|
Forums >
Model Colloquy >
During a shoot when talking to the model...
Models: Does it annoy you if the photographer explains why they are doing what they are doing? EG: in the last shoot I would tell the model to move an inch to the... because there was a shadow/highlight I needed to fix. Or, great look, but give me just a little more intensity. Now this light will pick up those lines of the dress, and this one will highlight your cheekbones. Normally I have little to say, but seems that yesterday I got quite chatty. In fact, in retrospect, I was sounding a bit like I was doing an instructional video. Aug 10 14 07:49 pm Link It's the norm and such detailed explanations are helpful.  Aug 11 14 04:57 am Link I do find these comments helpful, so we can both work on a wonderful shoot. Aug 11 14 08:47 am Link Sometimes i prefer that the photographer keeps it minimal, as far as the photography adjustments go, but in terms of direction and leading me as the model, its very useful Aug 11 14 08:51 am Link When I explain why I'm doing something..especially when it comes to posing the subject.. I may show them photos on my computer to see what's working, why and what's not.. I find most respond well, because now they see what I see and understand how to improve the shot. Aug 11 14 09:57 am Link J Jessica wrote: +1 Aug 11 14 10:11 am Link I do this all the time. I try not to go in to too much explanation (but sometimes I do). Models have told me they like it. Much better than hearing nothing at all. Aug 11 14 10:23 am Link I can't imagine NOT sharing the why behind the still. That just seems part of the process to me...one that I've never really thought about. Compare it to the film industry and imagine a great director like Scorcese directing his actors, but not sharing with them his insight or vision for the final product? The actors wouldn't be participants in the process, they would just be following orders. I think it's vital for the subject to know the "why" to buy into the process. Aug 11 14 10:30 am Link I'm not usually explaining the light on a model or my technical tedium unless the model is having trouble finding their light or I'm having some technical malfunction that effects the flow of the shoot. Aug 11 14 10:50 am Link I always find it helpful and interesting personally  Aug 11 14 02:14 pm Link As long as the explanation is short and direct, I think it can be helpful. Just don't go into a long spiel on ISO and F stops and we'll be alright.  Aug 11 14 02:21 pm Link Just fine. When I direct, I often tell the camera people to secretly film the actor/model during a dry/test run. We often get the most natural expression that way. Most average photographers that I work with (for TFP's and paid) they often just ask me to come around and look at the image for myself after two or three frames. That helps as well. Aug 11 14 02:34 pm Link Herman Surkis wrote: I don't know if it would come across differently depending on how you say it... for example: Aug 11 14 02:57 pm Link Elizabeth Worth wrote: +1 Aug 11 14 03:00 pm Link Thought for awhile that this was going to die a typical MM death. Some very useful feedback. I felt I was just being overly chatty and giving to much information. This was during a classic Hollywood style using Fresnel lights (no charge for the tanning session), and the lighting can get very fiddly. I would take the shot, and before the model moved I would explain why I want her to move 1 inch this way. Ok, chatty not bad, as long as it is kept under control and nix the too technical stuff. (note to self: do not revert back to 'Silent Running') Aug 11 14 04:14 pm Link Layla_B wrote: Those are the best...blackmail...model brings me a Latte at the next shoot or I post on FB. Aug 11 14 04:16 pm Link I like direction. It doesn't matter if it comes with an explanation or not. Aug 11 14 04:57 pm Link Any time I've ever done that in a workshop the person who found the practice most objectionable was usually the instructor. "They don't need or care to know that!" -- that sort of thing Aug 11 14 05:10 pm Link NothingIsRealButTheGirl wrote: Interesting thing is that most of the models answering here seem to disagree with your instructor. Aug 11 14 11:49 pm Link Herman Surkis wrote: Lol, I'll bring homemade baked goodies like cookies or cupcakes whatever you prefer (even allergy-safe if necessary) ^-^ Aug 12 14 08:59 am Link I don't mind it in the least. I think it gives me more awareness of my surroundings in order to get the shot. Aug 13 14 01:18 pm Link I don't really care either way. Most photographers I shoot with know I'm also a photographer so maybe they feel like they don't need to explain stuff that I probably already know. Aug 13 14 03:24 pm Link Explaining is good, especially for newer models. It helps them understand what goes in to getting that shot. It would only annoy me if you take so long to explain that the flow gets broken. But that's usually not a problem. In general, the best feedback is when the photographer explains what's going on and what they're seeing. Sometimes what they see is totally different from the model's perspective. Hell, I don't know that there's an awkward telephone pole coming out of my head, because it's twenty feet behind me. Explaining what's going on also means that the model isn't second guessing herself. Aug 13 14 03:53 pm Link In my early days of photography, I would simply "get into the zone" and not say a word during a shoot, other than to give simple