Take Stock Photography That Sells: Earn a living doing what you love by Wilson Dale

Author:Wilson, Dale [Wilson, Dale]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Octopus
Published: 2019-04-17T16:00:00+00:00

Looking good

The makeup artist, hair stylist, and wardrobe stylist’s sole purpose on a shoot is to make the photographer look good. The photographer needs only provide good direction, suggesting the desired look and feel, and the resources for the support staff to work their magic. When the support artists make their subject look good, they make the photographer look good; embrace that notion.

MODELS VERSUS TALENT

T he photographer is the person standing behind the camera. In order for the photographer to be successful, they have to be more interested in the person in front of the lens than behind.

Most of us photographers are fortunate to live in cities and towns that have casting agencies and model agencies. There is a huge difference in how each of these agencies train and educate those they represent and it is incumbent upon the photographer to know the difference.

Model Agency: In a January 2016 article in Vogue magazine, Janelle Okwodu opines that the average age of a model still hovers around 17. Although somewhat older data, a 2011 survey among working female fashion models based in the United States conducted by the research data firm Statista found that 54.7 percent started working between the ages of 13–16 years old. By comparison, the same survey reported less than 7 percent started working when they were older than 21 years of age.

This data is relevant to understand how models are trained and groomed for their careers. At very young ages, these young women go to the model agency seeking fame, fortune, and front covers. The agency in turn will agree to represent the aspiring supermodels if they agree to be represented and trained by the agency at a cost to the model. By the time the vast, vast majority of aspiring models reach the age of 20, if they haven’t become so already, they will most likely never be the next supermodel. Instead of magazine covers, most opportunities will be in catalog work at much lower pay. Very rarely do these models stick around beyond the age of 20, and even more rarely do they learn how to professionally perform beyond posing for the camera and walking the runway.

Talent Agency: The talent agency, sometimes called a casting agency, works much along the same lines as the model agency. The primary difference being how the talent is trained, and the roles they are hoping to fill. The role of the talent agency is to train their charges to work in performing arts such as film, television, and to some extent the stage. This is where the aspiring actor can advance in leaps and bounds ahead of the model, insofar as potential work with the stock photographer is concerned.

A good actor can read an assignment sheet and understand very quickly the role of the character, and the emotion that should be portrayed. This is what photographers need to capture—character. A well-trained actor should be able to get into character with little direction.

Hiring talent for a shoot may appear to

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