Model Monday: It’s All in Your Head

Almost 20 years ago, I was listening to the "Bourbon Street Preacher," Bob Harrington, give a motivational sermon. One of the things he mentioned was a take on the lyrics from a Jefferson Airplane song, 'White Rabbit.' "Feed your head! Feed your head! Feed your head daily!"

I remember those words like it was yesterday. How much those words came back to visit me a few years ago, when during a conference a few years ago, I heard the speaker say almost the same exact words. Take a mental vacation during the week. Now his point wasn't to shut down and veg out, his point was that in order to do more, sometimes you must KNOW more. The suggestion was to take at a minimum, an hour a week, reading and gathering information that would make your business grow.

If modeling is your "business" then your intent should be to make your business grow. I would suggest that you become your "business'" subject matter expert. That's right, don't only be the most talented model out there, but also to be the most knowledgeable. Who you know may get you in the door, but what you know very well may be the difference between you getting a gig or not getting a gig.

I would suggest that at least once or twice a week, to take a few hours to increase your mental and visual knowledge. Read books that make you better not in just modeling, but also in life as well. Some of the best books that I have read in the past 6 months have NOTHING to do with photography, but I feel set me up better as a photographer. Some of these books include:

-The Art of the Deal -Rich Dad, Poor Dad -The Admirals -The Third Alternative -The Alchemist -The Richest Man in Babylon

Some of these books are in electronic or audio form, so it gives me more opportunities to appreciate it than just the printed version. Another good source to get visual inspiration too as well is of course, magazines. Here is where you can get VERY flexible and do magazines that are geared towards the area that you would like to specialize in. For me, some of the magazines I choose to read are in both printed and electronic form. These magazines include:

-Vogue -Popular Photography -Motor Trend -Brides -Time -Money -Rangefinder -Details -GQ

As you can see the titles are more than just photography as well, but other parts of my business strategies as well. I also read travel magazines, because a lot of times, a location that you may see in a far way land, may have an equivalent nearby. For example, I love the architecture of the French Quarter in New Orleans, but sometimes the crowds make it almost impossible to do a session. It wasn't until I lived in Pensacola, FL that I realized that a lot of the same architecture existed there as well. If movies are made in places like Montreal, Toronto, and even Singapore and Hong Kong to be made to look like New York and Chicago, why not take the same principles into editorial photography? I love the fact that many "Spaghetti Westerns" are called that because they were shot in Italy, vice the US.

Speaking of movies, what other medium encompasses so much information like movies and television. Project Runway and America's Next Top Model are not the only opportunities to see style and fashion. Think of the shows Mad Men, Suits, or even White Collar, where the fashion scenes are always impeccable. When you watch movies, do you look to see how the actors stand to, or away from the light? How is the costuming done? How are the clothes worn? Many things have been done to get your mind subconsciously involved into the scene, is it working? The scene of the lady with the red dress, did she catch your eye as well?

My advice to you as a model, or even as a photographer, makeup artist, or other facet in the industry, is to look all around you once or twice a week and get information that will help your careers and business grow. For this industry, as heavily as it relies on looks, relies even more on the knowledge and abilities of the players that are inside of it.

Model Monday: Tattoo. To be, or taboo?

Recently, I was casting models for a fashion shoot. To me, I thought it was normal casting requirements for print fashion. 5'8-5'11, Size 0-4, and no visible markings or tattoos. Well to my surprise, the last requirement seemed hard to come by. It seemed that those requirements were mostly able to be filled by "agency" models. So I ask, does having a tattoo or several impair a model's ability to get hired for a gig?

First, let me qualify the question with two things. 1) Personally, I love tattoos. While I would probably never have one, because I am not too fond of needles, I like the details, the colors, the meanings that most tattoos signify. 2) Whether it is a tattoo, changing your hair color, gaining or losing 10 pounds; any physical alteration that you do with your body will usually have an impact, positive or negative, on your ability to get casted for certain gigs. I feel so strongly about that second statement that I think it applies to both in front of and behind the camera. Physical appearance does matter when it comes to getting some gigs.

