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benjikan · 07-13-2009, 03:42 AM

Shooting with New Models

I often find it more refreshing to shoot with new models than those with a lot of experience. They are often more open to suggestions and can often give you non-poses that are so totally off the wall and cool, even if that was not their intent. New models heavily rely on your input or lack of it. When I say lack of it I mean, telling them to do what ever they feel is appropriate and attempting to capture them in the non-pose before they are about to attempt to strike a pose.

This non-technique is something I love to employ when things re going a bit stale. I will look away from the model for a second or down at my camera so that the model thinks I am not ready to shoot. It is at that moment that I often get my best shots. They are honest and in my opinion capture the true essence of the moment.

One technique I employ on occasion is I have the model concentrate on a point of their body by saying, "pinch your forefinger and thumb together and put it behind your back or apply weight to your big toe of your right foot without making it too obvious. That exercise often renders some very captivation facial expressions.

My philosophy of late has been "Less is More" and thus, I generally give the models Carte Blanche to Fly. Of course if they are totally ridged, that is where I attempt to guide them, not by strict posses, but buy attempting to invoke an emotion in them that can hopefully be realized.

Always give a briefing before the shoot and let things go where they may, as long as they fulfill the objective of your project.

Benjamin Kanarek Blog Shooting with New Models

raymeedc · 07-13-2009, 04:28 AM

Plus new models usually come with a warranty.

benjikan · 07-13-2009, 05:07 AM

Originally posted by raymeedc

Plus new models usually come with a warranty.

The one I got had a 50,000 mile 2 year warranty. Could find one better than that.

kenyee · 07-13-2009, 07:39 AM

Originally posted by benjikan

One technique I employ on occasion is I have the model concentrate on a point of their body by saying, "pinch your forefinger and thumb together and put it behind your back or apply weight to your big toe of your right foot without making it too obvious. That exercise often renders some very captivation facial expressions.

Those are great tips. More please. Posing is the thing I have the hardest time with. I'm finally getting the S curve thing and learning to watch for skin folds, etc., but it's a struggle with inexperienced models. With experienced ones, you just say "stand against that" or "lay down like that" and you get a bunch of cool looks...

mel · 07-13-2009, 07:53 AM

I just recently did a shoot for a largish group of theatre kids, headshots only. With most of them I could get them talking about something they were interested in and laughing a little and relaxing, and get some wonderful, natural facial expressions. However, there was one little girl that had some "modeling" training/experience. She plopped herself on my stool, turned herself, tilted her head and smiled. Rigid. Frozen. No matter what I did to try to draw her out of that and get her to relax a bit and give me something more natural, she wouldn't budge. It was almost funny. Almost. I finally gave up on her and let her have the frozen face shot.

benjikan · 07-13-2009, 12:29 PM

Originally posted by mel

I just recently did a shoot for a largish group of theatre kids, headshots only. With most of them I could get them talking about something they were interested in and laughing a little and relaxing, and get some wonderful, natural facial expressions. However, there was one little girl that had some "modeling" training/experience. She plopped herself on my stool, turned herself, tilted her head and smiled. Rigid. Frozen. No matter what I did to try to draw her out of that and get her to relax a bit and give me something more natural, she wouldn't budge. It was almost funny. Almost. I finally gave up on her and let her have the frozen face shot.

THAT is actually VERY, VERY SAD...

mel · 07-13-2009, 12:50 PM

Originally posted by benjikan

THAT is actually VERY, VERY SAD...

what's really sad is that she was all but about 8 years old. it's that whole "say cheese" mentality. usually if i tell them to say "boogers" they'll laugh for me and they look great.

kenyee · 07-13-2009, 01:32 PM

Originally posted by mel

what's really sad is that she was all but about 8 years old. it's that whole "say cheese" mentality. usually if i tell them to say "boogers" they'll laugh for me and they look great.

