Modeling Do's and Don'ts at a Shoot, Part 2
By The Shaman of Sexxxy Abel Carv
Photoshoots are the bread and butter of our industry, they can make or break models as well as photographers. A great photoshoot can show a model's true potential or accent his or her strong-suits where-as a terrible photoshoot can reveal inexperience, ignorance , and even several unbeknownst weaknesses. In this second installment of this series we will discuss emoting.
Don'ts
Emoting is the act of displaying expressions and emotions in photos and film, it often can easily differentiate the veteran model from the novice. Lot's of rookie models fall into the hole of not practicing or looking up emotions, they come into a shoot with a very limited range of expression which makes for a bland shoot. Another mistake that some models will make that makes them appear very amateurish is that they'll do what's called a "duckface" or a kissing face for the camera. If you are a model and doing this, assuming that the photographer has restrained themselves from backhanding you, they probably will not want to shoot with you again. Another big mistake that models make is that they do not adjust their emotions/ expressions for the shoot or the scene. It is slightly disturbing when a photographer is shooting say a serious mafia killing scene and one of the model's is giving a come-hither look or trying to "look sexy". Not all shoots are about sex-appeal; some are meant to convey seriousness, sadness, hope, innocence, serenity, etc. By showing inappropriate emotions the photographer may not want to work with you again or they may refer you to a psychiatrist.
Do's
While it is easy to go amiss with emoting, its actually easier to do right. Alot of emoting comes down to research and practice. Try to talk to your photographer ahead of time or research the gig that you have and find out the ethos for your shoot, find out what emotions you can portray while looking more natural and less contrived. Alot of the emoting in modeling is acting, but if you feel that something feels forced, you probably will appear stiff or fake in your photos. You should go into a shoot with a clear mind; don't go in depressed if you are supposed to convey happiness, your true emotions will show through,although; if you are depressed and supposed to convey that you may do well. Take a moment to visualize and put yourself in the scene, react and let your expressions happen naturally, it'll produce far superior photos than just forcing expression. Backtracking to practicing, alot about emoting is muscle memory, if you practice consistently you will have a broader range of emotions and be able to portray them on demand. It'll make you more in demand as a model. Think, practice, research, and feel and you should be able to produce some perfect photos from an emoting stand point.
In this article we have examined the fundamentals of some do's and don'ts of emoting in the photoshoot. Whereas not all will agree with these, they are very simplistic rules and will serve models well trying them. Comment below in the forums with your opinions.
In this article we have examined the fundamentals of some do's and don'ts of emoting in the photoshoot. Whereas not all will agree with these, they are very simplistic rules and will serve models well trying them. Comment below in the forums with your opinions.