Calling All Photographers

[Jen]

I'm an amateur Photographer, and just shoot things for fun. One of the girls I work with needs to put together a portfolio for modeling, and asked me to do it! She does art modeling, and someone wants her to put something together to get more work. She knows the shots she wants, and the locations... I don't know where to go from there. I have a digital slr, and take decent pictures, but I have never worked with a live model before (unless you count fish... and they don't exactly listen to what you ask, no matter how many time you say 'stay just like that!').

Does anyone have any tips for fashion photography?

 

[raptorrex]

its worth doing some training!!!! doing a portfolio in no laughing matter. it may well effect her level of work. its a nice thought, but how would you feel if she failed, through your photographic inexperience. get a pro to do it. then you do some training, and if your up to it you can make additional shoots with her.

 

[Jen]

Its nothing professional... she's not going to get an agent or anything. I have done some work for her before... shots of her house and stuff, and she knows the level I am at. I have taken night school courses and have shot a few weddings for friends. And if she isn't happy with the work, I told her I wont charge her.

I am just thinking posing tips and stuff like that.

 

[raptorrex]

Its nothing professional... she's not going to get an agent or anything. I have done some work for her before... shots of her house and stuff, and she knows the level I am at. I have taken night school courses and have shot a few weddings for friends. And if she isn't happy with the work, I told her I wont charge her.

I am just thinking posing tips and stuff like that.

ok id start with something simple, like plain almost black and white. shots using a white background, and ether black, for that classic look, or something with a real vibrant colour to, give a shock jolt! i'd try some first, using an average exposure for the whole sceen, giving a Bailey look, but with movenent. then try making the exposure just for the model. this will wash out the background. you can add colour hues to the washed out background with photoshop, to give another option. all simple little things. but if you have a good eye, they can produce cheap magic. you will need 3 flash heads and a diffuser eye light too. guess i dont need to say use a lens from say 50-135, old 35mm lengths. hey all the best let me know, how it goes

 

[greyko]

If she knows the locations and shots she wants, and already does modelling for artists, then she knows what poses she wants and is going to need.
Just go along to the locations at a time with good light (usually not middle of the day!) and work with her, use her ideas, suggest those that come to mind. Because she has some experience and knows what she wants, you can concentrate more on the technical aspects. Keep it relaxed and fun and that should come through in the photos.

 

[Puffer_freak]

Make sure she feels completely comfortable with you shooting her. Have a laugh, and be constantly on the ball for the perfect expression and pose. Sometimes those can come when you're least expecting them, or when you're not actually posing properly, as such.

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

Lighting Lighting Lighting, need I say more?

Also make sure you do as much candid shooting as you can, those really look the best IMO.

SLC

 

[catxx]

i agree with lighting!!!
this is my friend Matt's deviantart page, he's an experimental/fashion photographer and it'll give you an idea of cool lighting effects
http/matteaton.deviantart.com/

if you want really arty you could get some non-digi cameras and mess with them. Medium format Holga's can be picked up dirt cheap and you can get some very arty shots with them! Like grainy photos or dreamy shots. I have 2 Holgas and I love them to death! (the trick to the perfect photo, take one test shot with the digi to see how it comes out, then a second shot with the film camera!)

 

[piratedninja]

one thing that really messes people up with photography is taking too long to setup the shot

if you know what subject you are shooting aim at it, focus, and shoot
dont wait too long to shoot

i usually find the subject and hold the focus down so when the subject moves to a good position i just press the shutter all the way and take the picture
usually it takes me no more than 2secs to take a picture and most of that is focusing

i dont know much about digital slrs but if you have a manual focus it should be even easier
i have a 35mm slr and love that thing to death because of its ability to shoot lots ot pictures in a short amount of time (usually 4-5 every 10secs

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

one thing that really messes people up with photography is taking too long to setup the shot

if you know what subject you are shooting aim at it, focus, and shoot
dont wait too long to shoot

i usually find the subject and hold the focus down so when the subject moves to a good position i just press the shutter all the way and take the picture
usually it takes me no more than 2secs to take a picture and most of that is focusing

i dont know much about digital slrs but if you have a manual focus it should be even easier
i have a 35mm slr and love that thing to death because of its ability to shoot lots ot pictures in a short amount of time (usually 4-5 every 10secs

My DSLR shoots 3 frames per second, that would make 30 every 10 seconds. It is by no means cosidered to be overly fast either, some cannons can go to 8 fps or higher I think

SLC

 

[Neo8223]

As previous posts have stated, lighting is VERY important. I studied photography for GCSE (93% and A-Level 89%...ok you are probably thinking Boohoo... lol) and got best photographer of the school award for 3 years running(Yea, ur still probably thinking boohoo). You need to get yourself 2 light units with infrared sensors. This way, you only need to hitch up 1 to your camera and the other one will go off simultaneously. You want to get an umbrella to soften up the lighting so you dont get any harsh shaddows. There is also another apperatus which i have forgotten the name lol. Also a light meter is required with these obviously...

It also depends upon how you want to photograph her. Natural or posing. To do your homework on these, buy loads of girly magazines and u'll find millions of examples. Look at the focus, can you see the trend? Does the photographer use standard lenses, or does the images seem softer thus suggesting a filter lens of some sort? Now you are learning.

I once did some work with a girl who asked me to photograph her for page 3. We did our research, took loads of photographs (nothing nude obviously.. would have been nice tho lol but still, some photos were good ) and came up with some really good shots. Unfortunately she didnt make it, namingly because she lied about her age and couldnt be patient, but hey thats life. (But also, admitedly we didnt do enough research and experimenting)

Things i thought worked well:
Dont just do colour photography when making a portfolio, add B+W photos too, mainly in the close ups.
when doing natural photos, the number 1 NO NO is to have the person looking at the camera and make sure the person is in focus with the background still in focus but slightly less crystal clear. (You may need photoshop for that one)
Try to get the focus on only the subject in portraits with a softening lens with a low apperture(i think thats the term) to get very little depth of field.
USE A TRIPOD... every time.
Loads of ppl will ridicule me, but i preferred canon cameras.
When doing portraits, as a previous person said, try to keep the person always in focus, that way, when the person does do a good pose, they dont need to hold it for long when you capture it.

Anyhow, i stopped photography practically all together and there are many things i have forgotten. Still PM me though if you have any questions, i might know the answer.

Hope this helps and anyone feel free to flame anything i said as i'm not a professional photographer anyway, and some things may be done better another way.

 

[Myrrh]

I know this post is late, but FWIW:

The standard of the industry, on a professional level, for actors and models, is B&W. Color is often seen as a misrepresentation, especially today when so much messing with color can be done digitally. Yes, the same can be said of B&W, but those shots are still considered most "honest." As well, reproducing images for distribution is expen$ive! Real professionals don't have the money to have head-shots or portfolio shots done by the hundreds or thousands every year to three-- in color. Yes... of course major stars have the money, but they're not sending out head-shots anymore. As well, they tend to stick with the standard of the industry.

I used to be in casting. The only color shots I invited were snaps of kids. It's just silly for parents to spend so much for something that may be good for less than a year.

Best shots are often candids-- which really takes a sharp eye and great reflexes on the photographer's side of the camera! You have a set and a subject who may not be at ease posing, but whose expression and "pose" is just great when s/he thinks you're just checking light, or setting up. I've seen some amazing shots done that way.

Art schools want a different kind of shot, and all the schools differ! The kind of shot depends upon the medium and course of study. In all events, what matters to the artist is line and form. Ask the school outright which they prefer, and you can't go wrong, unless you try to convince them that what you want to send is better for them than what they want to receive!