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Pictures for commercial print models
. Feb 12 07 08:23 am Link Great info. Thanks TX! Feb 12 07 08:26 am Link One of the reasons i know there aren't any agencies worth being called that near me is that the model books from the locals all look like the list of mistakes offered by the OP. A main reason that REAL commercial print portfolio pictures are usually not available as TFP is that there's a lot of work to do them right. But photographers generally don't get to "show off," either. This is where the needs of a photographer's portfolio and a model's diverge. Any picture that looks like a photographic tour de force is probably not useful. But clients like to see the wow factor in a photographer's portfolio. So, it's smart to find a commercial shooter and pay him or her if you have to to get the clean, clear shots needed. Oh, and headshots are also vital for actors. One of the most accomplished (and well-paid) photographers in Hollywood does almost nothing but headshots. He'll do actor AND commercial stuff. Good luck to all those trying to develop commercial print ports. That may be the most challenging of all the portfolios to get right. Having a good agency to direct the development, of course, would be best. Feb 12 07 08:38 am Link Great ADVISE for new print models. And photog's too. Feb 12 07 08:39 am Link Thanks TX, I sent this to some friends of mine.. Thanks for sharing.. Feb 12 07 08:41 am Link Is something like this style good photos for a commercial book? (not that they all would go in but just the style of photography) Feb 12 07 08:44 am Link Cristina Ashley wrote: What role are you playing? Would you see these pictures in an ad in Time Magazine? Feb 12 07 08:45 am Link Tx you are the best! Feb 12 07 08:45 am Link TX THANKS for taking the time to type this all out. It's absolutely INVALUABLE information! Kat Feb 12 07 08:56 am Link TXPhotog wrote: yep. you're right. Feb 12 07 08:58 am Link duplicate post Feb 12 07 08:59 am Link Cristina Ashley wrote: Maybe, if you look like a bride getting married, and not like a model. Even then, there is a fine line between a commercial print/lifestyle shot and a wedding picture. I'd think wedding dress pictures would mostly be useful for showing to bridal wear clients. Feb 12 07 09:08 am Link I was sent this my Kat Aragon... iam to shoot with them in a few weeks....I really have the commercial look but did have some fashion shots taken in my current port....i know i know...don't use them...any of your feedback would be great! I am going to take some more pic.s more commercially focused...I get what you are saying! Thanks Feb 12 07 09:27 am Link Feb 12 07 09:34 am Link Thank you so very much for posting this TX. Great thread that we can refer to when needed. To all, This is an informative and serious thread. Please keep this one on topic. Thanks, Mhana moderator. Also this thread is for information only. Not for critique or if whether or not you can be a commercial model. Please start a different thread for those questions. Thanks. We would like to keep this thread, some others and some in the future more as articles. Discussion is welcome as is rebuttal/different views but please try to keep on topic. If you have another topic, You are welcome to start a new thread. Feb 12 07 11:54 am Link Feb 12 07 12:04 pm Link Bookmarking this thread. Feb 12 07 03:40 pm Link Ok, I have a question. It's something I've always wondered. --Hair care ads, like Pantene, Bed Head, etc.-- I assume they're commercial shots, after all, they're selling a product. However, the product itself is dependent on the model. It's as much about their hair as it is about the little picture of conditioner in the corner. What type of models do those ads? They look too old and pretty to be fashion models, but look much more glamourous than "every day". I see those types of models in make-up ads and tobacco and liquor ads too. What type of agency do they come from? Are they commercial fashion models who are doing an ad? Do the models who do catalogs and such still come from commercial agencies? Also, it seems like the smaller agencies in my area don't have a specific focus. The models seem to have a mix of fashion and commercial looks and I don't know who their clients are. Ok, and my last question. Are there really agencies that just deal with commercial and lifestyle models? It seems like talent agencies get the calls for product shoots. Feb 12 07 04:53 pm Link Thanks TX. This helps out so many more than you know. Feb 12 07 05:15 pm Link OC Girl wrote: For the most part those are fashion models (sometimes from agencies with older divisions), although commercial print agencies sometimes get the chance to compete for (and sometimes win) those kinds of jobs. OC Girl wrote: Right. In a very large market like NYC, there is plenty of opportunity for agencies to be specialized, and you can find lots of examples of relatively "pure" editorial fashion, commercial fashion and commercial print (as well as other) agencies. In smaller markets there isn't as much business, and agencies tend to try to capture more than one specialized piece of it. They become "hybrid" agencies, mixing the attributes of fashion and commercial, and adopting the business practices of each of them. This is discussed some at the end of this article: http://www.newmodels.com/height.html OC Girl wrote: Yes, there really are such agencies - these are the "commercial print" specialized agencies that form the topic of this thread. In New York there are at least a dozen of them, perhaps as many as twice that. Again, in other, smaller market cities there is less specialization, so the pure "agency types" we often see discussed here are smudged together. Nobody outside the industry generally has heard of these agencies, and yet they form the backbone of non-fashion print modeling. They just don't get the high profile attention that the fashion agencies and fashion models do. Feb 12 07 05:27 pm Link I shoot "lifestyle" images all the time..... stuff like this: "at the salon" (shot in studio): "back to school" (shot in studio) "Tax Time" (shot in studio): "Spa Time" (shot in studio): Hope this helps all the models looking to create commercial lifestyle images.....Please note....the "salon" image and the "tax" image were both literally shot with the same furniture (office in the studio). A few bottles of shampoo in the one and a few "tax tables" in the other create the scene. EDIT: It can be said that with commercial modeling, the scene/location is absolutely critical. A lot of commercial lifestyle photography is done on location (or on sets designed to look "real"). However, lifestyle images can often be shot on white seamless so that the client can add their own background (or use white for web-usage). Feb 12 07 07:03 pm Link Great read! It really cleared things up for me... lord knows I definitely need more commercial shots. Feb 12 07 07:27 pm Link thank you. thank you. thank you. Feb 12 07 07:31 pm Link As a follow-up to my post above, and in addition to TX's fanstatic advice, for all models wishing to pursue commercial modeling a couple of things are really important...... 