You can pose 8yr olds??? Whenever I try taking photos of relatives' kids, they stick their tongues out at me or make other faces

It's like trying to herd cats...

mel · 07-13-2009, 02:17 PM

Originally posted by kenyee

You can pose 8yr olds??? Whenever I try taking photos of relatives' kids, they stick their tongues out at me or make other faces

It's like trying to herd cats...

i would say not normally. but what i was commenting on was the results of her so-called "modeling" training and/or experiences and how it affected the photographer's (me) ability to work with her.

mithrandir · 07-13-2009, 10:44 PM

And now they have proven that cats are consciously manipulative of humans.

**Ash** · 07-14-2009, 12:29 AM

Cool tips there Ben.
Well worth keeping for use in all shoots...

RubyT · 07-14-2009, 04:06 AM

Originally posted by mel

what's really sad is that she was all but about 8 years old. it's that whole "say cheese" mentality. usually if i tell them to say "boogers" they'll laugh for me and they look great.

I always used "boogers" with my kids when they were small.

Kids love boogers.

mel · 07-14-2009, 04:48 AM

Originally posted by RubyT

I always used "boogers" with my kids when they were small.

Kids love boogers.

Actually it worked rather well on the teens and grown-ups too. Not for laughing and smiles, but for these wonderful, spontaneous disgusted or perplexed expressions. I got a good eye-roll or two out of it as well.

Next time I'm going to try some of Mr. Kanarek's suggestions though. I like the toe thing. Something like that might have worked with little miss frozen face, to take her mind off her perfect model's pose and smile.

mi2nc · 07-15-2009, 05:02 PM

Originally posted by RubyT

I always used "boogers" with my kids when they were small.

Kids love boogers.

just kids????? Most men are known to "inspect" their boogers after extrication.

Duck Dodgers · 07-15-2009, 05:30 PM

Originally posted by mel

i would say not normally. but what i was commenting on was the results of her so-called "modeling" training and/or experiences and how it affected the photographer's (me) ability to work with her.

And just think...in a few years, she'll have her own reality show.

07-13-2009, 03:42 AM	#1
benjikan Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Paris, France Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,308	Shooting with New Models Shooting with New Models I often find it more refreshing to shoot with new models than those with a lot of experience. They are often more open to suggestions and can often give you non-poses that are so totally off the wall and cool, even if that was not their intent. New models heavily rely on your input or lack of it. When I say lack of it I mean, telling them to do what ever they feel is appropriate and attempting to capture them in the non-pose before they are about to attempt to strike a pose. This non-technique is something I love to employ when things re going a bit stale. I will look away from the model for a second or down at my camera so that the model thinks I am not ready to shoot. It is at that moment that I often get my best shots. They are honest and in my opinion capture the true essence of the moment. One technique I employ on occasion is I have the model concentrate on a point of their body by saying, "pinch your forefinger and thumb together and put it behind your back or apply weight to your big toe of your right foot without making it too obvious. That exercise often renders some very captivation facial expressions. My philosophy of late has been "Less is More" and thus, I generally give the models Carte Blanche to Fly. Of course if they are totally ridged, that is where I attempt to guide them, not by strict posses, but buy attempting to invoke an emotion in them that can hopefully be realized. Always give a briefing before the shoot and let things go where they may, as long as they fulfill the objective of your project. Benjamin Kanarek Blog Shooting with New Models

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07-13-2009, 04:28 AM	#2
raymeedc Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Brooklyn, New York Posts: 951	Plus new models usually come with a warranty.

07-13-2009, 05:07 AM	#3
benjikan Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Paris, France Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,308 Original Poster	Originally posted by raymeedc Plus new models usually come with a warranty. The one I got had a 50,000 mile 2 year warranty. Could find one better than that.

07-13-2009, 07:39 AM	#4
kenyee Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Boston, PRofMA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,026	Originally posted by benjikan One technique I employ on occasion is I have the model concentrate on a point of their body by saying, "pinch your forefinger and thumb together and put it behind your back or apply weight to your big toe of your right foot without making it too obvious. That exercise often renders some very captivation facial expressions. Those are great tips. More please. Posing is the thing I have the hardest time with. I'm finally getting the S curve thing and learning to watch for skin folds, etc., but it's a struggle with inexperienced models. With experienced ones, you just say "stand against that" or "lay down like that" and you get a bunch of cool looks...

