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This is Dave, who is being sought after by Ford Models. My friend Maureen, who works there, called me recently after seeing my photos of him from a wedding we were all at together in Vegas last summer. She wants to bring me in to do his test shoot, but they asked him to grow his hair and lose some weight first. So now that he's finally ready, I organized a practice run. My friend Sarah helped by styling the entire shoot, which went on for almost 6 hours. I shot 850 frames. He blinked a lot and sometimes his eyes would get a little sleepy. But when I put a pair of sunnies on him... Whew! Look out.
In order to achieve this look, I had him outside on my deck with the afternoon sun sitting low in the sky. The first few shots where dark, so I moved him into a position where the reflection off the windows would fill in the shadows.
The glasses are sitting somewhat lopsided on his face, distracting the whole shot for me. If not lopsided, the arms certainly are way too high on his head.
the glasses are not even sitting on his ear, looks very weird, the color is real wacky, the reflection in the glasses is annoying, no light on his face, weird processing and his hair seems to be a bit of a mess, the crop of him chopping off the arms/torso is odd to me too, its like either make it a headshot, or an upper body shot, not this odd crop.
I am finding it hard to believe these will be sent to ford models, you have to have some other 'better' shots than this.
i'm liking the image less and less. your comments are right on. yes, i do have some shots that i think are better. i will post them later.
and these won't be submitted. this was a test shoot, for exactly that reason
Also, the processing makes him look like CGI creation. I know that's a current fad, but if I were an agent at Ford I'd want shots that showed him off rather than your expert PP skills - it just makes me wonder what else you may have changed.
liamh wrote:
If he wants work as a model, take the shades off.
Also, the processing makes him look like CGI creation. I know that's a current fad, but if I were an agent at Ford I'd want shots that showed him off rather than your expert PP skills - it just makes me wonder what else you may have changed.
Lastly, how come you've got so many cool friends?
i agree completely: i can't tell a lot about your model from this shot.....for the most part, every initial agency test shoot i have done for a male model has been pretty straight forward and without a lot of post processing. For most male model test shoots, i strongly advise that you keep the model as natural looking as possible..
Contrary to what some think, a test shoot is not a fashion shoot. it is about the model--not about the clothing, not about the styling. the agency objective is to see how the model looks: the clothing and processing should not take attention away from the model. i would suggest that the stylist keep the clothing simple, clean and flattering in color and cut to the model. you may want a combination of casual and dress clothing.
i would also recommend that you keep your lighting away from extremes: i often find that for agency test shoots flatter lighting works better.
you will want to make sure you include body shots - taken in underwear or swimwear, standing poses--pay attention to posture, full lenght shots, 3/4 shots, head and shoulders and face shots. make sure you get variety in facial expressions. you will also want to find the models best angles.
i would also ask your friend if you have not already done so, whether they have a preference for studio or location shots as some agencies do prefer one over the other, while others are pretty open.
personally i prefer studio for first test as i have greater control over my lighting and dof, and have less worrying about transport and staging logistics. you may also find that if you have not worked for a particular agency before that they may want to have "their people" present--which can add to the complexity or stress of the shoot..and last but not least---slow down and pay attention to detail. What 6 hours and 850 shots for a practice run says to me that you might not be giving adequate direction to the model....and you do not want your client to have a similar sense.
hope this helps.
well. the sad thing is liam, i'm not sure he's model material. i had to take so many shots because his blinking got out of control. i think he was a little uneasy. and if he wasn't blinking, his eyes would go dead... i have so many good shots, where everything is right, except his eyes. i will post some different ones later. you ask about my friends. being a photographer and shooting a lot of san francisco parties (from high society to underground) since 2000 has allowed me to meet a whole lot of interesting people and stay connected to them because of my photography.
