Fashion and beauty photographer Marissa Alden has put together a great list of tips in this article over at Fstoppers.
She explains how you can arrange a photoshoot without a professional team working for you behind the scenes. These tips are very helpful for anyone planning on starting a business in fashion, and this is also a great way to build your portfolio without spending a lot of money to on models, makeup and styling.
Looking for models
- Ask friends and family
- Model Mayhem or local modeling groups
- Self-portraits
Look for makeup artists and hair stylists
- Join local creative groups on Facebook
- Post open calls on Instagram
- Send creatives a friendly email or comment with your details
Wardrobe
- Do it yourself: Use your own clothing, ask the model to bring along their own styling, purchase cheap clothing from secondhand shops
- Join local creative groups on Facebook
Working Without a Professional Makeup Artist or Hair Stylist
This is one aspect I found difficult to begin with. I had never been into makeup and I struggled with doing the makeup myself. I quickly realized that I needed to work with someone more experienced, but I found it hard to find makeup artists at the same level as I was in my area. The best tip I discovered when working without a makeup artist is to ask the model to do the makeup themselves. Keep it simple. When I first started, I would show the model inspiration for an amazing and complicated makeup look I had seen online and then get disappointed when the outcome wasn’t the same as I had envisioned. Unless the model is particularly talented at makeup, try and keep the look as natural as possible. The same goes for hair.
Finding a Model
First try looking around you. Do you have any siblings, cousins, friends, or acquaintances that could potentially model for you? When I started out, my first models were my sister and my neighbor. Neither of them had any modeling experience, but I could shoot with them as often as I wanted, so they quickly became comfortable in front of the camera. Working with models with no experience is a great way to learn how to direct models and communicate your ideas to them.
Self-portraits are another great option if you can’t find a model, or decide to shoot last minute. Photographing yourself can also help you gain a better understanding of how a model moves, which will be helpful when directing models in the future.
Be Your Own Stylist
Secondhand shops and clothing sales were my best friend when I didn’t have access to professional styling; I still source my own clothing and keep a styling rack for test shoots and in case of emergencies on set.
If you don’t have any budget or can’t find what you are looking for, try asking the model to bring along her or his own clothing items. An advantage of doing this is that you already know the clothing will fit the model, and you might have access to pieces that you wouldn’t usually use.
Read the full article with even more tips over at Fstoppers.
Source: Fstoppers
