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Tattoos, and modeling.
I love inked people for many reasons  Jun 22 13 12:31 pm Link I shot a model who had a tattoo that curled from the thigh to the lower belly. She had gorgeous swimsuits. I could actually present the photo to swimsuit lines if I could remove the tattoo, it really has that potential. It's a nightmare to remove. I'll try next weekend again. The photo is not on here. I have photos that I put aside for the day when I get the hang of photoshop. I only recently started using it. Before it was virtually all Lightroom. I just now can't use models with tattoos. I don't have any projects that require them. To begin with, some images can require a lot of postwork to really get them to a level of gorgeousity where they can do something more for the photographer than just look good in an online portfolio. To have any further complications than: the assistant angled off the reflector, lowered it, just as you clicked, and then the model changed position and couldn't remember how to do it again, but it's the shot, the shot, that has the potential to really get people interested in you, and your retinas got burnt in the sun, and then you spend the hours fixing it, and then have to remove not just sand spots but a tattoo! Oh god, no. On location you can get sand on your lens. Due to my wonderful experiences I prefer no tattoos, particularly for SWIMSUIT. Jun 22 13 12:42 pm Link I'm short. I shoot nudes. I'm also a burlesque performer. Not an issue. Blah. Jun 22 13 02:18 pm Link Everybody is entitled to their opinion, personally I avoid hiring models with ink. Our eyes are naturally drawn to contrast and since the tattoo will have the most contrast the viewers eye will naturally to the tat. That's not where I want the eye to go. Jun 22 13 02:24 pm Link VonTuck wrote: Please enlighten me on your extensive background, and why you say the alternative modeling scene is "gigantic". Does "gigantic" mean making enough money to live on? Please show me what the "great career" is you refer to? Does that mean making enough money to live on? I await your answers with interest. Jun 22 13 02:32 pm Link DVP Photography wrote: Anything that's not "fashion" modeling is generally considered alternative modeling. I.e. nude, erotic, lifestyle, etc, etc. Jun 22 13 03:17 pm Link Goddess of Saturn wrote: I am not certain if your definition of "alternative" or "alt" modeling is correct, dear Goddess! Jun 22 13 03:38 pm Link udor wrote: This is just what a couple of other photogs have told me. /: I'm sorry I'm not up in the "Know how" of the modeling industry. Jun 22 13 04:04 pm Link Goddess of Saturn wrote: Sorry, but you are totally wrong. You need to spend a little time getting educated about the industry you want to join. Jun 22 13 04:09 pm Link Goddess of Saturn wrote: That's okay... Jun 22 13 04:09 pm Link Dear Goddess: The basic definition in Wikipedia is a good place to start to understand alternative modeling. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_model Jun 22 13 04:13 pm Link udor wrote: Thank you! I'll be getting more interesting shots in soon. ^-^ Jun 22 13 04:25 pm Link Burlesque is alt now? Oooookay. Jun 22 13 04:33 pm Link P I X I E wrote: I am not at all surprised by the inclusion of burlesque under "alt" modeling... Jun 22 13 04:56 pm Link Why do I feel people cringing at the very thought of alt modeling? >3> Jun 22 13 04:58 pm Link Hmm let's see, Your attitude in addressing this forum is uncivil and insulting to everyone else who tried to explain the rationale behind their opinions. I have absolutely no problem with anyone who tried to give a legitimate answer. Jun 22 13 05:06 pm Link VonTuck wrote: I am heavily inked myself! Jun 22 13 05:08 pm Link DVP Photography wrote: I know several alternative, heavily tattooed who make a nice living... it's like every other aspect of modeling, some make a lot of money, some make a decent living, some make extra change to put gas in the car, and some do it for fun. Jun 22 13 05:12 pm Link Can we all keep the peace, please? /: Remember, when something on the internet upsets you. Step away from the computer, calm down, and come back later to readdress the problem. Jun 22 13 05:23 pm Link I love to shoot good ink. Bad ink....purely subjective, makes a shoot harder, regardless of genre. I shoot 90% "alt"....body mods, ink, cringe fashion, crime story....bring it on baby. Jun 22 13 06:04 pm Link Frankly, it's not a question of liking tattooed models or not for me. The only thing that matters to me is whether or not it works for the image. Sometimes with or without is important. Other times it doesn't matter either way, as is the case with my current avatar. I will say this - I find that when it matters, tattoos create a distraction more often than they act as a usable feature. Not always, but more often than not. Jun 22 13 07:03 pm Link I think tattoos, if good quality, can look stunning on many woman of all sizes. And it should not be a guarenteed NO for a photographer because there are SEVERAL options to covering them. 1 is a sleeve that easily looks like plain skin. There is photoshop. And there is makeup. Most coverups and foundations will not do the trick but i have come across a few brands that do a VERY good job at covering them. Ive seen this done in person as well and it is fantastic! I am tattooed myself and though i have many it turns out there ARE alot of photographers who are becoming open to tattoos and alternative styles. But then again some photographers just don't like it. Everybody has there Niche'. You just gotta find the ones that work for/with you. Jun 22 13 08:15 pm Link Squid Puke wrote: squid puke. gotta be the most interesting name i have ever seen here. i can get a decent set or two from a graffitied model, then it's time for coverup. photoshop? some of us don't want to be doing that work. or can't. i hope you can do the cosmetic