As photographer I've yet to find a better recipe for a successful photo shoot than a glass of good red wine, some good background music and a model that's in it for the fun. The outcome is guaranteed success. In my experience when tog and model meet for the first time it's intimidating and nervy for both parties. And I guess that's a good thing. Makes one humble and not overly confident. But those awkward moments should never last longer than a few minutes into the shoot or at most after that first glass of wine. It's when both tog and model are in the creative process of having fun that the best photo's are created, in my opinion.

Some comments from models I've had the privilege of working with before:

Before I went in for my photo shoot with Shane Smith, I had an idea of what to expect but at the same time I was really nervous because it was my first studio shoot and I didn't really have any experience beforehand. Upon meeting Shane, I immediately felt welcome. It wasn't long before I felt really relaxed and really enjoyed the shoot. Shane made me feel comfortable and it was a real pleasure working with him. He knows what he wants out of a shoot but at the same time also gives the model free reign to lend their own poses to the shoot. And I can honestly say I would love to work with him again - he's a professional and the atmosphere isn't a cold one. [Dwayne Labuschagne]

I would highly recommend Shane to anyone looking for a photographer - portfolio or otherwise. Shane was extremely professional and an absolute pleasure to work with. His passion for photography made it easy to work with him - he makes his models feel very relaxed and comfortable. I'm amazed at how many great shots he got and I didn't even realize he was taking them! Shane has a style and an artistic ability of his own, but also made sure that I got exactly the kind of pictures I wanted out of the shoot as well. And when I received the pictures I was not disappointed. Thanks, Shane! [Ashraf Jansen]

Just want to thank you once again for an amazing shoot. I had so much fun. It was great working with you and would recommend you any day. I think it was a good idea to get to the studio an hour or so before we started shooting, just to break the ice seeing that we have never met before and also to discuss the shoot to make sure both of us are happy with what was planned. Seeing that I'm a straight guy I thought it would be a bit awkward shooting with a gay photographer in the sense that there would be a lot of touching during the shoot and also the artistic nude shoot. When we started shooting all of that went out the window. I felt really relaxed and enjoyed how professional you kept the shoot. I would work with you any day again. [JP Koekemoer]

I have never been more comfortable being naked in front of anyone, thank you for giving me the opportunity to do this, it truly was a new frontier for me and the way that you went about it, made it one of my best experiences ever!
I really hope to work with you in the future again. [Ryan MM#1106443]

Working with Shane was an absolute pleasure. Being my first implied nude shoot, I wanted the shots to add the diversity to my portfolio but was a bit apprehensive not knowing what to expect. Shane’s easy going and straight forward approach during our first few discussions set my mind at ease. He spoke candidly about the topic and made me feel comfortable about the whole idea. During the shoot I started feeling comfortable from quite early on and the gradual progression from outfit to outfit to the implied nude part of the shoot allowed me time to ease into it, all while constantly knowing I could pull out at any time if I didn’t feel comfortable. By the end of it, I have a lot of great photos and a new friend. Thank you Shane, for an amazing shoot. [Michael MB# 434]

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