I've just found my first model!

clairelily

clairelily

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claire
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Bit scary, she's a professional dancer looking to add some pics to her portfolio, any tips or ideas very welcome. I'm very excited :D
 
stay calm enough to do a good job, and have fun :P

id try asking her if she has anything specific in mind (make her happy with what she gets and it opens doors to future collaboration)
 
Well she is booking the dance studio so it's no loss really if she doesn't turn up.

I don't think that she has anything specific in mind, at least she hasn't said, I think she is leaving up to me :eek:

I will ask though
 
well good luck. You have all the softboxes and stuff you need for this kind of shoot?

As for tips and adivce, I've never photographed a dancer, I imagine VERY fast shutter speeds is a must to freeze the action.

You could try rear curtin sync where the camera shutter is open to catch some blur and then the flash freezes the subject. It can be hit and miss.

Just some general tips for photographing women is never photograph them with there body postioned looking straight at the camera as it makes them look large and broad. try and get catch lights in her eyes, always leave a small shadow under her nose and bottom of her lip, this adds depth to her face.

Hope that helps

Stuart
 
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I'm assuming that technically you already know what you are doing and how to use your camera and flash/studio lights?

The harder bit will be directing the model and coming up with poses. You want to avoid just standing there with no idea what to do with her! Check beforehand thetype of pics she wants for her portfolio - standard static stuff/dance poses/head shots or lots of movement etc (flash will freeze the movement, not shutter speed)

Make sure you make her relaxed and comfortable by talking to her all the time and provide positive feedback while she is posing. Even though she is a dancer and used to people watching it can still be a strange experience for people when having their photo taken in this sort of situation. try and make it a fun experience

Research some poses - search the Internet or magazines and take them with you. This works in two ways - you can show the model exactly what you want and you wont forget them!

Enjoy :)
 
As Ian says, the hardest part is directing, and the first time I did any form of professional shooting I was a complete wreck, but what I tend to do is sit down and ask them if there are any particular shots that they have done before that have come out well before, and see if we can revisit, there's also the advantage of trying things out and experimenting, and always have a few magazines on hand from the likes of FHM or Esquire or other catalogues to see if they happen to like certain styles.

Always give them room to breathe, joke around a little, make them comfortable and well yup there are certain poses that some people get into that are somewhat... revealing or provocative, so you just make a joke of it, also helps to have a friend there (not for them, for you!)
 
Thank you all so much for all your help!

I'm am actually totally amateur, I don't even have my own camera (I steal my partners but I may just invest in D5000 tonight).

She has seen some of my shots and is impressed enough to give it a go, I've been totally honest about my experience. My partner is also coming along so between the two of us we should get something decent (even if dancing is a first for both of us).

I'm going to give her a call and get a handle on exactly what she wants even if I do have some ideas of my own. I will definitely post some pics after the shoot.

We also have a family shoot on Sunday, they offered to pay but I said no as I don't have access to printing facilities just now so am just giving them electronic files although I have seen a printing section on here and was thinking to offer prints for a small fee.
 
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