alternative, because you have an excellent face and figure. Jun 22 13 09:29 pm Link If the tattoos are the focus of the shoot or I'm going for a specific look that tattoos help to convey I am all for them. Otherwise I would prefer the model to be free of ink. I have shot tattooed models that used makeup to cover their ink before. It all depends upon what will be seen in the final image for me. Jun 23 13 01:51 am Link Goddess of Saturn wrote: i agree with you on the "empty" look. if the model has full sleeves, or a huge chest piece, then she looks like a "tattooed model." if a model has a few little tattoos, then i'd suggest she cover them. a few little tattoos are going to be distracting to her overall look... where lots of ink is going to BE the look. Jun 23 13 02:22 am Link Trevor bonderud wrote: Exactly... and from what I've witnessed from the majority of tattoos I've seen... that work can be some REAL SHIT! Close to 500 model images on this port... over 95% NO tattoos... not a fan in the slightest... Jun 23 13 02:51 am Link Everything depends, right? If you want to be that model in "Picture Me" who gets flown to Europe for the weekend and paid $22,000 for it, tattoos won't help much. If you want to do the local hot girl with tattoos shoot, it will. Most of the girls with tattoos around here have a lot, and either it will work or it won't depending on the shoot. You can say "I model" or "I am a model." The latter doesn't have much room for tattoos. That being said, I love most of the published Suicide Girls models. Not the submit your pic to our database and get $50 if you're lucky ones, the ones who were in the book. (not saying they got much more....) But for the most part, the tattooed models you'll run into around here that have ink in amounts that would greatly affect a shoot are in two categories.... random tattoos all over and do hard fetish shoots, or have decided they are all pinup or "burlesque" and usually a size 14 or bigger. Jun 23 13 07:58 am Link If I feel they work with the model's look, fine, we use them and make a fun concept around them. However, there are times I need a clean canvas for art nude work. Recently, I was commissioned to shoot a girl for art nude website content...she had a couple small tattoos that the site administrator said were ok....we did a test shoot, it was all a go. We had our first official shoot set up for this week, and she confirms, then tells me she got a tattoo. I see a photo of a huge half sleeve that's only outlined, and will need to be shaded and colored in, in stages. I was infuriated and told her she blew it, and that needed to wait, we had a deal. Now it' off the table. Bottom line....tats may get you some opportunities for concept shoots etc....will cost some opportunities. Whatever happens, just gotta deal with it. Jun 23 13 08:14 am Link On a whole in todays market, tattoos probably close more doors than they open for professional modeling opportunities. Although I think that is slowly changing. As a casual shooter, I avoided models with ink, even for 'just for fun' trade shoots. I have however over the years, seen the light, and am appreciating them more. Maybe because there are a lot more quality artists producing beautiful pieces today? Maybe I was just a little slow in seeing the creativity in them. You can be a model with tatts and be successful. Just market yourself as such and maximize the opportunities in your market. Jun 23 13 08:21 am Link Goddess of Saturn wrote: I think you have the crux of it there--Either you're a tattooed model or you're not. Jun 23 13 09:55 am Link VonTuck wrote: Hi, Jun 23 13 10:53 am Link udor wrote: No, I'm not saying it's negative. I'm just, uh, surprised. Jun 23 13 11:11 am Link nyk fury wrote: Photography aside, this is really the crux of why I am not a big fan of ink in general. Yes I have seen some really beautiful work, but 90% do not fall into that category. There are the rare tattoos that I can agree have a special meaning for someone, such as honoring a loved one who has passed on, but the vast majority I see were simply done on a whim. Jun 23 13 11:31 am Link Eye of the World wrote: How do you know most tattoos you see were done on a whim? By one anecdote? Jun 23 13 12:20 pm Link P I X I E wrote: It's the standard assumption of a proponent of the anti-tattoo movement. Jun 23 13 12:33 pm Link I prefer my nude figure models tattoo free, but, because I am a painter and not a photographer, I can easily edit out any tattoo that I feel would get in the way of the painting! That being said, there are a few GORGEOUS tattooed models here on MM that I would LOVE to paint AND include all of their tattoos in the finished paintings! Jun 23 13 12:35 pm Link My tattoos haven't kept me from getting a job. And when I say I'm a TATTOOED model. I'm not saying I'm a Tattoo model. I'm saying I'm a model with tattoos. I.e. "I'm a tattooed gal." Hot damn. Actually, most photographers I've come in contact with like the fact that I have tattoos. Sure, I don't have tons, but I'm saving my back piece for a reason. I need to find an amazing artist. I don't get tattoos just to get them, they all have a meaning behind them. I'm not trying to get famous, or make a living. If ever I get famous, it's either because of a documentary I'm putting together, or because I'm in a band. Modeling is just something I have a passion for. It's art, and I love art. Jun 23 13 12:36 pm Link MyrnaByrna Jen B wrote: Yeah, the two tattoos I have are fairly prominent, but I do not look "alternative," and have never had anyone refer to me as an "alternative model," not that I know of anyway Jun 23 13 12:43 pm Link udor wrote: 100s of millions of people have voted for douches. 100s of millions sit in front of network television. 100s of millions of people adhere to gods which either do not exist, or if they do exist, they are demonic. Jun 23 13 01:02 pm Link udor wrote: Jun 23 13 01:16 pm Link |
