Photography 101 - Finding People to Work With Pt. 1 (Patreon)

On this weeks Photography 101 I'll be talking about how to find models at any point in your career, from absolute beginner to seasoned photographer!

The key factors to finding models are the same no matter where you are in the world. Understand that your ability to find a model to shoot is not based on your skill as a photographer, or how large your town is, but rather your etiquette and demeanor. I have found that a kind approach has the ability to bring models from near and far even  with subpar photos, but a rough and gruff approach won't get even the closest models to come no matter how good your photos are.

However, this does not mean you can be absolutely clueless and still get a swath of models to work with. To begin with learn your camera. Before you bring a model to your doorstep, I believe it is absolutely vital to know how to shoot with your camera and understand the mechanics of the 3 key settings talked about covered in a previous Photography 101; Shutter Speed, Aperture, and ISO. If you are unable to switch your camera into manual mode and take a decent photo at any light level, then you are not ready to have a model in front of your camera.

Starting from nothing?

Ok so let's say you've got a fancy new camera, and the only thing you've learned so far is how to use it in manual mode and you want to shoot a lovely lady. The first thing you'll need is some sort of portfolio and social media presence. You can use facebook, instagram, twitter, or whatever platform suits you.

Start with friends

Once you've established a place for your photography to go, you will want to shoot with anyone you know, male or female, old or young. Prove you can take a decent photo, make sure you shoot several changes of clothes, several different locations, and as many different people as you can. You can shoot your family members, friends, literally anyone. If you do not have anyone close to you that will let you work with them, go take photos of objects and architecture. The point is you need to prove that you are actually looking to do photography, and not just trying to creep on pretty girls.

Moving on up

Once you've established a basic portfolio, you will want to start reaching out to models. This most likely means starting a "model mayhem" account, or finding established models on social media by searching for your area and model tags. In my instance, I shoot in Greenville, so I search "#greenvillemodels" when I am looking for an established presence. If you are looking to shoot clothed, there is a decent chance you can do what is called "TFP" or "Time for Prints." This is an outdated term, which use to mean in exchange for the models time, you would give them prints of the shots you had taken. These days since everything is digital, it is often considered to mean "Time for Photos" and it is up to you to deliver back to the models photos from their shoot in a timely manner.

Now this does not mean you have to get the photos back to models immediately, editing takes time and established models are aware of this. However, I would put the time limit to about a month maximum after the shoot date. I find that 2 weeks as a goal is a timeframe that most people are happy with, and if you can do sooner, then it will be even better. Always set expectations further out than you plan to deliver!!

If you do not deliver within a timely manner, models will talk, the word will get around, and fewer people will be willing to work with you. Of course there are exceptions for emergencies, and most people can be understanding. Just always be communicative about anything you are going through. It's much easier to understand when you have information than when you are in the dark.

How to approach

So you've found a model you really like, and would like to work with her, that's great! What do you say? Well, keep it simple, short, and don't fluff yourself up too much.

"Hi [Model Name], I'm a photographer in [your city] looking to get into shooting portraits, and was wondering if you might be interested in shooting with me?"

It's literally as simple as that, usually they will respond and let you know what their rates are or simply set up to shoot with you. They may ask you if it is a paid opportunity and at that point you'll just have to make a decision of how badly you would like to shoot this individual specifically. If you are willing to risk it, you can just tell them it's TFP and ask if that's ok. Or just ask what their rates are. Totally up to you! 

Volume and Expectations

One thing I've learned about modeling is that it is an extremely flaky business. Even the most well-established models will often want to reschedule at the last minute or move the date around on you. So there are two key factors I employ to combat this.

Schedule in bulk

Due to the flaky nature, I find it is always useful to overbook your day to an extent. It is still important to be able to complete the shoots if everyone shows up however; so don't go absolutely wild. But do overfill your time.

For example, let's say you expect to shoot model X for 3 hours. I would suggest taking that 3 hour block and dividing it up by 2 with models Y and Z. So if you were going to shoot from 6pm to 9pm then schedule model X at 6, model Y at 7 and model Z at 9. This means the most likely scenario is that you will still get to shoot at least one of the three, and if all 3 show up then you still get plenty of shots! I wouldn't recommend trying to shoot with two models at one time as a beginner, but the option is there if you want it.

Of course if the other two cancel then you get the full 3 hours with model X! I would only recommend this method for TFP shoots of course.

Expect to be ghosted or cancelled on.

Seriously. It's practically an epidemic. For example - last week I had 9 shoots scheduled, one every day of the week and two on a couple of days. By the end of it 2 people came. Two.

Please keep in mind, it makes no difference if the shoots are paid or TFP, the flake rate is the exact same. I use to be of the mind if a shoot was paid there was no way they wouldn't show up short of a medical emergency. However, that's simply not the case. Some people are just not very money motivated. 

Be kind, don't teach lessons.

So let's say people are cancelling left and right, you are rightfully very frustrated and you just want to teach the next model who cancels on you a lesson by going off on them and explaining how they have wasted your time. Don't. You have to remember you are working with a network of disconnected individuals. They don't typically know each other, and teaching one person a lesson will not cause the next one to show up. All you are likely to do is damage your reputation because bad news spreads like wildfire while kindness stays localized. Be nice, and simply decide if you are willing to reschedule with the person if they ask. If you are not, no harm done; just thank them for their time and move on to the next person. 

I think that's enough to digest for this week! Next week I'll talk about working with people once you actually have a portfolio built and how to find just the right person for just the right shot!

 Leave comments with any questions or discussion you would like to have on this topic below!