So you want to be a model...and other forms of etiquette in 2017.

Listen above!

I have my coffee, dark side of the moon is spinning on the record player(one of the more brain expanding albums IMO) and I'm ready to write a centered non vindictive blog post about a topic that is very near and dear to me, modeling. It's a term that grossly encompasses way too many people, actions and statuses in this social media, narcissistic world. I'm going to try to keep some of my more base emotions about modeling in check as I write this. What in the hell could that mean Mike? Well, let's get some of my bullshit out of the way first because I truly really do want to help people understand what it means to model. I hesitate to say "be a model" because that means SO many things.

Okay, let me sort out some of my choice feelings first so that I can have a clear, helpful guide to those who actively want to pursue this trade. I'm pretty sure a lot of "what it takes" to be a model falls in line with most successful jobs but everyone needs a refresher. More on this later.

Okay bullshit time.

I don't even like the term model. It's like talking about amateur photographers and pro photographers. Does one have a different connotation than the other? Sure it does! It's the same thing with pro models and amateur models. Social media has driven all of us insane. Technology has driven us all insane. Let me explain. If you're "attractive" people always say that you should model. Quite a true falsehood as many attractive people can make pretty shitty models. Modeling is more of a subset of important actions that attractiveness can only help so much. So in this social media driven world that is guided largely by how you look, folks are being told they should be doing certain things they may not be cut out for. Coupled with technology this becomes downright scary. Let me tell you, digital cameras have gotten AMAZING. I'm thinking about just buying canon's entry level slr and shooting with that and saving tons of money but seriously, blokes who have picked up a camera in the past 1 month are taking "decent" images of people. Like, it's getting exceptionally hard to take crappy photos. Seriously, I will give my slr with nice lens to my cousin who is 6, put it on auto, and have them take pictures of what they like and they are BEAUTIFUL.

Okay, I'm starting to get tangential, the point is, this community of people with access to good technology and "attractive" people have bred a pool of amateur models and photographers that just continue the cycle of mediocrity. Are there amazing photographers and models that come out of this? Sure, definitely, nobody is saying that you can't amount to anything if you start out this route but I feel a lot of people would agree, those individuals would have pursued their trades regardless. I mean this guy didn't go to a photography school. Totally not tooting my own horn. I feel I'm okay at what I do but I try, really hard, like engrossing my life in all aspects of photography, hourly.

Anyway, my point to this garbled mess is that there is a lot of noise. I speak of this noise a lot in photography. It just so happens with modeling as well. So I tend to have a little bit of a pulmonary embolism explode when I see people throwing up their picture and saying "I have never modeled, I want to shoot boudoir, can photographers take pictures of me?" Excuse me, I need to clean up the pool of blood at my desk that has escaped from my brain. 

So that's my bias. People know, I try very hard to not work with new folks. I generally end up having a bad experience, why? They are in it for the wrong reasons or they aren't in it for enough of a reason. I'm so dedicated to what I do and I guess it could be unfair but I expect people to be as dedicated to what they do as well.  My time is so important, so important. I would hope they thought their time be important too. 

I want to deter the wrong people from coming aboard. I want to cultivate the people that really want to work hard. This work ethic kinda makes me think of my high school choir teacher, Mr. Ed Dalton. He scared the shit out of a lot of people, made them cry, possibly made not so PC remarks to the class at times but his expectation weeded out people that weren't in it for the right reasons. We had a smaller, sleeker, more musically focused choir because of it. Now I don't want to go scaring people but I want to let them know that there is work ahead and the best models work so hard at what they do.

If you want instagram followers, stop reading right now. So here it is, a small list of things that you can do to start modelling or be  better at modelling. A note before I start, this is for someone who really wants to be doing this at 50% or more of the time in their life. It may not matter to the para legal that does liquor events on the weekend or the figure nude model that's also in school. Don't yell at me too much. 