The reason why I ask, is because I want us to think about our personal expressions and our careers. When you look to Hollywood, you see many actors who gain and lose weight, sometimes over 50lbs, in order to land a role. Their dedication to their career requires them to do so. In the fashion world, I have seen blonds turn to brunettes, and women who are normally a size 4 slim down to a size 2 in order to walk a runway. At the end of the day, what is more important to you, your career or your personal expression?

This year, more so than ever, I think I have seen more tattooed models walking in NYC, London, Paris, and Milan. From my sources though, this is more a trend out of necessity than it is out of desire. I have yet to see tattooed models make a big impact in editorial fashion magazine and ads. As expressed by advertising clients, tattoos are mostly about personal expression. They are art. But a model's personal expression may not match the message or vision of the client. The preference will usually to have a model with a "blank slate" or "clean canvas." Most fashion designers and product clients do not want the focus to be on anything but their product, and often a tattoo is a distraction away from the product being marketed.

Yes with photoshop, or posing position, small tattoos can be covered up or removed, but the reality is that the more work that has to be done to make an image look ready for print, the more cost that is attached to it. Set directors and photographers do not want to be limited in what they can do with a model. When thinking of getting a tattoo, dying your hair, or anything that might change your appearance, ask yourself, "Can this wait?" If you are desiring to do fashion and you are 18 or 19 years old, can the tattoo wait. If you were casted as a brunette for a shoot coming up this weekend, can dying your hair red, wait until after the shoot?

If modeling is desired to be more than just a hobby, that means doing every little thing possible to make you more successful. Conversely, it also means refraining from things that can limit your progress. We should always strive not only to do our best, but to bring our best as well.

Model Monday: The Price – Cost – Value Triangle

 

Talking to a model friend of mine the other day, I come to realize that many of us on a day to day basis, face a challenge of what to spend our money on when it comes to like goods and services. In many things we buy on a day to day basis, we do not know what the true value of an item is, so we can only compare it on the price. What it costs us. While Price is a measuring stick, can we say that it really tells us the value of an item?

I love the steak at Texas Roadhouse. For under $20, you can get an awesome, gut busting meal. I also enjoy a delicious Cowboy Rib eye at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Steak alone will probably set you back close to $50, add sides and a drink and you are close to the $70-$80 range. So, is Ruth's Christ steak 400% better than Texas Roadhouse's? It might depend on the value it has to you. If you are a family of four, hungry for a good meal on a Friday night, will $80 satisfy your family or will you need $300? What if it's the night that you want to get down on one knee and propose, or celebrate your 10^th anniversary? Does the exclusivity of Ruth's Chris and the significant event add value to the evening? Do you want to remember it with crushed peanut shells on the ground, or candlelit ambience?

As you can see, value is not only in the Price, or the cost of something. Often times as models, vendors, and photographers begin searching for others to work with on their portfolios, they think of only one or two things; price and cost. Very rarely to do they think of overall value or return on investment (ROI). Take a model for instance. I model can go out and seek to put together a wonderful portfolio. She seeks out the best photographer in town, who photographs for 5 of the major agencies, and asks him for a test shoot. The photographer tells $5000 to include makeup, hair, and wardrobe, with printed and digital images. The model feels that this is too expensive and is not "worth" it. Her value of this arrangement is strictly based on the $5,000 investment. The model continues and finds a photographer who only charges $250, but that is only digital images, and does not include anything else. The model will have to provide her own hair, makeup, and wardrobe.

The model arranges the shoot on a Saturday so that she can have her hair done on the Friday. Her hair style runs her about $85. She then goes to the mall to buy a fresh new outfit for her shoot. As a matter of fact, she buys 2 outfits for different looks. Each outfit averages about $150 apiece. She then gets up the Saturday morning and goes and get her makeup done before the shoot, costing her about $75. Altogether, for just this one shoot, she has invested over $700, not to mention the lost time from running around. She doesn't notice this, because in her mind the SHOOT is only costing her $250. Her value is looking only at $5,000 compared to $250.

