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Help new and need models!
Question new and in need of models. How do I get models to work with? I know there are tons of people that have had horror stories and hate dealing with some pervert who bought a camera and wants pretty girls to take pictures. So how do I not being that guy but only have a few pictures of myself or my wife get started? I have been taking photographs for families and weddings and such for some time now and have some very nice photographs but can't really share or market these or even show off my skills. So I spent the time and money and built a very nice home studio invested in strobes and such. But still can't find models to work with? Any tips or help would be appreciated Thanks Frank Feb 03 13 05:31 am Link Click the casting/travel tap up there ^ and post a casting. Feb 03 13 05:36 am Link same as above and also use browse feature to locate model in your area and near, use drop down boxes to advance search !, good luck and welcome to MM Feb 03 13 05:39 am Link You will have to pay. TF for new photogs with no real pictures is a serious crapshoot. I did not look at your current portfolio yet so I'm making a blanket statement. Models are not going to shoot with you for free if they don't know for sure you're going to give them something decent to put in their port. Models who will are as desperate as a new photographer and the result won't be pretty. We all start somewhere. Look for experienced models whose work you like in your area using the "browse" feature, send them a polite email explaining you're a new photographer and would like to know if they'd be willing to work with you, and what their rates are. Best, KK Feb 03 13 05:43 am Link Browse for models in your area that inspire you to want to photograph them. Message them with your intentions. They will either say yes or no, (or nothing at all, which you should put in the same category as 'no'). That's pretty much how I've been doing it for the past five years. Oh yeah, you might want to browse meetup.com for local photo meetups, where you can shoot models in a group situation. Depending on the size of your local photo community, it's a good way to network with other photogs/models/MUAs. Feb 03 13 05:45 am Link Justin Bonaparte wrote: Pretty much this^ Feb 03 13 06:16 am Link Welcome to MM !!..  Feb 03 13 06:26 am Link Justin Bonaparte wrote: +1 Feb 03 13 06:28 am Link Group shoots Feb 03 13 06:34 am Link MM police @J@ joined May 04, 2009 ? Feb 03 13 08:14 am Link KonstantKarma wrote: I disagree. I had pictures of other stuffs than portraits on my website, and I did some TF shoots that came out pretty well (cf. my portfolio). Feb 03 13 08:36 am Link KonstantKarma wrote: don't we all have friends? Feb 03 13 08:53 am Link Show the world what you can do with Ed next door, and escape the self limiting notion that you have to have a model to make a great photo. As you build a body of work, you will build a following and clout. Feb 03 13 08:57 am Link When I first started I put an ad in the local Craigslist (new, aspiring or would be models), I explained that I had been doing photography for years and was looking to broaden my field. I offered $10 an hour. I received 24 responses in the first day. I found several that turned out to be quite attractive and good subjects and I used these to develop my skills in posing, composition, lighting, etc. I'm new to MM, but from my short experience on MM, I have found a number of beginning models (and some with limited experience) who have been excellent subject. Feb 03 13 09:17 am Link David Nelson Photograph wrote: so lying is the preferred method? Feb 03 13 09:22 am Link Mark Laubenheimer wrote: Lying? I did say that I had been primarily shooting landscapes and was looking to broaden my experience. Lying is, almost, never a good idea and lyers will quickly find themselves alone with their camera. Feb 03 13 09:28 am Link I suggest you ignore the "you must pay" "dont pay" debate. its like every other debate on here (mac vs pc, raw vs jpg, natural vs fake, ford vs chevy etc etc). There are fanboys to be found (binders full of them). Concentrate on just finding the models. WYFIWYG. what you find is what you get. If in your area the only models that are willing to work with you are paid only, then you pay. The key is finding the models, not how much (or not at all) you are going to pay. next debate: ignore the whole "the internet is a  place" debate. the fact that you have limited images (I didnt look) does not make you a rapist or even a tax fraud. It just makes you relatively inexperienced. You can't prove you are not a rapist. Don't get sucked into trying. Someone will figure it out. The ones that don't trust you are simply ones you don't shoot with. Don't sweat it. My first model had 4 years of experience and had worked in Miami and Vancouver. you might not be so lucky. or you might. SO: casting call on here. craiglist. cold calls. expect 90% rejection on your cold calls. dont let it bother you. you only need one or two. you don't need 30 models to start your port. have an idea. it doesnt have to be even a really good idea. it doesnt even have to be a good idea. but if you post a casting call that says something like "eating cupcakes on train tracks" it sets you apart from the totally clueless. besides. nobody can resist cupcakes these days. Crumpler named a camera bag the cupcake. you have to promise to post back in this thread once you shoot and have more images in your portfolio. I'm not going to look until then  Feb 03 13 09:44 am Link David Nelson Photograph wrote: you wrote that when you just started out you put an ad on craigslist stating you had been doing photography for many years. Feb 03 13 09:46 am Link
