Photography 101 - Managing Expectations (Patreon)

When working with people, especially people who have never modeled before. It’s absolutely vital to properly manage their expectations.

It’s important to make sure that everyone knows what they are getting into. Further, you need to cover what the model will receive in exchange for their time, and your restrictions.

A quick checklist for things to remember:

• Types of photos that will be taken
• Number of edits they will receive in return
• How long the shoot will take
• How long it will take to get back their finished photos
• What forms or releases they will need to sign
• If they will need to bring a photo ID
• What will happen if they wish their photos to be taken down in the future
• Your usage of their photos
• Their usage of your photos
  • If they can edit your images further
  • If they can sell your images
  • Where they can post their photos

The importance of this cannot be overstated, and is best if done in writing. This is the kind of thing that could cost you or save you an entire lawsuit, and is best for everyone involved. When it comes to nude photography in particular, it's very easy for people to have regrets and fears after the fact. Everyone is very excited to have their photo taken, but once it's over their fears start to creep in and worries about their futures and what will happen to them. Due to the stigma of nudity in places like America, this is a problem you are likely to encounter on more than one occasion. Luckily, as long as you have properly informed them in writing of the expectations and usage, you will have all of the ground to stand on in order to keep your work.

Out of the above list, many are self-explanatory but I want to highlight a few.

How long the shoot will take.

No two photographers shoot in the same way or by the same method, this leaves even experienced models to be clueless on how long your shoot will take of their day. Often models will plan other things in their day and not consider you might have needed that time and they will cut your shoot short if it is not explicitly outlined up front to them. If you want your models to stay for the full shoot duration, come up with an upper limit time estimate and then give them that time as the expected time they will be at your shoot. If you typically take 3 hours but may need 4, then tell them you need 4 hours. If they wish to bring an escort, make it clear to them that their escort will also need to be available for that duration. Explain that it is best if their escort can bring some form of entertainment as well. When it comes to working with inexperienced models especially, it will take a lot of hand-holding. They will often not think things through and many will bring an escort who has for example only 30 minutes before they have to get to work, and they were the models only means of transportation. This is why it's so important to set proper expectations.

How long it will take to get back their finished photos.

This is probably the number one thing most models are concerned with. As a photographer, one of the most irritating questions you will likely receive will be "are my photos finished yet? lol" for some reason they always try to temper it with an lol so you won't be upset, because they know they shouldn't really be asking. Humans are impatient, especially younger humans. The key here is to underpromise and overdeliver. This is an invaluable tool to not only make your models love you, but also keep the majority of them from asking you that question that can cause oh so much stress on top of your already heavy workload. I always promise my models they will get their images back in about two weeks. However, I often can finish in under a week. I would recommend never delaying longer than one month from the time of shooting to return. I know it can be difficult to keep up, but this will keep you from falling behind as well.

If they will need to bring a photo ID

If you are shooting nude photography, it is absolutely vital that you have your models bring a government issued photo identification with them. Not everyone will tell the truth about being at least 18, and many people will just leave it at home if they are not informed ahead of time. You would be surprised how often people drive without a license on their person.

What will happen if they wish their photos to be taken down in the future

This is a huge deal. You don't always need to say this one up front before meeting with the model. But it does need to at least be explained before or during your photoshoot. It's important both in your model release forms and in verbal communication that the model understands that once you take these photos, they will have no rights to ask you to delete them. It's all too common that a model will find a new boyfriend after working with you, and that models boyfriend wanting you to delete your photos. As long as it is explained to the model up front that regrets are not a reason for you to destroy your own work, this is commonly not a problem. Be very kind, but firm about this. Nobody has the right to control your artwork but yourself.

However, of course there are other options. If you would like to be someone who allows their models to change their minds, you can always charge a fee for this destruction of your work. I would recommend creating a flat fee, and outlining that amount up front in the release form so that favoritism doesn't play a part. This also keeps models from trying to play to your sympathies based on difficult family situations or life circumstances.

Their usage of your photos

This is another one of those "protect yourself" rules. Models will often believe that once you have returned photos to them, that the photos are now theirs to use as they wish in any way possible. This may be ok with you, or may not. Many models will add filters to your work, add awful looking edits like fake makeup, face smoothing, or change colors in some of the worst ways imaginable.

Here's an example of what one model did to an image I sent to her.

Other models will use your photos for their own profits, of course whether this is ok or not depends on you and your business model. But what I have found time and time again is that models rarely ask permission for such usages, and often believe simply because they are featured within the images that they have the right to their use. This argument easily falls flat when considering large publications. You would never expect a model photographed for Women's Fitness magazine to then go and use that photoshoot to sell to other magazines.

It is best to explicitly explain to each and every model what use cases you are and are not ok with. Again I recommend putting this in writing, or even better if you add it into the forms you have them sign before shooting.

Overall, while this is one of the least fun aspects to learn and apply, it is certainly the most important set of ideals you will need to establish for yourself if you wish to have fun, creative shoots which do not end suddenly or wind up with hurt feelings on either side.

Just keep a lighthearted tone and have fun with it and you'll still get to experience some amazing shoots.