1) Check your emotions and reasoning as to why you want to pursue this. Are you a narcissist? Do you just like having your picture taken? What do you have to give to the industry? This is a funny question but it's true! Do you have a marketable look? Regardless of what you think of the industry's take on sizes of people(IT COMPLETELY FUCKING SUCKS) there are a host of opportunities for print and commercial models. A word on the industry, it's slowly changing with lots of ear pulling so please never feel distraught if you aren't a size 0. Are you in a large or small market? What kind of jobs are out there? Agencies? This takes a lot of research, get to it!

2) Photographers aren't your client. Look, there are some amazing art models out there that tour and get paid by photographers and other artists alike but they are few and more far between than you think. If you can point to a majority of them charging photographers and making upwards of 60k a year I'll shut up right now. A lot of people end up in this rut of charging baseless rates for clothing/nude/hourly to others that will pay them. Your clients are the companies that book you for jobs. Some people even get into a bad situation where people start just charging them to take their clothes off. Photographers are not your end client.

3) Your body is a temple and so is your face, take care of it. Like I said, a pretty or handsome face doesn't work well if you're sleep deprived, hungover or eat like trash most of the time. Your whole self is marketable. Sounds incredibly toddler like but things like, getting sleep, drinking water, regular exercise, taking care of your hands and feet, regular grooming habits make everything go so much better. Think if you didn't take your body seriously and you looked like hell on a job, now you've made the photographer, makeup artist and retoucher work harder. What happens if you show up to a job with awful tan lines and you have to wear shorts or backless dress? Yes these are minor things but when your face and body are your job you always have to be thinking about them. Invest in yourself always.

4) Punctuality and the art of caring. I don't know why this is number 4, it should be number 1 for life and in all jobs. Paid or unpaid, showing up to a job, creative endeavor, on time is a testament to caring. I always say, treat it like you are going to a job that is paying you 2000 dollars a day no matter what. If your stomach was hurting would you still show up to the job if that's what you were being paid? I sure know you would so take that mindset to all jobs, big or small. Not feeling well, fights with significant others or sleeping too late are all kinda unacceptable in any career when calling out sick so don't do it as a model. Use your phone like a phone, call and confirm with the job or client when you'll be there. Ask them how long you will be needed for, remember your time is worth it too.

5) Establish a model kit to take to gigs. Make sure you always have water/snacks/moisturizer/basic makeup/socks/extra underwear/tweezers/mirror with you at all times. A little pack like that goes a long way.

6) If seeking agency representation, you definitely do not need to work with 100 photographers "to get a strong port." This is some sort of lie. I've worked with agency models who were just signed and generally they need a head shot and to see you in person. I see so many photographers saying that they want to help build some port for "up and coming" models. It don't work that way pal.

7) Always continue educating yourself. Every week I set aside 3 hours to learn something new. Whether it be retouching or a new way to light someone I always want to build upon my own base. It's no different for modeling. Study posing, your best friend will be the mirror. Learn to understand how your body looks in different positions, flexed, unflexed. Muscle memory is key to some poses and I always know a model doesn't know what they are doing when they are put in a pose but their face says, "what the hell!?" Work with people better than you, more experienced and enjoy helping others. You sometimes get a lot of feedback and tend to grow when thrown into situations that cause you to be out of your comfort zone.

8) Demand respect. Oye, I could write a book on what has historically been not the nicest industry. You are a human and you are amazing don't let anyone disrespect your body, your time or your self worth. No job is worth any sort of sexual/verbal assault. No job. It is not okay for anyone to touch you, ever, unless it's an assistant who asks for consent and it directly has to do with clothing/hair/makeup. Reference check who you are working with. They should be able to provide you with accurate references.

9) Learn the art of patience. Modeling is a business and you're the owner. I believe I stole that. I'm sorry model management. It takes so much time and commitment, things don't happen overnight. Also, learn actual day to day, mindful patience. You will be on jobs that are long, arduous, boring and the most seasoned models won't bat an eye. I'm looking at you Lyndsie!

10) The act of modeling isn't always glamorous. Some of the most wonderful models are pretty mundane looking people but they come to life when they are in front of the camera. Nobody shows up, looks pretty, goes home. If you feel that is what you're going to get, well, refer back to guideline number 1. 

