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

Conversations and Collaborations…or How to Win Friends and Influence People

Charlotte Rose.

Technorati Tags: MUA,creative,collaboration modle,photography,makeup artist,excellence,learn,humility,humble

Copyright Stephen Bennett 2014

 

 

Received a message from a make up artist…

 

MUA: HI! I just finished my makeup course, and I am keen to collaborate with fellow creatives.

 

That was enough to put an end to it there, but as her Facebook profile had half a dozen , very poor and grainy selfie pics, obviously taken with a phone, of her work , I persevered.

 

Have you had much experience yet?

 

MUA: Just a started up my business: done a friend’s wedding and do all my girlfriends nails. What experience have you had?

 

Agghhh!

 

Over forty years in freelance photography, specialising in model work, and internationally published.

 

MUA: Oh wow…cool

 

So you want to do photographic makeup. Did your course cover it? And have you worked with any photographers yet?

 

MUA: Yeah my course was three months, and covered everything, but wanna work with photographers and video, and get some experience. Cause that’s where it’s at!

 

Teeth beginning to grind

 

Well take a look at the pics on my website, and see if that’s the kind of thing you’d like to do. (URL forwarded)

 

Thirty second silence from other end.

 

MUA: Who does your makeup? Those photos are dreadful!. Makeup is all wrong! The models look ugly!…

 

And wait for it…

 

MUA: I look forward to working with you in the future, so that I can lift the bar on your photography, and elevate your work to a much needed high standard of quality.

 

Then followed a pre-prepared advertising screed (no doubt a handout from the makeup Course) about the benefits to photographers and videographers about using a makeup artist “skilled” in the use of fake tans, artificial nails, and a well known very cheap and nasty brand of thick oily foundation.

 

Needless to say I and most other “creatives”” are being bombarded with this kind of nonsense on almost a daily basis. The conversations with anyone of the legions of so called “models” , proliferating on Facebook and modelling sites are even better.

 

Whatever happened to humility, humbleness, respect and a willingness to learn…to actually walk before you try to run?

 

 

©Copyright: Stephen Bennett, MMXIV
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

Working with Under Age Models

Working with underage models is easy 

if all the rules and regulations are observed before and during the shoot.

Maybe it's the school holiday season, or maybe even the onset of spring “when the dirty old man's fancy turns to photographing nubile chicky babes”, but the Internet forums have had more than their usual share of questions along the lines of: “What do I do when an underage girl approaches me wanting to be photographed?”

The stories of recent years involving illegally obtained mobile phones with ensuing exorbitant bills, and illegally  obtained tattoos should be a pretty good indication.

However it seems that rather than the photographer going to the trouble of finding out the law as it stands in his region, state, or country, the question is thrown open to Internet forums and Facebook friends in the hope that if a good enough number of “Internet experts” vaguely agree with what he wants to do anyway, then it somehow makes it the right thing to do.

The responses are always strangely predictable, and fall into the usual distinct groupings:

• total ignorance of the law.

• total contempt  for the law.

• an interpretation of the law based on what  an individual would like it to be, rather than what it actually is.

• an egotistical interpretation where the law applies to everyone else, except ‘me’

• the mantra of the latent criminal: it is not illegal unless you are caught.

• an occasional lone voice who recommends checking with the appropriate authorities.

As it is also technically illegal to give legal advice when you are not qualified to do so, and I am not: therefore it is sufficient to indicate that the law  which applies (in most countries – CHECK for yourself!) revolves around the age of majority and/or consent (it does not only have to do with sex, y’know) and the inability of a minor to ‘contract’.

Therefore if you are a photographer, rather than a guy with a camera (GWC), it is advisable to first check the law as it stands: most laws and regulations are very specific and unambiguous: laws are generally only complicated and onerous to those who do not wish to understand.

My personal rule of thumb when approached for photographs by teens who appear to be  under the age of majority:

• Ignore most of them: most are not serious, and few have anything of interest to a professional or serious photographer anyway. (Just as not everyone can or should be a photographer, not every girl with stars in her eyes has what it takes to be a model – rule of thumb: an amateur photographer uses his friends and acquaintances to learn and practice; a fauxpro is desperate to get anybody in front of his camera, and it shows in his photos; a professional picks, chooses and rejects everyone except those with real ability or potential, and goes with the one model who is most suitable for his current project or vision.)

• If there is genuine potential, as well as signs of genuine interest and dedication, the parents should be referred to at the earliest opportunity.  It is the parents or guardian who you will be dealing with for all contracts, transactions, model releases, and required legalities, including  the most important: their Parental Permission (preferably in writing) for the photography to actually take place.

