By Tryst, 1715639010
Just a very small rant after almost 100 shoots this year so far - long enough to be able to pick up some patterns.
The professional thing to do when a model shows you the wardrobe selection she has pulled for the shoot, whether it’s been discussed beforehand or not, is to be clear about what you wish to use or not use, and chalk it up to personal tastes. While most of my photographers do this, there some who make comments about the wardrobe being bad objectively, instead of chalking it up to personal tastes.
Three things.
1 - like most models, I own a huge amount of wardrobe and the selections I’ve made for the shoot are my best ascertainments out of hundreds of garments narrowing it down to 5 or 6 pieces I think will fit the shoot best, based on the work I see in your portfolio and what we’ve discussed. I have put thought into it, and while it’s okay to not approve of my final selections, it’s important not to be rude. In the same way as if a model showed up to a fashion shoot, say it was TFP - and she was wearing an outfit she had clearly thought about in LENGTH, and you are not happy about it - at least try to share some enthusiasm for her outfit because it was probably a hard choice to make. She has probably been fantasising about posing in that exact outfit for weeks. Paid work is different, but - there is a very big difference between declining due to personal tastes, and denigrating their style altogether. I’m not sure many photographers know that this can be a sensitive area.
2- a photographer is, in my mind, hiring a model for her looks and partially her character, and style is involved in that. If you can’t be polite about what she has chosen to shoot in, (knowing you have the final say as photographer)… if you can’t summon manners for her selections - this shuts down a major facet of her creativity. For example, I always have wardrobe that’s in my personal tastes pulled for a shoot, because I have learned through experience that many want my involvement in ideas, they want me to wear what I feel my best in. But I also pull a variety to appease everyone else.
There’s always black, white, colorful, muted, old, new, casual, edgy, simple, couture, fitted, loose - literally, I prioritise variety.
Because 3 - the tastes of photographers vary day to day. Some love complex lingerie with straps, and lace, and buckles - others swear by minimal and sporty lingerie. Some hate neon, some love it. Some like pink and frilly, others despise it. While it is a model’s job to learn what photographs well, and try to cater to trends in peoples tastes - there’s no way for us to fully predict what you will want to shoot the most, because there is no pattern to it, everyone wants something different. What one loves the next will hate and so on. I’ve tried narrowing it down, it is impossible. The moment I pack away my short dresses, the next shoot wants a short dress. The one shoot I won’t bring a long dress to, that’s all they want to shoot. Beyond the basic kit of simple lingerie, tshirt and jeans, heels, and a sheer scarf - we can’t tell beforehand what you want/like, so please try not to berate us for what we end up bringing. Be polite!
It’s not okay to show up to a shoot with a model who shoots lots of bondage related lingerie and has that in her folio, and calling it “trashy”. Or showing up to a model who loves vintage and has that all over her folio, and calling all her wardrobe “stuffy”.
You don’t need to shoot a model in her signature styles, most of us love to be diverse and try new things. But there has to be some sensitivity to the topic of the fashion choices she has pulled for the shoot, and while I meet work with many photographers who understand conduct in other areas, but fail in this one…and as a nude model who also expresses myself greatly through fashion - it can be a big deal, and make us doubt ourselves for the rest of the shoot…if you say something unnecessarily harsh.
Be polite about it, and we will find something more your tastes.
:)