There are so many other things to list here but I feel like those are the most basic things people can follow. Will you be successful if you do all of these things? Hell no but I believe it's your best bet at success. It's a hard, unfair business that too many people choose lightly. If people knew what it really took to being your own photography business well, you wouldn't wish it on most, the same with modeling. I want people to succeed for all the right reasons. So think deeply about the decisions you make and the time you take of others. If it's still in you to try for this life let me know, because I love working with people who really care about what they are doing. Questions? Comments, I'd love to hear your ideas and criticisms. Leave them below.

Shout out to some of my favorite reliable newbies below.

The democratization of photography and modeling and anything else you can afford.

All the time its, "Mike, write a blog." "You have so many things to talk about!" You've finished like, 500 shoots, share your ideas!" I sit down to write a blog and I want nothing to do with this process. My thoughts matter less the more I sit here and type this. Though, wait till tomorrow when I am far away from a decent computer, I'll be wanting to write those silly thoughts down. 

I suppose this blog isn't about anything in particular because all my thought processes have seemed to escape me. Okay, I'll stop right there. Nobody wants to read a blog about nothing.  I just went and wrote the title before I even have written anything of substance. I'm calling this one, "The democratization of photography and modeling and anything else you can afford." Well, what the hell does that mean? It basically means that two, somewhat specialized, professions are now accessible to a lot more of the population. That's good right? Sure. It sounds remarkably good. Thousands of people who may have not had the means to now have the chance to try it out. It's good when everyone gets a chance right? Too bad I'm a cynic and all I'm going to do is focus on why it's terrible. Let's break this down and start with Photography because one undeniably has created the other.

Photography has been around in some form or another for about 170 years. It went from an uber specialty profession and then to the masses when 35mm film became much more prevalent. I'm not trying to argue that everyone shouldn't have a camera. I mean everyone almost does with the advent of smart phones but what I am arguing is that everyone who has a camera isn't a photographer. Well, duh Mike, they know that. Ah, but this is where the noise sets in. This is where the tidal wave breaks. If you sampled 1,000 people in 1970 who owned cameras and asked them if they were photographers I assure you the amount of people that would have said "yes" would be markedly less than a group of 1,000 in 2010. Am I losing you? Probably. Does this matter? Probably not. Well it does. It does to me.

Sometime after the year 2000 something happened. Digital photography started gaining strength. The cost of technology in cameras dropped significantly. Film started to increase in price. Demand was down.  The winds of change had been felt. Stupidly not by Kodak, those schmucks. Camera companies introduce the first digital SLR. A compact, digital camera that changes lenses and uses a memory card to store photos instead of film. How many photos? As many as your card could hold. The prices go down. Memory prices go down. Film prices go up. They stop making certain films. Companies jump on this band wagon. Digital sensors are cheaper and so are the chips that run the camera. Image quality goes through the roof. I'm taking about real advances in latitude, resolution and contrast. There is no development time. There is no waiting to see if you got the right shot. There is no wasting of negatives.

I just had a thought that has little to do with anything. People have always taken photos. Most point and shoots and 35mm cameras got the job done but they didn't do anything too amazing.  To take really great photos before the advent of digital photography you had to have some money(for film and gear), have a great eye, understand the basic concepts in photography. Okay okay, I'm running into walls as I type this. Of course, you don't need great gear to be a good photographer. My point is, you needed some education. You needed to put some work into that. That's it. That's what I'm trying to get at, you needed some effort. You couldn't just pick up an iphone and take a great picture without knowing anything.  There was no iphone. I think about this when I use my mamiya rb67. That thing doesn't care about you. You work for Mamiya. It will do nothing unless you, meter, set the f stop, set the shutter, focus, recompose, focus, lock focus, take the dark slide out, press the shutter. Advance the film. Getting the negative back and scanning it, you still might have taken a crappy picture. People now hold up their little rectangle and hit a circle and you could get published in nat geo(okay maybe not nat geo) or any other magazine because that little camera sensor has made all those difficult decisions for you. Okay, slowly starting to get even more off track. Let's go back to the digital era.

