Seamless Beauty (Part Two)

Once you've made some of those pre-shoot decisions I wrote about in my last post, it's time to start filling in that blank canvas.

Side Note: I've mentioned before I'm trying to avoid having this blog become filled with "how-to" posts. Although posting "how-to" information might be easier for me, at least in terms of coming up with ideas to write about and then writing about them, there's not much I can provide in "how-to" information you can't find elsewhere; make that lots of elsewheres. So, when writing posts like this one, a post that could easily turn into a "how-to" post, I'm going to try to write in broader terms, propose my ideas in simpler ways, and attempt to stick with the essence of the subject. That's not because I'm under-estimating you, the reader, or your knowledge or ability to follow along. I'm simply searching for ways to boil this stuff down and to put it into manageable perspectives. By doing so, i.e., by simplifying the processes and concepts that are a part of my everyday work life, I'm learning much, myself, about this thing we do called Photography. In other words, I'm doing this as much (or more) for me than I am for anyone else.

Back to Seamless Beauty.

You're staring at the blank canvas and you know, in a short time, there's going to be a model standing there and she's going to be looking to you for direction. She's going to be looking to you to capture her beauty, her appeal, and that "thing" that is uniquely her. Every time a model steps in front of your camera, she's expecting a lot from you . And before she even arrived, you've probably already sold her (or someone else has sold her) on the idea that you're the person who's going to snap images of her like she's never had snapped before! Either that or she's a seasoned pro and she's being paid a fair amount of money and, maybe, none of this esoteric stuff comes into play, at least not in her mind. But that's part of a whole other subject, one that might even include a rant about model-Divas. I've not yet resorted to ranting on this blog, although that time might come, sooner than later but, for now, I'm remaining Mister NGPCBW.
(Nice-Guy-Politically-Correct-Blog-Writer.)

I keep steering away from the subject. Sorry.

Regardless of the model's attitude or point-of-view, it's time for you to live up to your own hype, whether it came out of your mouth or someone else's. And the moment the model realizes she's not going to be photographed on some cool, exotic, or aesthetically-appealing set--that, instead, she's simply going to be standing in front of a blank piece of paper--she's wants to believe that you have the skills and know-how to make it all about her and to make it all about her in the best possible way. She wants you to make photo magic! And she's hoping you know how to do that even though it's just going to be her... on a blank piece of paper.

First off, you need to communicate with your model and you need to keep communicating with her. I'm talking about two-way communications. You know what that's all about, right? You ask questions, she answers. She asks questions, you answer. The two of you jointly come to agreements about what you're going to be doing, how you'll be doing it, and other things. Hopefully, while this goes on, you begin to build rapport. This two-way stuff, BTW, is mostly in the first stages of the shoot. Once you get going, you're the director! You're the boss! But, at first, try not to get all caught up in technical stuff or pay more attention to your lights or your camera than you do to the model, especially when she's first arrived on the set and most especially if she's new or relatively inexperienced.

There's a good chance the model's going to feel like a deer caught in the headlights when you first turn on your modeling lights. Moreso, if she's new to modeling and even more moreso because she's standing on (or in front of) a blank piece of paper. And she's doing so without anything to interact with--sometimes not even an inanimate object like a couch or a chair--nothing, that is, accept you. At this point in time, you're all she's got.

Even experienced models need to get into the groove and they'll have an easier time doing so the more comfortable they are and the more you work at promoting that level of comfort and building rapport. That doesn't mean, BTW, that you turn this into a social affair. More often than not, that's not going to play well with the model and it's certainly not going to help you get the quality images you hope to capture unless, perhaps, you're shooting a series called Fear or Insecurity or Get Me the Hell Out of Here!

The model is there for the shoot, not to have a social visit with some photographer. The more social you make it, the more you risk that social-ness being misinterpreted. You're the boss. You're the director. You're the one shooting this stuff. She's the subject. It doesn't mean the two of you remain, socially, at arm's length. But keep it professional and keep each player's role in the process appropriate. There's a chain-of-command on a photo set. It flows down from you. Be a leader, not a lounge lizard.

If you have an MUA at your shoot, you might want to have the MUA right right there, next to the model, while she's waiting for you do whatever it is you're doing to become ready to start shooting. There's always a little more touching up the MUA can be doing. But if it's only you and the model, and if there's little more than silence coming from the other side of those headlights as you scurry about adjusting things and tinkering with your camera, you're not going to have a model who is going to feel very comfortable and relaxed. And until she gets comfy--unless she's very experienced and sometimes not even then--she's not going to give over the goods and sell herself to your camera-- which is something you definitely are going to want her to do. Remember, you're shooting her on a blank piece of paper. All you have to work with is her, your lights, and that blank canvas.

I know I'm writing about a lot of things that, seemingly, have little to do with the art and craft and technical aspects of photography. But trust me, this stuff is relevant and it's important. Learning how to use your camera to its fullest potential, learning to compose images and manipulate light to achieve your vision, learning all kinds of photographic techniques and all that other artistic and technical stuff that comprises photography is important. But, when you're shooting people, your people skills will do more to get you the images you seek once some, or all, of that other stuff becomes part of your bag of tricks and your photographic knowledge-base.

Part Three coming soon. The model pictured at the top, in front of the blank piece of paper, is Charmane Starr. MUA Terese Heddon.

Here's another shot of Charmane I captured... just cuz I think she's so incredibly hot!