Three Essentials Beginner Models Must Know

New model 'Katiegirl' has made herself well aware of the pitfalls associated with forging a career in the field of modeling.

The most frustrations for industry professionals and beginner models alike involve the public perception of modelling and model photography.

Like most beliefs that are essentially wrong, these fallacies develop a life of their own, and permeate through society, until even many models and photographers begin to believe them.

 

Presently modelling is at all time time low in the public eye, perceived as a deviant activity where naive girls are made to flaunt themselves for the entertainment and gratification of dirty old men with pony tails, a giant dose of mid life crisis, a shiny new camera and a battery of long, over sexualised lenses.

 

So if you are a girl who realizes that there are many aspects to modelling to which this horror image is complete nonsense, or that being a model is a very viable career choice, and you are wishing seriously to become a model, these three points should be firmly in your mind.

 

1. Modelling,  developing and maintaining a career is seriously hard work, 

NOT standing in front of a camera and 'doing your model stuff' or  'having a bit of a laugh' as many imply.

If you pose for the local camera club, or that studio down the road, for a couple of hours once a week, dressing up, costumed as a zombie, or a cupcake, or a sugarskull with fairy wings...

you are NOT a 'model', you are NOT in the industry, and you certainly are NOT,  (nor will a career in  modeling ever make you a 'public figure'), and NO-ONE at these types of events will ever 'make you a star'.

 

On the contrary,  if an industry professional ever 'discovers you', or does see model potential in you, valuable time and effort will be needed for you to unlearn all the bad habits, awkward posing techniques, unphotographable makeup gaffs, and totally irrelevant  modelling nonsense which you have learned. The general consensus of photographers I know is unless you have exceptional potential, that it is all too hard, and time consuming to re-teach, so basically it ain't gonna happen.

 

 

2. Hoping for useful portfolio pictures from amateurs, pretenders, and fauxpros, the majority of whom have never actually set eyes on an actual working model's portfolio is hoping beyond hope.

It seems now that every man, woman and dog who has recently bought a 'professional' camera offers 'model portfolio shoots', and it is also very true that almost all of them wouldn't know the requirements of a model's 'book'. (those who call it a 'port' instantly give away their lack of knowledge and fauxpro status).

 

Likewise anyone who chants the mantra of "it will be great for your folio", is equally a waste of time, money and effort, because invariably the resulting pictures,  if you ever see any, will be ANYTHING BUT SUITABLE for a working portfolio.

3. Modelling does not, I repeat DOES NOT, involve getting naked...

Regrettably the requirement of nudity in modelling has become a staple of the public perception of the 'evil arts', and of course nothing could be further from the truth.

 

Any photographer, model or hanger-on who tells you that nudity is required for you to get anywhere as a model is at best naive, but more likely an ill informed amateur, a pretender, a charlatan, or a pervy old wanker.

 

There are three major things to consider here, even if you strongly desire becoming a nude model...

• A. Posing in the buff for amateurs or pretenders will never get you anywhere, except a reputation as the girl who gets her gear off for anyone with a camera.

• B. The actual market for photographs of the nude is so small, and already overfilled that ONLY work from a very small, well established, highly respected, AND HIGHLY SELECT group of photographers and models is ever accepted, with most opportunities being well and truly sown up, and well beyond the dreams and abilities of any neighbourhood snap-shooter.

• C. Contrary to the bleatings of socially challenged amateur snappers, not every girl looks good with her clothes off. Unless your body is equal to or better, than the girls already doing nude modelling, even the girls appearing in those cheap rag-mags, i.e. close to PERFECT without relying on 'fix it in Photoshop', well you simply won't be good enough.

And very important to remember also: everything you do in front of a camera, including nudity, IS YOUR CHOICE!

For more detailed information have a read of my blogs specifically on unreasonable demands for nudity:

https://thedefinitearticlephotographyandvideo.blogspot.com.au/2016/07/nudity-naked-truth-part-one-of-three.html

https://thedefinitearticlephotographyandvideo.blogspot.com.au/2016/07/nudity-naked-truth-part-two.html

https://thedefinitearticlephotographyandvideo.blogspot.com.au/2016/07/nudity-naked-truth-part-three.html

Stephen Bennett is available for Guest Speaking, Seminars, and Workshops in a group or on a one to one basis for:

Models and aspiring models on all things Modelling, including Successful Portfolios and Building a Modelling Career … please visit my website to contact me.

©Copyright: Stephen Bennett, MMXVI

Except as permitted by the copyright law applicable to you, you may not reproduce or communicate any of the content on this website, including any photographs and files down-loadable from this website, without the permission of the copyright owner.

The Australian Copyright Act allows certain uses of content on the internet without the copyright owner's permission. This includes uses by educational institutions for educational purposes, and by Commonwealth and State government departments for government purposes, provided fair payment is made. For more information, see www.copyright.com.auand www.copyright.org.au.

We may change these terms of use from time to time. Check before re-using any content from this website.

Interesting Links:

Visit my website

Visit my facebook photography page

Professionalism, other Redundancies, and the New Meaning of Life…

We are told by those who study such things, that the meanings of words, and interpretations of concepts drift and change over time, and our language becomes richer for it.

