Shooting a New Model

I was contacted through Model Mayhem by a new model who was looking for some help building her portfolio. She told me she was looking for something “high-fashion”, now I’m not a high-fashion photographer. In fact, this would be my first attempt. Was I nervous? Oh heck ya! Here I thought I was going into a shoot where I knew nothing about the style and where I spent several hours looking at other images and resources for inspiration.

Upon arriving at the location the model had chosen, I walked around for awhile with my assistant, @jayrunquist, picking out different shot spots and creating a shot list and plan. We pick three main spots and talked about lighting and how to use the hot sun to my advantage.

Once the model arrived we chatted for a bit about her experience and what she’d like to get from this shoot. Having only been modeling for a few months I asked her how she chose to focus in high-fashion. She told me another photographer that she had worked with had suggested it to her as he thought she’d do very well in it.

When we started shooting, my nerves disappeared and my knowledge base kicked right in. It’s funny how when you think you don’t know what your doing can so quickly turn into, “oh yea, I got this”. I’m not saying that I’m a high-fashion photographer or anything, but I was able to pull my other experiences into this shoot and make it work. The model was definitely new to her career, but together we worked really well as we talked about posing, body position and how her body looks best through the camera. We were having so much fun we took the time and tried a new lighting technique that I had never done before. It came out more successful that I thought it would.

Looking back, I wish I would have not only paid attention to the lighting but to what else was going on in the background. As I edit the images, I notice all the little things that I normally would have noticed if I weren’t trying something new. I learned that even when I’m trying something new, it’s vital to still pay close attention to the basics like, background, body position, anything that could be distracting, or something sticking up from the subjects head. Little things like that will only make me a better photographer and they are skills that I know I will develop more over time as I shoot more.

Overall the shoot went pretty well. I’m glad that I was given the opportunity to test my skills at high-fashion as it reaffirmed my passion for learning and exploring different types of photography!