(It goes without saying that the girls who say they don't want their parents to know about it, or want to see if they are any good before they tell their parents, or they want to surprise their boyfriend with a professional pic, and even the seemingly innocuous “go on take a picture of me” that happens at public events: are all potential trouble with a capital T.)
I would still not go ahead unless I could ascertain in person that the parents were fully supportive, involved and, fully cooperative: those who seemed to be uninvolved, uncaring, or worst of all, meekly controlled by the kid’s whims would be an instant deal breaker.  At the opposite  extreme so would be the obsessive stage mum.

©Copyright: Stephen Bennett, MMXIV
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

Modelling Agencies: The Good and the Bad

A recurring question I have been asked hundreds of times over the years...one of the first to ask it was the first model I ever worked with, Bronwen way back in 1981…: “When should I join a modelling agency?”

Firstly agents and agencies of all persuasions (not just modelling) exist, and are required to be licensed by the government, (in most states of Australia at least) for ONE REASON ONLY....to find work for their client and to keep their client in regular and reputable work!

The model employs the agent/agency (yes YOU EMPLOY them, not the other way round as many agents like to think) to find suitable work, and pays them their 17%  commission for (only) the work they secure for you. (take note of the percentage – this may vary in other states and countries, but if any agent wants more than 20% commission be very wary indeed!)

I tell anyone who asks that by the time you are earning enough money to be a viable commodity for an agency to be interested in representing you, you already have enough experience to

• know who the legitimate agents are
  
• have enough skills to realise (unless you are really busy) that you don´t really need an agent.

The general run of ¨agencies¨ is different though: and lots of beginning models want to sign with an agency simply because they are told that one

• is needed ¨if you want to get anywhere¨,
• peer pressure of seeing others ¨represented¨
• maybe they are looking for modelling courses rather than representation.

Fair enough if you must: my advice is to give them a try, and if they are not finding you paying work within three to six months, or their courses are mickey mouse nonsense ( and most do seem to be that way), they are not worth worrying about.

As a photographer, if I had the budget, the clientele, and the market which warranted an agency model...I would go to one of the few legitimate and highly regarded agencies and book a model through them, and not even think about booking “a girl who just happens to be with an agency”.

To find out who the industry professional agencies are, simply inquire amongst commercial or fashion photographers who use agency models on a daily basis, rather than hoping for the best, or asking Facebook acquaintances who have “done a little bit of (internet) modelling”

However for the type of work I do, I have never needed an agency model, and I simply REFUSE POINT BLANK to work with a model who is ¨represented by¨ the parasitic end of the agency spectrum!

As I believe that it is unethical and unprofessional to comment on any specific company either publically or privately, the following is how I recognise the parasites in a general, cursory way:

• the exist only on Facebook, and nowhere else
•  they are listed on one of the modelling sites such as Starnow or Model Mayhem, and exist nowhere else
• they promise to be looking out for the “welfare¨ of their models, and provide them with agency quality portfolios, and yet only have low quality, badly lit ¨theme shoot¨ photos to show.
• they will send you to an ¨awesome ¨ photographer
• they are invariably owned by a ¨former international model, and an award winning photographer"...neither of which I have heard of. (May legitimate and very successful agencies were established this way, but it is also a very worn out cliché attempt at gaining legitimacy.
• they charge fees for signing with them, and then a fee every other “service” and everything else including some things I would never dream necessary.
• they talk about "managing" a career, rather than offering to find work
• they make their money from flogging ¨modelling and deportment¨ courses, which progressively get more advanced, and of course more “necessary”...not to mention more expensive
• other girls say ¨I signed with them over twelve months go, and haven´t heard a thing since¨
• or the real doosey which still elicits a chuckle ¨I'm represented by so and so, but they ALLOW (?) me to find my own work
• their website has acres of photos of models; None of whom I recognise
• they have a long list of companies they EXPECT a model to go-see, consisting of just about every high profile name in the world, but their list of clients they have actually secured work with, has two or three names on it such as ´Betty´s Flowershop´, and ´Joe´s Garage´

And just like photographers the more crap they shovel (sorry...wax lyrical) about ¨their artistic vision¨, their ´impeccable integrity´ their ´caring collaboration´, and their ´award winning accomplishments´, the more useless and suspect they are.

I stress that most of the above is my opinion only! I am happy to hear comments from models more experienced with agents and agencies  and photographers who have worked with agency represented models

©Copyright: Stephen Bennett, MMXIV

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