Yesterday I had the privilege of working with some very talented people on a beauty shoot over at Notting Hill. It was a great shoot but one thing that struck me was the diversity of the models we had.
The were all great. They all brought something unique to the day. Together we made some fantastic images.
One model in particular was very different to work with. It was very evident, even before the first frame, that she was very, very experienced. She was lovely to work with, her movement was fluid, and she created pose after pose after pose. All I had to do was photograph her. She simply didn’t need direction nor encouragement.
I found this an unusual experience. How was I to build that level of rapport and trust that is always so vital between the photographer and model? How was I to create the energy levels to get her to be the best she could be on the day?
In truth, I found it quite difficult. Her poses were next to perfect meaning there was little I could convey in terms of refinement. She also didn’t want to see any of the captured images. Not one.
Then the penny dropped. She had done this so may times before it all came naturally to her. She didn’t need that level of encouragement and direction that I’d given to the other girls.
Mrs. TheLightMatters made a interesting observation too when I spoke to her about it. Namely that I was the one that needed the reassurance, not her. In seeking her approval of the captured images I was actually the one in need of ecouragement, not her. I think she is right too. I’ve been using the LCD as a crutch. Maybe for future shoots I’ll withold showing the images to the model unless there is a specific message I wish to convey.
I’ve just listened to edpisode -1 of the Photographer and Model podcast. It’s a great interview with JT Smith of SuperShoots.com. About half way through he has a perfect quote for this post:”learn to communicate or learn to shut up…sometimes you can over direct…you don’t need to micro manage…communication is the key”