Unfortunately when she goes to her first casting call, the casting agent, glances at her portfolio, and tells the model that her portfolio is of poor quality images and that she needs to find better work before coming back. Defeated, but not destroyed, the model finds other photographers, averaging a total of $700 a session. After about 6 months and 10 photographers, the model finally gets her first break. The model has spent 6 months of her life, and well over $7,000, but she has finally made it to her first big gig. At the same casting that model meets another model, named Jenny, who is casted and begins to look at her portfolio. The model tells Jenny how awesome her portfolio looks, and how she must have been modeling for a long time. Jenny replies that this is her first casting, and she has only been shooting for a month. Amazed, the model tells Jenny that she must be a natural! Jenny responds that she isn't a natural; she just shot with a great photographer that provides everything that she ended to make a great portfolio. The model is quite as Jenny mentions the name of the original photographer.

Is there any guarantee that our model would have made it in less than a month? Of course not, but was waiting longer and paying MORE over time worth it? It's always better to do it right the first time than to have to do it over and over again, wouldn't you agree?

I want to remind us all that whether it's hiring a photographer, booking a model or makeup artist or even just going out for a steak; we should establish value FIRST before analyzing price or cost. If investing $5,000 will result into making $50,000 a year, isn't that a better value of $500 making you $1,000? Do not just look at the photographer that is charging $50 and think that is your final cost, or look at the $900 as being too expensive without looking at what the entire package entails. A makeup artist that is non-licensed or bonded might be half the price, but may cost you more in liability in the long run.

So next time you have an opportunity to work with a production, create a portfolio or any other project; do on let price be your sole determining factor. Remember, price and quality go hand in hand. It is often better to pay a little bit more and get a whole lot more, than to pay a little less and get a whole lot less. The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of a low price has disappeared.

Model Monday: Are you missing a Passport to opportunity?

Even though it was 20 years ago, I remember my 9^th grade World Geography teacher so vividly. His name was Joe Peters, originally from Clewiston, FL; "where you could sit and watch the sugar cane grow," as he would say. Mr. Peters was probably the main reason that influenced my choice to go into the Navy when I chose to go into the military 5 years later. I could remember him speaking of how the Navy allowed him to see the world, and when he looked where most of the bases were located, they were all in warm weather areas. While I was in the Navy, I got to see places like Singapore, Dubai, Canada, South America, and other places. It was great to see other cultures. But because I was on a ship, I never needed a passport do go to any of those places.

I remember growing up where, in most cases, all you needed was a driver's license to go to places like the Bahamas, Antigua, and even Mexico. But the world has changed since then. In the past two years, I personally have needed my passport more times than in the past 10 years. Why? Because of opportunities!

The reason why I speak on this today is because lately I have been casting for a photo shoot I am doing later this year outside of the U.S. In the casting process, I have come across, not only models, but also photographers who don't have passports. I've even had a close friend of mine who is a model, who almost refuses to get one. In this ever competitive environment, it is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one, than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.

If you are a model or photographer that is serious about being in this business long term, a less than $150 investment could bring you not only thousands of dollars, but a gateway to shoot at locations like nowhere else. Currently it takes about 3-4 weeks to get a passport back. The process is very simple, and you can go to almost any post office to get an application and more information.

Or you can check online here: http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

Model Monday: When your FREE isn’t worth paying for…

Before I start, I don't want you to think this is going to be another "TF" bashing blog. For those that do not already know, in the photography industry, we have a term called "TF" or Time for… This could be time for Prints, CD, or even food.(TFF?) Unfortunately there is a large consensus of starting photographers and models that this means free shoots, because there is usually no money changing hands. While I don't want to get into my college economics, and discuss the value of Time, just understand that all business has a cost. For a photographer or model to show up for a shoot, someone's car had to be driven using gas, someone's makeup got applied, and oh, someone had to buy a camera. There's always a "cost" involved. While I know I can't change the "free" mindset for people starting out, I do want to touch on the mentality, and how it applies to their business.

When a new model or photographer sets out on the task of portfolio building, without money, they are often left to the mercies of the TF shoot. More times than not, the results of those shoots will determine that photographer's or that model's career. Case in point: Let's take a model and photographer, Mary and Bob respectively. Mary is 5'8", 120lbs and has a desire to do print fashion. Bob, recently laid off from his job as a network engineer, has tons of photography equipment from when it was just a hobby, and wants to shoot artistic nudes. They both join a model social networking site. Bob's portfolio only has a few photos from workshops he's attended, and Mary's online portfolio has the requisite four shots that she captured on her camera phone. What do they have in common? They both want to get more shoots under their belts, but like many new photographers and models, this can be easier said than done.