07-13-2009, 07:53 AM	#5
mel Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,531	I just recently did a shoot for a largish group of theatre kids, headshots only. With most of them I could get them talking about something they were interested in and laughing a little and relaxing, and get some wonderful, natural facial expressions. However, there was one little girl that had some "modeling" training/experience. She plopped herself on my stool, turned herself, tilted her head and smiled. Rigid. Frozen. No matter what I did to try to draw her out of that and get her to relax a bit and give me something more natural, she wouldn't budge. It was almost funny. Almost. I finally gave up on her and let her have the frozen face shot.

07-13-2009, 12:29 PM	#6
benjikan Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Paris, France Photos: Gallery Posts: 4,308 Original Poster	Originally posted by mel I just recently did a shoot for a largish group of theatre kids, headshots only. With most of them I could get them talking about something they were interested in and laughing a little and relaxing, and get some wonderful, natural facial expressions. However, there was one little girl that had some "modeling" training/experience. She plopped herself on my stool, turned herself, tilted her head and smiled. Rigid. Frozen. No matter what I did to try to draw her out of that and get her to relax a bit and give me something more natural, she wouldn't budge. It was almost funny. Almost. I finally gave up on her and let her have the frozen face shot. THAT is actually VERY, VERY SAD...

07-13-2009, 12:50 PM	#7
mel Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,531	Originally posted by benjikan THAT is actually VERY, VERY SAD... what's really sad is that she was all but about 8 years old. it's that whole "say cheese" mentality. usually if i tell them to say "boogers" they'll laugh for me and they look great.

07-13-2009, 01:32 PM	#8
kenyee Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Boston, PRofMA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,026	Originally posted by mel what's really sad is that she was all but about 8 years old. it's that whole "say cheese" mentality. usually if i tell them to say "boogers" they'll laugh for me and they look great. You can pose 8yr olds??? Whenever I try taking photos of relatives' kids, they stick their tongues out at me or make other faces It's like trying to herd cats...

07-13-2009, 02:17 PM	#9
mel Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,531	Originally posted by kenyee You can pose 8yr olds??? Whenever I try taking photos of relatives' kids, they stick their tongues out at me or make other faces It's like trying to herd cats... i would say not normally. but what i was commenting on was the results of her so-called "modeling" training and/or experiences and how it affected the photographer's (me) ability to work with her.

07-13-2009, 10:44 PM	#10
mithrandir Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Maryland Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,895	And now they have proven that cats are consciously manipulative of humans.

07-14-2009, 12:29 AM	#11
Ash Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Toowoomba, Queensland Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 23,920	Cool tips there Ben. Well worth keeping for use in all shoots...

07-14-2009, 04:06 AM	#12
RubyT Pentaxian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: TN Photos: Gallery Posts: 621	Originally posted by mel what's really sad is that she was all but about 8 years old. it's that whole "say cheese" mentality. usually if i tell them to say "boogers" they'll laugh for me and they look great. I always used "boogers" with my kids when they were small. Kids love boogers.

07-14-2009, 04:48 AM	#13
mel Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Virginia Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 2,531	Originally posted by RubyT I always used "boogers" with my kids when they were small. Kids love boogers. Actually it worked rather well on the teens and grown-ups too. Not for laughing and smiles, but for these wonderful, spontaneous disgusted or perplexed expressions. I got a good eye-roll or two out of it as well. Next time I'm going to try some of Mr. Kanarek's suggestions though. I like the toe thing. Something like that might have worked with little miss frozen face, to take her mind off her perfect model's pose and smile.

07-15-2009, 05:02 PM	#14
mi2nc Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: NC Posts: 147	Originally posted by RubyT I always used "boogers" with my kids when they were small. Kids love boogers. just kids????? Most men are known to "inspect" their boogers after extrication.

07-15-2009, 05:30 PM	#15
Duck Dodgers Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: in the 24½th Century! Photos: Gallery Posts: 439	Originally posted by mel i would say not normally. but what i was commenting on was the results of her so-called "modeling" training and/or experiences and how it affected the photographer's (me) ability to work with her. And just think...in a few years, she'll have her own reality show.