1) facial expressions: you need to be able to create the "expressions of life" (happy, sad, angry, frustrated, giddy, joy, curious, concerned, laughing, etc, etc). One of the few facial expressions that is NOT needed are those "sexy, bedroom eyes" that predominate the "glamour" genre. Many times I will ask the model to give me a "happy expression" and then immediately to give me a "frustrated expression"..... As a model you need to be able to change your facial expressions "on command"....... This is where the "acting" skills come in...... 2) Acting skills are extremely important. When shooting commercial lifestyle, know the THEME of the shoot and act the theme for each shot. Feb 12 07 07:36 pm Link TXPhotog wrote: Even though Atlanta is not a huge market for commercial print (NYC dominates), there are several highly reputable "commercial/lifestyle" agencies in town. These agencies exist in many markets. You just need to find them. Feb 12 07 07:43 pm Link TX- great and very useful thread! Feb 12 07 07:45 pm Link TX, you might want to point out that models are not nailed down to having one portfolio, thus blowing a brain-fuse trying to accommodate all kind of looks within one portfolio. It's perfectly okay to have more than one portfolio tailored to a specific end of the industry, commercial, fashion, runway, etc. Feb 12 07 08:47 pm Link TXPhotog wrote: Thank you. Feb 12 07 09:06 pm Link This is an great thread, very informative and actually made consider commercial print instead of the unfeasible (at least for me) fashion portfolio. I think I could pull off a lot of the young student look and have it going for a while. This totally opened my eyes and new doors for me, thanks a bunch!! Feb 12 07 09:39 pm Link Mayanlee wrote: Good point. I've said that in other threads, but this is a good one to repeat it in. Feb 12 07 10:39 pm Link Well, as many have already said, this is really going to help many people. Thanks for taking the time to create this thread. Feb 12 07 10:45 pm Link Mayanlee wrote: TXPhotog wrote: I think this was almost as helpful as the original post! (It seems that it ought to be obvious, but it's easy to overlook in the quest for diversity....) Feb 12 07 11:42 pm Link _dahlia wrote: Another good point to make here is that much of commercial lifestyle modeling involves models that are "Age Appropriate" for the "part".... Feb 13 07 05:03 am Link TX, you need to make your own like giant reference area for the site. That would be awesome and most informative Feb 13 07 05:08 am Link Mayanlee wrote: Yes, this is absolutely correct. Photographers all have different books... I shoot commercial lifestyle, fine art landscapes, some fine art still life, etc. What good would it do me to present one book in front of a client that showed all of this if the client only wanted to hire me for commercail lifestyle? Feb 13 07 05:11 am Link Thuy Anh wrote: I did. It's called www.newmodels.com Feb 13 07 07:24 am Link While I did not take the time to read every post here I just want to second the information concerning commercial portfolios for models. For most of you here, the glory & dreams are in fashion and glamor but to be honest, the money is in commercial print and video. While shooting sexy shots and nudes is certainly fun, for most of you, a portfolio of this work will only get you work shooting more sexy shots and nudes, mostly for free. What does it take to be a succesful commercial model? Good skin is a must. Weight and height are less of an issue but most important is the ability to emote, to act, to improvise, to work well with other talent, and to have a authentic looking smile. A good smile is much harder than you think. So, between the shots that get the blood flowing, shoot stuff that will had to the commercial viability of your portfolio. Last year my studio spent around 100K on models. The models ranged in age for 3-75 years old. Most of them were fully clothed. Sincerely, Zave Smith www.zavesmith.com Feb 13 07 07:41 am Link One more thing. For ideas, for poses for commercial print work take a look at the websites of the major stock photography agenices. www.corbis.com www.gettyimages.com www.jupiterimages.com Feb 13 07 08:01 am Link Although this is great advice, how many photographers out there on MM want to do commercial style test shoots? I don't believe there are many because as someone mentioned before, doing a commercial shoot takes a lot of time and energy to get the setting right. I've been to a commercial photography studio, and it's a lot more work than people may think. You would have to pay someone to do commercial shoots would you not? Feb 13 07 08:19 am Link I think if you as a model are serious about putting a card together to market yourself for commercial modeling, then it is well worth the money to pay a photographer for that shoot. One of the reasons why agencies often provide a list of recommend photographers for you to choose from is because they are familliar with their work and feel confident those photographers can provide images which will really be useful. These photographers are are skilled in choosing locations and setting up the shots that make sense for commercial modeling. IMHO, TFCD is good for generally broading a port, trying new and different things, just praticing and sometimes getting some good additional commercial shots for your port. CYC Feb 13 07 08:42 am Link |