The Math Of A Model Shoot

When I shoot with models, it's almost always for fun. It's to try something new, to push myself creatively, to try to do something that I haven't done before. It's to collaborate with someone else and see what we can create. It's to spend a few hours indulging in taking photos of someone who loves to be in front of the camera, for no other reason than because it's what we both love to do.

As with any photo shoot, though, we still want to come away with good photos. This takes a connection between the model and myself. Some might call it a level of comfort, some might call it chemistry... all I know is that if we connect during a shoot, the results can be surprising. Heck, sometimes we click before we ever meet. I often know if I'm really going to get along with someone by the messages we send back and forth while setting up a shoot.

I was just thinking about how everything adds up with a model shoot. I always shoot TF, which means "Time For". This used to be TFP, or "Time For Print", but now instead of prints, it's just a CD of images. Essentially, we're trading services, which is a nice way to say we're both doing it for free.

So if no money is changing hands, it must be pretty simple, right? Just show up and shoot? Not exactly. To start, we probably spend an hour over the course of a week messaging each other to set everything up. We decide on a look and feel for the shoot, even a theme if we can. It takes time to find images to use as inspiration and even more time to figure out how to light the set. Then there's the set, which requires decorating, which requires props that may or may not need purchasing.

Once it's time for the shoot, there's setting up the set and the lighting, then shooting, then tearing down the set and cleaning the studio. Then it's time to upload the photos, select which photos to process and finally, the actual photo processing and retouching. I let the model know the photos are ready, upload them and, if everything looks good, burn them to a CD and drop it in the mail.

When all is said and done, this free shoot has taken anywhere from 6-10 hours, cost between $25-$75 (for props and studio time) and hasn't really given me anything that I can use in my portrait portfolio. What did I receive in return? Let's see... I got to have a great time with a beautiful person. I got to indulge in taking photos for a few hours. I got to try something new that I wouldn't have tried with a paying client. Most importantly, I got some great images.

Not to sound too negative, but it's not that hard to get a great image of a model. As a photographer, if you know what you're doing, just taking photos of beautiful people will get you some great images. Out of the 50 great images I might get from a model shoot, maybe 10 of those will be very good images. Out of those 10, maybe 3 are something new that I'd consider adding to my portfolio. If I'm really lucky and we really connected during the shoot, one of those 3 photos might just be something special, a captured moment that can't be re-created, a photo that happened on it's own, not because we tried to make it happen.

It's this one photo that I'm always trying to capture. It's this one photo that, when I see it, my breath catches. It's this one photo that makes it all worth while. Regardless of the time, or the cost, or the flakes or the flops, it's this one photo that keeps me coming back for more.