Why You Shouldn’t Be A TF* Whore

When I started modeling, I worked with everyone who contacted me, and shot everything I was comfortable with. I even shot some stuff I wasn’t 100% comfortable with. I figured that any time in front of the camera was good–I would learn more–and that I would have a diverse, up-to-date portfolio. When I shot things I wasn’t 100% comfortable with, I figured I needed to learn how to be comfortable so I could open myself up to other (often paid) markets. I went to TF* group shoot events and shot with anyone who’d work with me. I justified it by telling myself it was good networking, another chance to learn, and a good opportunity to update my portfolio in just a few hours.

Reflections on Retirement: The Driving Force Behind “Enough”

Back in July I made the decision to retire from modeling.  Many people accepted this and simply said, “sorry to see you go”.  Others, however, begged for explanations or (worse) pleaded with me not to retire because we hadn’t gotten a chance to work together.  I will not address the second point other than to say if someone didn’t work with me in the 6 years I modeled… well, tough shit.  There was plenty of time to schedule something. Onto the explanation.

Some thoughts on rejection & criticism.

Maybe my art background and my making my living as a graphic designer has helped me with this, but since I’ve been modeling, I’ve never taken rejection and criticism personally. In fact, you can’t.

Sure, modeling can be raw and real–there are some gigs that are extremely emotionally and physically draining.  And don’t get me wrong, near constant rejection and criticism can be emotionally draining as well.  But if you’re taking it all personally, you’re doing it wrong.

Rejection is the first thing you need to learn how to handle as a model, because it’s what you’ll be faced with the most.

How Many Edits & Who Picks?

It’s often asked, and often debated: how many edits should a model get from each shoot, and who picks what gets edited?  Here’s my take on how many photos a model needs per shoot, as well as who should choose the pics… and some other stuff.

Paying a Model: When Does the Clock Start?

Quite often newer photographers and models ask when the clock starts when it comes to paying a model.  Some seem to think it starts once the model is out of hair and makeup, the lights are set up and tested, and the photographer is ready to start shoot.  However, that is not the case.

Beating the Blues

Modeling can lead to emotional burnout pretty quick.  There’s only so much someone can take before they want to just hang it up and move on.  I imagine this comes from the rejection a model faces regularly, as well as the fact that modeling is very much about one’s looks (including their skin, face, hair, and body), and that models are often criticized.  So sometimes, models get emotionally burned out, and need a little encouragement, even if it comes from within.  Here are some ways I’ve found work for me when it comes to beating the modeling blues.  Feel free to add your own in the comments!

Getting out of a Creative Block

A photographer on one of the modeling sites, HT Portraits, shared a blog post of his, which discusses some ideas on overcoming a learning plateau in terms of photography.  Given my last entry, and how the team I worked with stepped outside our comfort zone, I thought it would be appropriate to share his blog with you.

Before I do that though, I would like to address it from a modeling standpoint, as quite often a model reaches a creative plateau that can put her in a funk (of sorts) and result in all kinds of issues.  Boring, still poses, the same facial expression over and over, doing the same kind of shoots over and over… you get the idea.  I have definitely been stuck on that plateau before… and it sucks.  So, I’m going to take this blogger’s suggestions for photographers, and write some tips for models.  Here they are… 10 tips for moving past a learning plateau, for models.

No Answer is an Answer

So, you’ve sent someone you’re interested in working with a message.  For whatever reason, you’ve monitored whether or not the message has been read, and you see that it has.  Despite this, the model hasn’t replied to you.  Not a peep from her.

First of all, why are you sitting and monitoring whether or not the messages you’ve sent have been read?!  Seems like such a waste of time, and I’ve never understood why people do that.  Send the message, and move on.  Certainly, you have better things to do with your time than wait for “unread” to change “read”, right?  I’d hope so!

Why might a model simply not respond, instead of taking a few seconds to just say “no”?
There are tons of reasons a model might not respond.  Some of the most common ones are…

Clothing Sizes & Women

I’m going to share this article because, while it’s relevant to all women, it’s also relevant to models, because it’s getting harder and harder to list an actual, accurate dress size because of stuff like this (especially if you don’t have access to designer size charts, and/or don’t work with designer garments).  And all you hobbyist models who quite often purchase their own wardrobe for shoots (or deal with photographers saying “I’ll just buy what I need for you, what size are you?”), certainly you share my frustration with shopping and finding the right fit.  Especially when on a tight budget and/or looking to buy in a short time frame.

Pre-Shoot Meetings.

Quite often you hear photographers encouraging other photographers to require a model to attend a pre-shoot meeting in order to tell whether or not she’ll flake, to make sure she looks like her photos, to make sure you’re on the same page with shoot concepts, or to see whether your personalities will “mesh” well enough so that the shoot will be a success.  Or you hear models (or the occasional white-knight photographer) telling others to go to a pre-shoot meeting to ensure the photographer isn’t a creep.  I have even heard pre-shoot meetings likened to casting calls!  There’s a lot wrong with all of that, so let’s start at the beginning…