Working with models is true people work
Working with models is very inspiring. In this blog article of The Naked Artist I will explain what I like so much. One of the reasons is that I like to work with people and to create beautiful art together with my team. However, working with models is more than the romanced image of an artist, who works with his muse. Often, people ask me: “Doesn’t it get to you personally to work with naked women and having them stark naked in front of the camera?” Or, “did you ever got feelings for a model?” The answers on these questions, and many more, I will post in a future blog article, as this is a different topic.
Working with models: artistic click required
Models are also people with feelings, limits, ambitions etc. Therefore, working with models is more than just making photographs of them. As professional models need to live from their work, they often travel around the world. Because of this, they work with many artists. And all artists have a different working and coaching style. Therefore, it is very important that there is a certain artistic click between the model and the artist.
Artistic fit
It is also a challenge to find the best fitting model for the project. Obviously, the results are the most important. To make a photoshoot costs a lot of time and money, for instance. Therefore, it is important that the invested time and effort delivers the desired outcome. Guarantees don’t exist unfortunately in this process, however, the preparation is very important.
To achieve the best results, I generally pursue the following pathway. The first step is to have the project objectives very clear. Based on these objectives I define model criteria.
- What kind of look and feel do I need?
- What type of model fits with that?
- What posing and eventually acting skills does she need the project to a good end?
- What character does the model need to have?
- And many more…
Finally, this analysis defines a profile sketch of the model to meet the artistic project needs. For example, you possibly can imagine that for the Sensual in the City project not all models are suitable. This is, for example, a nude photoshoot in the public space downtown a city centre full of people. As a model you need, by the way, to be mentally very strong to be able to perform under big pressure, to be able to deal with critical press, to be able to deliver strong poses, etc
Casting
When the profile sketch of the required model is ready, the casting process starts. Obviously, this is a very time consuming process, because this requires a lot of searching time. Fortunately, today, many models are present on diverse platforms or at model agencies. This makes life far more easy, obviously.
Most of the times, the searching process results in more candidates. From the list of candidates, I start to select candidate models by further checking their portfolios. After that, I contact the most interesting candidates. Then, I inform for their availability, feedback on the project, their model fee etc. Of course, all needs to fit for the final goal: creating stunning art.
The availability of a model can be a real issue. Professional models often travel around the globe. It is, therefore sometimes a big challenge to be able to book a model for the art project. As artist, you would not be limited in the creative flow. Thus, sometimes, you need to make hard decisions. In case that the ideal candidate is on the other side of the globe, what do I do? Do I wait for her, or do I choose for another model? This depends a lot on the type of the project, as you can imagine.
Moodboards and location
When there is a fit between the candidate model and the project needs, we start to share mood-boards, ideas, brainstorm about poses, limitations and so on. What is a mood-board, you may ask? A mood-board is a mainly graphic representation of the atmosphere that I am looking for in a certain project. However, it may also contain words, such as desired emotions, and a lot more. I like to involve my models in the project implementation. That is good for the engagement in the project and often models come with very good ideas too. Therefore, I love to see when a nice dialogue starts between the model and me.
In the meanwhile, I look for a suitable location. This is also very important to share and discuss with the model. A photoshoot location can, for example, be a photo studio, a hotel room, a city, in the nature and many more, as long as they fit with the art project. But that’s not all to arrange, there is a lot more that has to be ready before a photoshoot can take place. As this is more related to the artist and less with the model, I will share this later in another post.
Working with models: bilateral respect
Important is bilateral respect and feedback, because as an artist you need to coach the model to get the desired results. For this you need high professionalism and soft skills such respect, empathy, gaining trust (because a woman doesn’t show her most vulnerable side if there is no trust). In case there is a click between the model and me, she becomes a muse. This is because the chemistry between the artist and the model is there as they share the same vision and mission.