking I find working with professional models far more reliable for obtaining the results I want. Unless you are dealing with a particularly difficult case there is usually a mutual level of understanding and respect for each other's work, which helps to obtain the right image. I really avoid amateurs where possible and especially so with nude or glamour photography.

[Asher Kelman]

Originally Posted by Ashley Karyl

Generally speaking I find working with professional models far more reliable for obtaining the results I want. Unless you are dealing with a particularly difficult case there is usually a mutual level of understanding and respect for each other's work, which helps what to obtain the right image. I really avoid amateurs where possible and especially so with nude or glamour photography.

Hi Ashley,

Glad to see your comments. Obviously a professional model reduces uncertainty, especially for the inexperienced figure and glamor photographer, no matter how good he/she is for other work. When one has to hire space, makeup and hairstylists etc, not being able to get a usable pose from a model is a huge disappointment and you can't simply just move her, him or them, for that matter!

So there's a great advantage starting off with a professional model. There are so many organizational, interpersonal and esthetic lighting considerations to be mastered, that having great poses makes start-out seem less intimidating.

Having said that, if one is sensitive to the nature of the person one is photographing, then one can observe and sample what's there. That's what Jock Sturges shared with me recently. However, he usually knows his subjects.

In the end, both highly experienced and new models can be used successfully, but I would imagine that the less experienced person would give "non-poses" that are ultimately more intriguing for artwork. For "glamor" if I may be allowed to separate that from "Art", just for this narrow purpose, I'd bet professional models would deliver more bang for the buck, meaning photographs that have a far better chance of being purchased by a magazine or calendar publisher.

Asher