Models for your photoshoot: what level are you at?

Sunday 23 August 2020, 15:15 by Frank Doorhof | 6,138 views | 2 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

When you start with model photography, you naturally have little experience with photography and models. When I started, I often used TFP to practise.

I used to find models through the Dutch Heaven website. At some point, though, you notice that you run into a wall. Somehow, something is missing from your photos and you soon realise... the right model.

» Read part 1 too: Models for your photoshoot: free or TFP?

Model Janine, found through contacts
As you progress, you will start setting different requirements for your models. What was perfect at first suddenly becomes a limitation. So you need to move up a level, but how do you do that?

Well, this is where a paid session may come into play. If you notice that you can no longer find the right models through TFP, hiring a model is definitely a good option.

I did this myself a few times because I also noticed that I was completely stuck with my photos.

You will immediately notice that working with a professional model is radically different from working with a beginner model.

If you are lucky, she will also give you some advice about coaching the model, for example, and help you find the right poses. Don't underestimate the boost this can give your knowledge.

What you will notice immediately after such a session is that you become hugely enthusiastic, edit the photos as well as possible and, when you post them online, the likes will come flooding in, at least if everything goes well.

But you will also notice that it is now a little easier to get models with more experience in front of your camera. After all, they can see that you can take good photos of a professional model.

But during your sessions, you can also start thinking about looking for collaborations, for example. With a stylist or a hair stylist, and slowly but surely you will notice that your photos are getting better, you are becoming more confident and models will be interested.

At some point, don't be afraid to turn down requests either, unless they are paying for the session. You can now genuinely give them something that is absolutely worth the money.

At some point, I also became much stricter about TFP sessions. If it did not really give my portfolio a boost, it was not possible. Unless the model simply paid for the session.

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About the author

Frank Doorhof blogt dagelijks in het Engels op zijn website en geeft wekelijks workshops model fotografie in zijn studio in Emmeloord, maar ook op locatie in binnen en buitenland. Van beginners tot gevorderde, iedereen kan bij Frank terecht. Ook voor specifieke 1 op 1 workshops, of maatwerk voor groepen.

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2 comments

Donald Willemsen wrote on Tuesday 25 August 2020 at 12:14 | reply
Besides the cost of a professional model, a professional model has a major disadvantage. The model often decides how she/he wants to pose in the photo, while I as a photographer want to decide for myself how I want the model to appear in the photo. He who pays calls the shots. Professional models often know very well what their strongest points are, and they want to see those in the photo. That is precisely the problem. I don't always want to see their strongest points. They also often adopt a certain series of standard poses. I don't like that either. That way you get too much of the same. If you want to stand out as a photographer, you need to come up with something special. You certainly won't get there with a series of things that are a dime a dozen.
Translated from Dutch.

Frank Doorhof wrote on Tuesday 25 August 2020 at 13:16 | reply
Think this is also very much about what you agree on yourselves.
Sometimes we do things together as a team, sometimes I have an idea and then the rest follows. But personally I always leave room for input from others, often it makes the set even stronger.

But an amateur model is sometimes also very difficult to direct because they "supposedly know it all" :d
Translated from Dutch.

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