I have a couple of shoots in my head, just waiting for some decent, stable weather. It seems like every time the weekend rolls around, the weather takes a turn.

Are you looking to get into modeling? If so, that’s awesome.

While trying to get your start, please take into consideration a few tips I have, and avoid a few of these self-sabotaging profile quirks that I’ve noticed a lot of recently on Model Mayhem. When creating your profile, remember:

1. No self-shots

I understand you are getting started, and you may not have any professional photos of yourself. But please don’t post five shots of you standing in front of a mirror with your iphone. If you have a digital camera or an iphone, and you have a friend, then you have everything you need. Have him or her take a few snapshots of you in different outfits and poses. They don’t have to be spectacular, but they should show that you at least know your body and how to pose it. Read more

(I realize that not all film photographers share this opinion, but I’ve heard it enough to get tired of it. So you guys out there know who you are.)

Okay, I get it. You learned photography with a manual focus Pentax II 35mm camera. You had a tiny little darkroom in your apartment closet where you developed your own film, and you had to know exactly what your settings were before you took the shot, because there was no checking the little screen and trying again. You learned the hard way, and for that you have my respect.

But don’t you DARE sit on a frickin’ pedestal and tell me that I have it easy. Here are a few things WE have to deal with.

Read more

(The above photo was taken and manipulated by me in order to illustrate a point.
I apologize to the woman in this photo for being put through this atrocity.)

I see this a LOT.

It seems as though every portrait and wedding photographer trying to make a name for themselves has done something like this at least once. Others are repeat offenders, and I just gotta say it right now. Please STOP. There is a right time for selective coloring (hereafter referred to as “SC”). Bridal portraits are not one of these times. Neither are family portraits.

True, there are some times when SC looks really cool and adds to the artistic value of a photo. I can say with complete confidence that 99% of all the SC photos I’ve seen fail in this regard.

Why am I so critical of this, when it’s such a widely used technique? Well, I have a few reasons.

1. It’s a widely used technique. It’s a cliche. Like when someone opens up Photoshop for the first time and discovers the lens flare. All of a sudden, there are lens flares everywhere. It’s gimmicky, and in my opinion anyone that considers themselves a serious and good, quality photographer does not need to resort to such a lame effect.

2. It frequently takes the attention away from the main subject. There’s a reason I chose a bridal photo to do this to. I see many, many photos of a woman, bride, couple, etc. where they are in black and white and the flowers are in color. Look at the photo above, and tell me, what should you be looking at? The main subject of this photo is the bride, and yet my eyes are immediately drawn to the flowers. Why do you not want people to look at the bride in a bridal photo? I will never understand why some photographers do this, the logic is beyond me.

3. It often leads the viewer out of the frame. This may sound like the same thing from above, but trust me, it’s a different beast. Any graphic or communication design major will tell you that one of the rules of a good design is to lead the viewer INTO the frame, and never OUT of it. Often times, when SC is used in a photo, it is used on something that was never meant to be the focus. Because of this, they are usually on the sides, top, or bottom of a photo. The second a viewer looks at an image, their eyes are immediately drawn to the focal point. When this focal point is not what it’s supposed to be, you are leading the viewer away from your intended subject. Since this focal point tends to be on the edge of the photo, you are effectively leading the viewer out of the frame.

4. It is not a good band-aid. A lot of times SC is used in a desperate attempt to save a bad photo. Look, if you took a bad photo, you took a bad photo. Nothing you do is going to save it. The best thing to do is look at what you did wrong, learn how to do it right, and take a better photo next time. Don’t slap 10 different photoshop filters over it and upload it to your website as “art”.

So maybe now you understand why I dislike SC so much. I apologize if I ruffled any feathers or offended anyone out there that likes to use this technique. It’s nothing personal. But maybe now the next time you decide to use it, you’ll ask yourself if it’s really necessary, or if it does any of the things I mentioned above. As I said at the beginning, SC has it’s place, it’s up to you to decide if your photo is it.

-Damon

I’ve been seeing this symbol more and more lately on models’ profiles.

“Work for free is an oxymoron.”

You’re right, except the model is NOT working for free, she’s working for prints. You see, this is a means where both parties get something out of it, and for the most part, it works out.

TFP. Time for print, talent for print, trade for print. Whatever you want to call it, it generally boils down to the same bottom line. No money changes hands. At least, not to the model.

For any serious photographer, there is a lot of money changing hands.  A quick list off the top of my head:

Equipment – Cameras die a little with every shoot. Even the best cameras have a shutter life. As do flashes. With every shoot, our stuff gets a little more wear and tear, and one day we will have to replace them. The ideal situation is to make enough money off of our photography so that it essentially pays for itself. When we do TFP it is not paying for itself. We are talking thousands of dollars worth of equipment, not a $149 camera at Best Buy.

Location – Every shoot you’ve ever seen in a hotel room costs money. If the shoot takes place in a studio, that studio has a rent payment due every month. Public shoots sometimes require permits, which can also cost money. These are usually all paid for by the photographer. Read more