A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a body painting shoot. I enjoy attending different types of Meetups, because it gives me the opportunity to get out and meet new people and learn different skills. For this event, I attended the Glamour Photographers International Group. Normally, I don’t attend since it takes a couple of hours drive, the models were a no show in the past, and I have to make sure I have my passport in the car, before driving down so close to the border.
Since this was my first official shoot with this group, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I always arrive early, which is a bad habit of mine. So when I arrived, I was told that the painting process wasn’t quite complete. As I waited, others did show up and we began to share war stories. This particular shoot was in a garage, which wasn’t a complete bad thing, except for the fact that it was about 100 degrees out, with no breeze and we photographers were tripping over ourselves, due to a lack of space. Here are a few other tips I’d like to share, from this shoot:
Take a moment to have your models sign his or her release forms.
Be prepared: Make sure you are ready to shoot, as soon as you walk on set. Aka be prepared.
If sharing the same type and frequency, take turns. Nothing is more embarrassing the. Looking back and seeing blank shots due to a lack of flash.
Try and have the model keep the background, as clean as possible. This will save you hours in Photoshop.
Deliver what you promise. What does this mean, if you promise your model digital copies by a certain date, deliver. If you promise prints, then as Nike says, “Do it!”
Make sure your model drinks lots of fluids and takes breaks.
After the shoot, be sure to tip your waitress, I mean model. They worked hard and if he or she did a good job, show them.
All in all, it was a good shoot. The group was good and the model was perfect. I got lots of usable shots, after a few hours with Photoshop.
I hope I have not bored you too much. I had a lot of fun writing this one like all of my blogs. I trust I have given you some valuable tips to think about, before planning your next shoot. It’s not all bad, just be clear and informative, it will save you a lot of headaches. Remember nothing is set in stone and there is not a perfect formula, so go out and have some fun.
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