The realm of photography is no exception becoming richer as it evolves and adapts.

Calm down dirty old men! According to the New world order this IS NOT a photograph containing Implied Nudity! Why?

• The model was in fact fully clothed
• It is not a full figure nude picture digitally manipulated to eliminate the clothing, or even to create and enhance the girl’s  “naughty bits” by retouching.

Remember for example when that otherwise indefinable term coined and used almost exclusively by the amateur fraternity  “implied nudity” meant an ambiguously clever camera technique where a photograph of a fully and discretely clothed woman left the viewer wondering wether she was nude or not?

( Camera technique? Wow..ya can do that in the camera? Lot easier after in Photoshop!)

Now though, as I was emphatically told recently by a “widely respected professional” – well he did have a small but efficiently tamed gang of facebook likers to back him up – that he worked to the “accurate and only definition” (?) that implied nude means full figure nudity achieved by removing nipple covers and  g string from a model by digital retouching…

It seems therefore that the model does not need to be payed at the nude rate, because she is not nude in the original photo…just g string and falsies (???)

Woops forgot: Pay a model !!! Who is stupid enough to pay a model??? tfp rules right!

Well obviously “accurate definition” wins out over subtlety and art every time in the vast, murky depths that is creative internet photography!

…

But there are three words used on a daily basis which have drifted in meaning so far from their original concept to warrant a review of the “accurate” (?) dictionary definition

NB: If the New World Meaning of Life has not reached your particular neck of the woods, it soon will…it is certainly firmly established in my region.

and more importantly New Meaning of Life definitions do not in any way apply to legitimate, or real world photography.

Definition:

Professionalism:- this is the divine right of those with a modicum of ability, a lack of talent, a tenuous control of their gang of disciples, but a thorough mastery of schoolboy bullying techniques to denigrate, discredit and vilify anyone outside of his immediate gang, who disagrees with his beliefs, or threatens in even the smallest way  to expose the fraudulence of his self proclaimed importance , or the pathetic and derivative quality of his “work”

Those with “opinions”( see below) are the obvious natural targets of the “professional”

Definition:

Opinion:- A belief or knowledge of traditional techniques, concepts, ideas and ideals, well proven theories; real knowledge especially when gained from  long experience, education, and the ability and willingness to advance learning and skills through reading and research ( as opposed to knowledge gleaned from your mates, and  religious worship of “internet experts” on forums and YouTube.); reliance on actual proven facts and the immutable science of light and photography

Definition:

Hater:- anyone who adheres to, holds, believes in or makes the mistake of publically expressing opinion (see above)

anyone who has deliberately opened a camera instruction manual, and …god forbid!…gone to the extreme of actually reading a photography book, irredeemably brands you as a latent hater.

 

Additional Notes:

Legitimate or “real world” Photography: a phenomenon which it seems is merely an out-dated figment of the imagination and, if it ever really existed, is an historical insignificance when compared with “where true art and creativity is really happening” Nevertheless it’s influence was long ago and long forgotten, having occurred in the real “old days”, of …well…wow…five years or more ago.

Professionalism: has absolutely nothing to do with earning a living from your creativity ,or that “dirty” word used by those who have sold out;  money. True professionals not only exude a fuzzy good guy feeling about their “ethical treatment of others and their approach to life in general”, but also far too much “artistic integrity” to have ever earned a cent, or the likelihood of ever doing so: that would not only sully their ”work” drastically reducing their  natural to bully, intimidate, exploit and be fully exploited by their “collaborators”

 

©Copyright: Stephen Bennett, MMXV
Except as permitted by the copyright law applicable to you, you may not reproduce or communicate any of the content on this website, including any  photographs  and files downloadable from this website, without the permission of the copyright owner.
The Australian Copyright Act allows certain uses of content on the internet without the copyright owner's permission. This includes uses by educational institutions for educational purposes, and by Commonwealth and State government departments for government purposes, provided fair payment is made. For more information, see www.copyright.com.au and www.copyright.org.au.
We may change these terms of use from time to time. Check before re-using any content from this website.

Interesting Links:
My Photography Webpage
Facebook page for Professional Photographers and Models
The Definite Article Photography and Video on Facebook
My Pond 5 Page
The Definite Article at Publicise Me

How do I become a photographer ?

Just received the latest email in the never ending succession asking "how do I become a professional freelance photographer?" My initial advice is always the same:- Don't give up your day job!
At least not until you are earning at least twice what your day job pays from your photographs, on a constant or at least regular basis, and you can continu...e to take top quality photographs on a constant, regular, daily basis.

And in these days when anybody with a mobile phone thinks he can make a fortune selling pics from Flickr and the microstock sites, making a liviing as a photographer isn't easy.
Apart from needing at least a quality digital SLR with a couple of interchangeable lenses, so you can at least be versatile and produce varying compositions on the subjects you choose to specialise in, you need plenty of time to create, edit and upload, asndf more importantly, market your best (and only your best) pics.

two points there worth repeating : 1-specialise in a subject or a couple of subjects, and become known as an expert producing quality pics in those areas
and 2-work on ratio of about 60/40 marketting and self promotion/picture taking

And then, maybe you will begin to make inroads on the long track to becoming a successful photographer, and maybe eventually you may also become a professional.