direction. I discovered this "weird'ed out" some models, the silence being deafening. Now, I tend to ramble. Aug 14 14 07:07 am Link Sometimes the model asks me what I am doing. Like when I change a lens. Aug 14 14 10:03 am Link hbutz New York wrote: I always have casual conversation with the model during the shoot. Aug 14 14 10:04 am Link NYMPH wrote: "Pardon me, miss, but you appear to have a large tree, probably a black walnut, growing out of your crotch. Could you please shift a few feet to my left? Thank you!" Aug 14 14 10:27 am Link I always like to learn at my shoots :] And I'm always grateful when a photographer respects me enough to want me to be on the same page. Although, once I had a shoot with a newbie photographer who told me all about every last thing he was doing, which was annoying at first because it felt a little degrading, as if the thought I didn't know the first thing about photography. But then I realized he was doing it to keep his confidence flowing, and he didn't mean to be rude. He was nervous and needed to maintain the illusion that he knew what he was doing. (I think we've all been there!) *ramble ramble* anyway, what I'm getting at is that it depends on how you say things. If you treat the model like an equal, it will probably come off as such. Keep in mind that some models know more than others. Also keep in mind that some models reaallllly don't want to be educated. (hopefully you don't get stuck with anyone like that!) Aug 14 14 10:32 am Link I like to tell the model why I am doing things. Sometimes when I am going for a specific shadow it is essential that the model understand that only small adjustments are required, and knowing why makes it better. Also when working with a newer model by explaining how the light works she can learn for future shoots. And when working with experienced models I can usually tell them the effect I want and they can find the pose without me giving specific movements. And of course the model rarely can see what I see so she has no idea about background, or if her skirt or hair is falling a little off from what I want. I do always feel a bit cheesy - like I am doing an ANTM shoot or appearing on an episode of a bad sitcom version of a photo shoot - when every frame has me saying "beautiful" or "that's it". But I also know when I don't communicate every few shots some models begin to wonder if what they are doing is what I want - and that's when a shoot can start to turn bad if the model is not confident in what she is doing. I don't think there is anything wrong with communicating about the work, or for that matter maintaining some general chatter to make conversation as long as you steer away from the usual danger topics like politics and religion. Just my $0.02 Aug 14 14 10:44 am Link I think it's important when an adjustment is being made when it's not anything to do with the model. It's natural when you're in front of the camera and asked to do something differently to assume you were doing something wrong beforehand. I never want to rattle a model's confidence like that, so if an adjustment is because of a shadow or a focus thing or to make clothing sit differently, I say that. Aug 14 14 07:43 pm Link Layla_B wrote: lol so true. I sometimes do that just to get the model to laugh, same as taking a photo when she's fixing her hair (lots of John Mayer guitar type faces there) or whatever. Aug 14 14 08:07 pm Link Herman Surkis wrote: Just like photographers, models have varied interests. Some are interested in posing nuances. Some are interested in technique. It's my job to keep up her interest in what's happening. An experienced model recently wanted to make lighting suggestions and then see the results. We had fun. Herman Surkis wrote: Elizabeth Worth wrote: It's all part of my "patter." Aug 14 14 08:25 pm Link Cool answers. Since I am doing it all on my own, there are times when I am fiddling with the lights, and get them looking great. Then I go to the camera and "Crap!!!" Model gives me a look, and I have to explain that lighting that looks great when I am standing beside her may not be so great when seen through the viewfinder. Getting old, and even I am forgetting that. Aug 15 14 02:19 am Link In all honesty, it bugs me more when the photographer is completely silent. I never know what to expect! Pointing out helpful things here and there makes for better images Aug 20 14 01:23 pm Link If you are shooting 120 film, it's good to inform the model that it's a roll of film and not a shotgun shell, so that there is no misunderstanding.   120 film roll ----  shotgun shell Aug 20 14 02:09 pm Link Herman Surkis wrote: I like it when the photographer gets as you put it chatty. LOL Aug 20 14 03:00 pm Link I insist on complete silence and pitch black. Wait, I think I just figured out why none of my pictures seem to turn out. Aug 20 14 03:29 pm Link i used to tell my models, who were mostly inexperienced at the time, that i would be babbling about what i was doing, and why, when i was adjusting lights, etc. so if they wanted to learn a little, they could. now i seem to have developed this destructive habit of cracking jokes just when i'm about to get a shot. i have to watch that. Aug 20 14 04:13 pm Link Herman Surkis wrote: I believe that developing rapport with the model is my job. I need to "read" the model and communicate appropriately. Aug 21 14 03:32 pm Link I talk, I joke, I smile! Anything to get my 'subject' to react.. Aug 21 14 03:45 pm Link |