I will say this; it is EASIER FOR A PHOTOGRAPHER to get shoots from new models than it is the other way around. Simply put the photographer has 1) put in the investment of the camera and 2) supply and demand. There are simply more models than photographers. If you go on one of most popular modeling sites, Model Mayhem, you will see that models out number photographers almost 2 to 1. Unfortunately with both models and photographers, they usually both will opt for the other, who is actually sought out and actively shooting. Photographers want to shoot models other photographers shoot, and models want to be shot by photographers who are shooting other models.

I say all of this because, models and photographers will do countless photo shoots and yet cannot command or receive a rate and often are bewildered why; especially when they feel they are able to produce better work around them than those that are getting paid. When they ask me why, and I take a look at what they have established, not only is their portfolio filled with TF work, but it is glaringly weak and not portfolio quality. Regardless of whether or not money changes hands, a TF/collaboration shoot, should look like the kind of shoot that money DID change hands. If you are currently doing TF shoots, and you can't seem to get out of the rut, think about what you are REALLY investing in that shoot. If you are unable to do great with little, who will give you the chance to do great with a lot? Unfortunately, that is the nature of this business.

If you are trying to get more commissioned and paid gigs, be choosy about trade/collaborative/free gigs that you do. If you wouldn't pay that model to shoot, then why shoot a TF with that person. Likewise if you wouldn't pay that photographer for a session, how will TF improve your portfolio with that photographer?

p.s. The images contained in this blog are either of a collaboration or trade sessions. I personally make it a point to only do TFs not just to add to my portfolio but only of images to a service I provide to other paying clients. I still have a makeup artist, hair stylist, wardrobe specialist for my TFs as if I were doing it for a commissioned shoot.

Model Monday: When out of place is out of style.

So I had this really good blog and thought for this week's Model Monday blog, when all of a sudden, I heard the voice of Lisa Raye, saying, "Make the money, don't let the money make you." Now, where did this thought come from you might ask? Well I was on one of the international, well known modeling, sites, and I saw a "glamour" shot of a very attractive young lady, in a swimsuit, in a shower. This shot got me to thinking, not only about "clichéd" and "overdone" shots, but about out of placement shots in general.

Now there are plenty of themes and shots where being out of place works; such as, the model in the lingerie, running down the street in rush hour traffic. The shot of the couple in a tuxedo and ball gown sitting in a ball park eating a hot dog. Maybe even the shot of cats and dogs, living together. There are great movies where out of place themes work as well. The Lady in Red, who breaks away from her surroundings in the 'Matrix.' 'Scent of a Woman' with Al Pacino, was all about being out of place. Honestly, a blind man driving a Ferrari, really? These are just merely examples of how being out of place, works. When it doesn't work, a model or photographer can get a really negative stigma on their portfolios, just by one shot. It is often said, "A portfolio is only as good as its weakest shot."

In this day and age, weak shots include, but are not limited to, Caution tape, laying across railroad tracks (illegal as well, because that is trespassing on private property, but that's another subject), in the shower with a swimsuit on, and yes, even the "falling down the stairs" shot. What do they all have in common (besides being overdone)? They are often used in glamour or "eye candy" shots, and often done by models, and photographers just starting out early in their careers… (Heck, even I DID the railroad thing… well, it was a train thing, but at that time, it was cool… ok?)

Unfortunately these shots often lead to more shots like them. And then the Photographer, who is just trying to grow in photography, ends up being labeled as a "booty" photographer or worse, a GWC (Guy with camera). On the other side, the model who was 5'10, 117lbs, perfect measurements, who started her portfolio off with "eye candy" shots, because that was the only TFs being offered, finds it hard to get a fashion shoot, because none of the fashion photographers want to give her the shot, because she has caution tape in her port.

Is it that extreme? It can be, because your portfolio is your resume. If you are going to be a swimsuit model, do a shot that suits that theme. If you are going to be a fashion model, have fashion shots in your portfolio. If you are in the building stage as a model or photographer for your portfolio, try to get the shots that will lead you to the shots that you want to do. Once you go down the wrong path, you may find it hard to get back on the right one.

Perhaps the most important question in business.

I love this post because of the great business sense it has. To often we do things to our business that kills it. We try to fix what is not broke. This is a great read!