Thursday, August 28, 2008

Working with REAL Photographers Not Guys with Camera

A girl recently asked me about an email she got some a photographer on a social site called Musecube. And although there might be one or two, maybe, decent photographers on those social sites there isn't much at all on there- you'know, real photographers, photographers that make a living with photography, and take it seriously Do NOT find models on the web. Therefore mostly the web consists of guys who just call themselves photographers and models who just call themselves models.

This was my answer to her on if she should work with a photographer and her question:

Question: A guy wrote me on Musecube and said I saw your page on MuseCube. I just went over your imagesand I like your look - you have great features (love your eyes) and I like how well you work with the camera. I'm currently shooting images for magazines like Maxim, FHM and Vellum (in New York). You'll be a great fit withsome of the shotsthat I'm working on. I will give you an edited disk of the images foryour portfolioand half of the money from all published shots. I can also help youbuild your portfolio.Get back to me and let me know if you're interested and we'll set something up soon.

My answer:
1. I hate social sites and I prefer you to work with ONLY professional photographers and focus on getting representation with an agency.
2. I don't think his work is not good at all. It is actually terrible and not magazine quality and it sounds like this guy is another "guy with a camera" trying to be a photographer without any real skill. Even though he mentioned Maxim he hasn't said that he has worked with the magazine and his work doesn't show any published work at all ( that is a big sign), and many of his shots are ONLY sexy, and for a girl of your height, glamour modeling is something they always fall into, along with accepting emails like this, without focusing enough on the images they really need to get an agent, so I would write him back and this time state what YOU are looking for. I wouldn't just say yes and wing it and hope you get what he is saying in a message on Musecube. I would ask questions, ask for references, ask more details about his shoot intentions. He said you had nice eyes,and offered to give you a CD and half the money if something gets published, but you know what...if you wanted you could easily just submit your own photos to the photo editors yourself. I wouldn't trust in someone so quickly. It sounds like it would just be a test shoot. And being in sexy poses means there is a good chance you could end up naked.
3. The last part of his signature said Philadelphia, so I do not think it is safe to travel there alone. Especially if you are a new model.

Final note:
Only work with professional photographers, GET off social sites, they will get you no where but walking down the runway of broken dreams. You have to focus on the REAL ways to get ahead as a model.

And you need to ask yourself:
What are your goals as a model?
If you are not willing to work for your pursuits then you shouldn't model, modeling is a business as much as it is competitive and about ads and editorials and shoots. Real models do not get discovered on social sites.

What work have you done? Look for modeling agencies and look at the girls they work with, compare their photos and you can see the photos you need. You won't find them by working with "guys with cameras"

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