El came to me via her Mum who is a business client of mine for some new model portfolio images. She had, had some taken but wasn’t completely comfortable with them. As a teen it was important for me as the photographer to truly understand what it was that didn’t resonate during her first model shoot with another photographer and to make this experience one that left her confident and ready to face the world of modelling. Knowing that she can do this and do it well.
“Nikki was so amazing. The photographs turned out better than I could have imagined. Her attention to detail, her enthusiasm, and her ability to make you feel confident and comfortable really made the whole experience for me.” El Farrier
As with all of my Clients I take the time to get to know them. This was a completely different genre of imagery for me and yet I still felt it was incredibly important to have the same preparations for say a brand shoot in the form concept boards and discussions before the shoot took place. We covered off outfits, hair, make up, backdrops, lighting, and even how the finished images should look.
Being a teen is hard enough without seeing yourself in an image that doesn’t make you feel incredible. And I think you’ll agree, El is a supermodel in the making. You heard it here first!
It was important to me that El felt empowered after the shoot and proud of her images. I was also very mindful of her age and that needed to be reflected in the images. Certain poses were a complete no for me as they would have made her look older than she is. The images needed to be on trend and timeless. Not overtly suggestive and absolutely not provocative. Its just not necessary.
I have known too many teen models and younger women who have had portfolio shoots and are asked to stand in poses that are just not appropriate and make them uncomfortable. It messes with your whole being. You might look older than you are but your mindset won’t have caught up. There’s a real jarring there and the result is that it makes teens uncomfortable. Being a model is hard enough without adding a loss of confidence into the equation.
Find a photographer you are comfortable with and who has your best interests at heart and not their own creative portfolio! Take the time to do this.
Make sure they invest their time in you and in return pay properly for the shoot. A free shoot is never really a free shoot.
And trust your gut instinct. If you feel uncomfortable – get the heck out of there.
A: “Learning about myself and what works for me posing wise and trying out new things”
A: “My confidence grew massively throughout the shoot and I always felt comfortable.”
A: “Yes they massively helped for reference and as my first shoot with you it helped with inspiration and ideas.”
“Nikki was so amazing. The photographs turned out better than I could have imagined. Her attention to detail, her enthusiasm, and her ability to make you feel confident and comfortable really made the whole experience for me.”