Post hidden on Feb 03, 2013 11:14 pm
Reason: 18+ Images Feb 03 13 09:50 am Link Look for photography groups in your area, that do llama shoots. www.meetup.com would be a good place to look for groups. Feb 03 13 09:56 am Link To clarify, when I said he'll have to pay, I was meaning in reference to MM models. If a girl is willing to show up to a TF shoot for free with a photographer without a portfolio, she's probably not going to be experienced enough to offer good posing, work with light, etc - Blind leading the blind. But yes, Facebook etc. is a great place to start, I was lucky enough to have naked women around who didn't mind being practice subjects. Feb 03 13 08:58 pm Link Carl Blum Photography wrote: Nice! Feb 03 13 09:09 pm Link ask a friend on fb and then go from there when i started my photos were pretty average but average photos will get the attention of newer models and just go from there Feb 03 13 09:15 pm Link YRG Studios wrote: Great question... I'm new too, but not new to photography, only to reaching out and shooting people I have never met, have no connection to. Feb 03 13 11:05 pm Link 1) pay them 2) pay them 3) pay them 4) have hot friends who will pose for you 5) get insanely good 6) look for meetup.com or other group shoots that's all i know. i find trade shoots very iffy. i do better if i meet the model away from model mayhem (even if they are on model mayhem. go figure) Feb 03 13 11:42 pm Link twoharts wrote: Heading over to meetup.... Didn't think about that for photography! Have used it for my music / band before though. Feb 03 13 11:53 pm Link OP i see a post on your page from Dan Doyle/Anthony Neste for the group shoot in Florida near Daytona Beach, if you were closer you really should go to something like that. Actually I should go to it myself! Feb 04 13 03:22 am Link Why not take a one-on-one workshop with a talented photographer? He can set up all the details and you will learn a bunch too. Model, MUA, all taken care of. You will learn more in an intensive 4 hour sesson that you might otherwise learn in months. Or, if that idea is not to your liking, simply reach into your wallet and hire a seasoned model. He or she will know their stuff and be able to actually improve your game that day. Seasoned feeelancers have no issues dealing with newbies -- newbies tend to be a large portion of their client base. Feb 04 13 03:48 am Link Without getting into the area of critique, your biggest problem is what you are showing and then what you say about yourself in your profile. If I was a model, I don't think I'd be falling over myself to work with a photographer who's been on MM for nearly four years and only able to muster up six photographs. And one of those being a close up of a woman's boobs might, to a female model, send out the wrong signals too. What I would do is, first of all, get someone else to write your profile for you with an aim to making it a little more realistic. And then I'd just look around my home town area, in the places that the kind of people I wanted to photograph might congregate and then try to approach them there. Always depending of course on how charming and friendly you can be, you may have better luck finding models that way. If not, supplementing your portfolio with a few interesting and original street portraits might be a big help. Feb 04 13 05:20 am Link Derek Ridgers wrote: well said. Feb 09 13 12:12 pm Link What others have said here, is spot on. I'd like to add that finding a model is much like finding any other contractor. If you need a house painter, you search for house painters online, in the phonebook (maybe not so much anymore), or by asking for recommendations. Need a model? You already know where to look! You're here, aren't you? Find the one(s) that fit the look you need, by using the browse button at the top of the page, and hire them! Check the travel section, casting calls, availability notice...all are here just for you. If you still can't find what you need or want, in your area, many models here travel, even if not on tour. All of my advice is being given without having looked at your profile. For that, you'll need to enter the critique forum. Feb 09 13 12:20 pm Link After viewing your profile, my best advice would be to evaluate the images you're showing and perhaps choose others that would be more appealing to the type(s) of models you're looking for. Feb 09 13 12:29 pm Link |
