Posted by Roger on March 17, 2005 at 17:55:15:
In Reply to: Re: No telling posted by Natalia on March 13, 2005 at 15:20:29:
Location: NYC
Each agency will have its own style of picture, and it's helpful to look at some cards of people the agency represents before you have your own done. But here are some general guidelines that should apply to most commercial print or small market agencies:
1. The portfolio needs to be predominantly color pictures. The most important purpose of the portfolio is to show what you look like. Clients care about coloration; you need to show it to them. If you have an excellent B&W there is no reason not to include it, but the bulk of the pictures should be in color.
2. Get a great headshot. Not a good one, an absolutely great one. That is the single most important shot in getting you accepted or hired, and it isn't unreasonable to spend half your time and resources on it. It should be in color, clear, evenly lit, with a friendly, accessible expression on your face, perhaps a smile.
3. Backgrounds, props and poses need to be chosen to lend a sense of believability to the shot. There is nothing wrong with a picture or two taken against a seamless sheet of paper, but some of the pictures (ideally most of them) should look more like location settings - even if done in the studio.
4. Never, ever shoot with a photographer who wants to use a cloth background. Muslin or sheets, painted or not, simply look cheesy and are very rarely ever seen in a commercial book or comp.
5. Pay for a good makeup artist. Unless you are a graduate of cosmetology school with a specialization in makeup, don't do your own. Even then it is a bad idea. If the photographer doesn't provide a makeup artist, don't shoot. Simple and important as that.
6. The most common mistake is the following: The first picture is of Jill wearing an outfit. The second picture is Jill wearing the same outfit in the same setting, but posed differently. The third picture is of Jill in the same outfit in a slightly different location, posed differently. The fourth picture . . . (well, you get the point).
7. The second most common mistake is: The first picture is of Jill wearing an outfit. The second picture is Jill wearing a different in the same setting, but posed differently. The third picture is of Jill in another outfit in a slightly different location, posed differently. The fourth picture . . . (again, you get the point). Or maybe you don't get the point. Your pictures should show you looking like pretty much anything BUT a model, so get shots that show you doing something other than being a model. "Fashion" is about models, commercial print isn't. Commercial "Models" are hired to represent "real people only better", and if your entire book or card is you looking like a model, you have failed. The purpose of the pictures should be to show a role being played by Jill, not Jill displaying "another look". Simply changing clothes misses the point of an effective portfolio or comp card. You need to sell yourself as a variety of "types", not simply for the ability to wear more than one outfit. The first impression a viewer should have of the picture is that it is of a business woman, firefighter, young mom, soccer player (or whatever role you are playing in the shot). Only secondarily should they notice that it is a “picture of Jill.”
8. Get pictures that look like the kind of work you want to do. If you aren't a fashion model, don't get "fashiony" pictures. Wild makeup, strange angles, weird lighting . . . all that stuff is pretty and fun to do, but useless in a commercial print book.
9. Get pictures that show what you have to sell. If you have great legs, make sure at least one picture shows them effectively. If it's your eyes, the same.
10. One of the most effective shots that can be in a commercial model’s book or card is an “interaction” shot. That’s a picture that shows you with another person, who may portray a mother, husband, child, co-worker or any other kind of personal relationship that you might see in advertising. You can even usean animal or an inanimate object to interact with: a computer screen, for instance. What the shot must show is your ability to portray the emotions and relationship that go with that person or thing – your acting ability. The worst kind of “interaction” shot is one that shows two people simply mugging for the camera. An opportunity wasted.
11. Cheesy glamour (which means glamour pictures shot by almost anyone but a commercial photographer) is not acceptable. For models who are appropriate to the glamour end of the commercial market an excellent glamour shot with good production values can be an asset to a card, but you may find that you want to produce a separate card for that purpose.