Originally posted by micromacro Thank you so much! I hoped to get that kind of advise from the pro.
As for sharing images with models, it's not like I'm going to treat them badly, I actually give the pictures away all the time to people I shoot if they want those pictures. This time it's different, I create something that the models suppose to display for me, and I don't want they share those ideas and designs with anybody before I do. I may, or may not submit my creations for the fashion show, but if I do, I prefer to have the total control over my submission.
Hm... seems like the dress form will be better model in this particular case
If you need to keep the work close to your chest for whatever reason, that is perfectly legitimate, and any professional model will understand. Amateur models might not. The reason why they are amateurs is because they are not in the business full time.
I shot years ago for a local jewelry manufacturer, and often was under an NDA. At the same time, they didn't have a budget for pro models, so I was often hiring amateurs, sometimes literally off the street. In those days I always had a pile of comp cards along with a portfolio, and if i saw a likely prospect, I would introduce myself, hand over a comp card and ask her to consider giving me a call.
Believe it or not, I had a better success rate doing that than I did when things went online and I joined Model Mayhem.
I think it's important that if you are hiring an amateur that giving them more than money is important. Even if you just do a few headshots and perhaps a few shots in whatever street clothes they show up in for the purpose of handing them over in the future, you will be rapport building.
I'm not a big fan of mannequins, I really do prefer the look of product on models, and I suspect that most marketing people do as well. The mannequin has the advantage of not needing to be paid or given prints, but it has the disadvantage of having all the personality of a lump of plastic. They really don't do a very good job of value adding to a product.
With jewelry, it was OK to have the product on a plain backdrop for the main catalogue, but when we went to Christmas or Valentines day fliers, we knew our target market had changed from female to male, and our photography had to change to appeal to that market.
A necklace on a hanger will sell to a woman fairly easily, to a man, not so much, but put that same necklace on an attractive young lady with an artfully placed pendant, and men will line up to buy it when the traditional jewelry gift seasons come along. We are very easily led.