FIVE THINGS THAT DRIVE MODELS MAD
1. ‘Midgetising’ us
We all despair when this happens. You’re 6ft1, we’re 5ft5, you’re standing
close looking down on our legs with a 24mm lens, and the result is a picture
which would lead the viewer to believe that we have dwarfism. Not only
does this make us look awful, but close proximity to us can make us feel
uncomfortable. Get back, get lower, increase your focal length, and see us
bloom in proportional beauty! Not only does midgetising us look weirdly
out of proportion, and makes us feel bad, but it makes your images look
amateurish.

2. Asking us to wear that same old sheer thing again
Sheer things look beautiful, sensual and dreamy: we get it. It’s just when
we spend lots of money buying unique and interesting outfits to create a
diverse wardrobe for our photographers and the photographers won’t try
anything different: they opt for that white negligee yet again. It’s not that
we don’t like the sheer stuff, it’s just that we are itching to show you how
good it is to try different things. Some of us also feel a little guilty doing
the same thing for different photographers, and want to be giving you a
unique set of images, rather than repeating the same stuff over and over
again. So let’s get creative a little and see what we can come up with.

Photographer: Ged carton
3. Ramping up the clarity on our skin
SilverFX Pro is often talked about as one of the top plug-ins for Photoshop
editing, and the structure (clarity) setting is great for making things look
aged. Walls, floorboards, even old guys faces all look great. But please, not
our skin! I’ve seen this effect ruin beautiful images, and something in me
dies a little bit. Some photographers think it is an easy way to add
‘atmosphere’ to images, or maybe they can’t work out how to use layer
masks. I’ve used clarity many times myself, masking it onto wooden floors
etc, but always avoid adding clarity to the skin of female models because it
highlights and enhances every line, red patch, scar and wrinkle and makes
her look twenty years older.

An example of the effect too much clarity has on female faces
4. Arriving 45 minutes early for a home shoot
We understand you’re eager to shoot, and it’s not that we don’t like you.
On the contrary, we love working with you. It’s just that we want to be
able to do our hair and make-up, feed ourselves, and sing loudly to our
cheesy music while getting ready without having to come and let you in,
and then feel rushed while you loiter in the other room waiting to start.
Some guys continue shooting until the last possible minute, and then take
thirty minutes or more to pack up. That just isn’t fair on the model. If you
have so much stuff that it takes you more than ten minutes to pack it away,
hen please finish the shoot early so that your packing up is part of our paid
shoot time. We may have other things to do, places to go, children to feed,
and cannot be kept waiting for ages after the agreed end time.

"He can't be here already!" by Paulseds
5. Saying: “look at the camera as though it’s your boyfriend”
This one is just cringeworthy. Ask us for a sexy look, ask us for a sultry look, but never ask us to ‘make love to the camera’. There are lots of ways of explaining the expression you want without expecting method acting. Most of us have a broad repertoire of expressions, and can usually summon up the correct one to suit the circumstances. One photographer suggested that I might need to practice doing expressions prior to the shoot. I explained that I wouldn’t need to practice because like most human beings I use different expressions many times every day.

"You want me to do WHAT?"- By Spiritwolf