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Of course, to an extent. Give me your critique(s). I want your opinion: how can I improve my modeling? What poses should I perform? Facial expressions? Hair? Makeup? I have an insatiable thirst for advice. I'm not lacking in work, I just strive to be complex. I am only 18 years old with much to model for; so why not model holistically? I have only modeled for 5 months and I have done well. Although, I know there is much more! Do I have potential? Can I enter to be an agency model? Commercial work if I smile much more naturally? Fashion if I lose more weight? Enlighten me. I hunger for it. Thank you, Inertia Apr 13 13 03:12 pm Link I feel you do well in the art genre. I feel you could do some fashion if you wanted, definitely glamour, but I do not see commercial as much. Your expressions aren't carefree/playful enough, which isn't a bad thing. You do well more serious then that. But in all honesty, there have been models to stick to art and fetish, and do well in it. Maybe it is just your area, and you may not need to branch out much. Apr 13 13 05:51 pm Link 
Photographer Posts: 1268 Grove Place, Saint Croix, Virgin Islands of the United States Inertia Creeps wrote: I could see you as an independent art model. Just work hard. Study the body and photography. You seem like a beginner who needs to do some work. Apr 13 13 06:08 pm Link Thank you. I appreciate the advice. How can I expand myself in the art world? Apr 13 13 06:47 pm Link Sorry but your port has more to do with stripping than modeling. The generally bad photography doesnt help either. But if you like it and are making $ then good for you. BUT keep at it- try just conventional clothed shots- get some decent head shots. The only agency that you have a chance with is a commercial one which requires life style shots and smiles. Apr 13 13 08:28 pm Link Since your profile says your main goal is to be hung in galleries, that suggests artistic work. It’s a simple equation. I think you have a look that could work well with that genre. That’s why I sent you an FR a while back. Rather than suggest specific poses for you to try or learn, I’m going to suggest that you learn artistic posing. Many models don’t get artistic posing. Some who are very good at glamour, for example, or other genres will never get it. Occasionally a model will get it instinctively. There’s a model in the Baltimore area who posted her first artistic nude shoot a few months ago, and the results were amazing. For most, I think, it takes some practice, self-evaluation and maybe an adjustment in mindset. I’m not suggesting that you learn the “textbook” poses that you’ll find in books on nude photography from the 1940’s – or at least not that you stop there. Develop your own posing style. Good artistic poses, in my opinion, must be graceful. Beyond that they can be dramatic. They can tell stories and create moods. They can be adaptive to the surroundings. They are not memorized poses. You will find yourself *creating* poses that you’ve never seen before. A good artistic model creates art, every bit as much as a photographer does. (The same is true in other genres, but perhaps not always to the same extent.) I can direct models into artistic poses - but they're not even close to what a talented artistic model can produce. While there are photographers who can create amazing artistic poses and in some cases even demonstrate them for models, frankly most of us can't. Most photographers are best at lighting and shooting. Posing and expressing (perhaps with general and minimal direction) are the model's forte, or at least in most cases, imo, they should be. The best place that I know of to learn the basics of posing is this DVD set: http://www.photographingmodels.com/reg.html The DVD is not about artistic posing. It's about the principles of posing, which are essentially the same from one genre to another. Understanding the principles of posing won’t make you a great artistic model. It’s just the foundation. You will learn to *create* one graceful, artistic pose after another. Then there are expressions. To some, the only appropriate expression for an artistic nude is a serene gaze into the distance. I don’t subscribe to that. Expressions can also be dramatic, suggested by the surroundings or the situation, and they can be story-telling. More than anything else, imo, most often it is emotion expressed by the model that creates a powerful connection between the viewer and a photo. For most models, posing comes first. Only after the model becomes so comfortable with posing that she can put her body on autopilot and focus on expressions does a model get really good at expressions. There are exceptions. There is a shortage of good artistic nude models of Asian descent, mainly, I believe, because there are elements of Asian culture (in some countries at least) that discourage that. If there is an exception to that in the US, it's in the Bay Area. This is a generalization and not an absolute, but I believe that Asians (particularly from certain countries) often possess a peace and serenity that many others don't, and that comes across in their work. You mentioned agencies. Your stats are close to top agency standards, but they aren’t there. There may be some artistic models who are represented by agencies, but I know of none – at least none who are represented for their artistic work. So in that regard you’re likely to work as a freelancer. When this book was published a little over a year ago, 4-5 of my freelance model friends wrote to tell me about it. One of them (who is primarily a beauty and glamour model) said that if the book had been available when she started modeling, it would have saved her five years. That’s about $2 a year. https://www.modelmayhem.com/489446 My final suggestion that, as a freelance model, you learn makeup and hair styling. Generally makeup for artistic work has a more “natural” look than makeup for other genres (although I sometimes like to mix elaborate hair styles with artistic nudes). If you can do your own makeup and hair, and do it well, it will increase your marketability – because photographers who hire you will only be paying you – not an MUA and/or hair stylist. Several of the artistic models I know are also certified MUA's. Needless to say, that can also add a second income stream in addition to modeling. Hope this helps. Apr 13 13 09:19 pm Link Inertia Creeps wrote: I don't know anything about agency modeling, but you're definitely inspirational from an artistic point of view. If I were to suggest any area for improvement, I'd suggest working more on expression and body language. You've got great dramatic figure work, but I can see you bringing a lot of power to sensual and emotive portraits that isn't currently represented in your portfolio. Apr 13 13 09:32 pm Link Barely StL wrote: THIS is incredibly helpful. Apr 13 13 10:10 pm Link |