You have these great cameras that do a hell of a whole lot. If you can't make a striking fucking image with a canon rebel t3i from 10 years ago there's something wrong with you. All these cameras start to become available at prices that were not in a lot of people's grasps. That's a good thing right? No. People don't deserve nice things. They deserve to be given the chance for nice things but you don't get nice things off the bat. This is how I feel about this generation in general. Now people have these image making boxes that do mostly everything for them and it instills some weird confidence in them. "Hey I took THAT picture?" Sure you did kid. You pressed the button. Give people power and they run with it. This begins the delusional feed.

Another striking realization as I type this is that social media has played a huge role in transforming the casual picture taker into the "photographer." The newly minted owner of a digital slr takes a couple pictures of something and posts them on the internet. His echo chamber responds instantly. Things like, "you take such beautiful pictures" and "oh my god you should be a photographer" start to murmur and swirl around them. The "photographer" is emboldened. They are caught up in a frenzy of feel good praise. "Hey, maybe I am a photographer!" they proclaim. They learn that putting watermarks on images is a "professional" thing to do and finagle something abhorrent in MS paint/Photoshop or Gimp and call them selves "such and such" Photography or images or "Focus studios" or something equally as shitty. If they are lucky people start to ask them what they charge. Never taking a business class or understanding what goods and services cost in their market they throw out outlandish numbers like "$350.00 for weddings! with all images and a cdr!" They systematically drive down the market without knowing they won't be able to sustain themselves before it is too late. Also, analogy time. Don't argue with me that people that shop at payless shoes are not the same people that shop at prada. If the Prada shoppers see enough payless prices they are going to ask for less. Sure there is definitely a market for everyone person and you should market accordingly but if those people who would normally pay 3k for a wedding keep seeing photographers that will shoot work for $850.00 people will start to wonder. 

I'm getting slightly off track...again. Geez and I haven't even scratched the surface or mentioned the whole "model" issue now. I might make a second post as this one is getting long. Even my attention is starting to dwindle. 

You create a sea of noise by giving everyone the chance to be a photographer. Just look at instagram. One could argue that it's a good thing. I mean there are a fuck ton of amazing people out there creating amazing images. Is it because they now had access to photographic means? Possibly? I think an amazing person is still amazing without the catalyst. Hmmmm I might have to think about that for a second or a day maybe.

I guess my beef isn't the fact that everyone can purchase a nice camera with less than 500 dollars. It's cool if you can. It's cool. It's just when you're given that power, and there is a whole lot of power in these machines now, you shouldn't be allowed to say you're anything. Wow, I'm just thinking again, social media is to blame.  Maybe it isn't cheaper gear. So fewer people would try to work hard at what they do if they had to work harder to display their images. 

You're not a pilot if you purchase a plane. I suppose you should be one though. I guess that's my point. A person that buys a 5d mark iv isn't a photographer but they should be. Now I see a lot of shit. Like really bad photography. It might be because I am now in a state that is a little more rural. It might be there is just less talent. It really is social media. I'm sorry I keep going back to this but there would be such less noise if people were not permitted to post things if they weren't really photographers.

Mike, that's not fair. You can't say that. You have a very humble beginning with awful photos. (My present is still humble don't you worry)

Yeah but I never called myself a photographer. I remember around 2009 when I actually said "I have a booking this afternoon." It felt really dirty. Like I wasn't allowed to say it. I didn't deserve it. I still have a hard time calling myself one. I guess my tax id number though kinda makes me say that. Don't worry, I'm not equating having a business license for photography to being a photographer. 

Maybe I have issues with the word photographer. Maybe it's all on me. What does it mean to be a photographer .5 person who is drunk reading this? I'll answer it. It really just like anything involving skill. You have to earn it. I don't think there is an award or plaque or time frame that allows you to know you're a photographer but I can tell you about half of the people that claim they are in these small towns aren't. I guess that's not for me to decide but you sure do look like a chump parading your awful images everywhere.

Alright, too much talk. Part two I will chat about the elusive Model. Where did they come from? Why you aren't a model and the gross underbelly of a world that I have witnessed evolve over the years. It's unhealthy and it's here to stay. I hope you've enjoyed my ramblings thus far. Leave a comment or tell me to shut up. Part two, tomorrow. 

Model: Lillian

www.lillianisabella.com