Jason Christopher, LA Commercial & Fashion Photographer Bio

When a fashion model calls me asking to shoot for her model portfolio what does that involve ?  I get this question often and I love to answer my fellow photographer comrades.

ASK QUESTIONS – GAIN INSIGHT – GIVE ANSWERS

The first thing I ask the model is if she is new and has no photos at all or is she a working model and just needs to update her portfolio.  If she tells me that she is  just starting out, doesn’t  have an agency yet and needs to start a portfolio, then I ask her how tall she is, what color hair , measurements etc.   That will lead to her emailing me a couple of snapshots of herself so I can get an idea of what type of modeling she should get into.  If she is 5′ 6″ – 5′ 7″ then I know she is not going in to high fashion.  If she has a beautiful body and great hair and is physically fit then what I would do is:

1. Shoot a beauty shot that emphasizes her beautiful hair and skin.

2. Shoot her in a swimsuit. It can be in studio or on a beach or even the desert.

3. Have her bring a running outfit or a tennis outfit.  Maybe she does yoga.  A fitness shot is important.

4. Shoot  a commercial fashion / Hollister/ Abercrombie type shot.  Commercial fashion is big in Los Angeles and actually it’s big everywhere.  You can’t go wrong with this look.

5. Lingerie is popular and pays good money for a model.   If she doesn’t want to do lingerie then I would change it to something in the look of a catalog “Gap” looking shot.  So that is five different shots.  I shoot in studio and outdoors at a couple different locations that suit the shot.

This is a nice variety of images that show the model in enough situations for the agent to get an idea of where the agency can place her and which castings to send out on.

Now some might not have a home studio and can only shoot outdoors.  That’s ok.  I just shoot both because I have a home studio.  The more variety you can offer the better.  I know what agencies want to see because I have been doing this so long and have seen hundreds and hundreds of model portfolios.

MAKE UP ARTIST

I ALWAYS include a make up/ hair artist and keep the make up simple, not over the top.  Remember that the model is a product to the agency and the agency is selling the product.   When I hold a casting I wanna see what the model looks like and I don’t want to see photos that the photographer has retouched so much that she looks fake.  Do not over do the retouching guys.  Save that for your advertising clients and editorials.

PRINT SIZE

The standard print size for a model portfolio is 9″x12″  Some agencies do use smaller books but the majority use 9″ x 12″ prints.

CLOTHING

As far as clothing is concerned I have the girl bring her own clothes.  I email her examples of the look we will be going for so she can plan.  Always have her bring twice the amount of outfits.  So five looks she should bring ten outfits.  That way I have choices and I can mix and match if need be.

LIGHTING

You DON’T  want to use flat boring lighting, but you also don’t want to light too dramatically either.  Remember as you are going through the day that she is going to try to get an agent and the agent wants to see what she looks like.

Now I want to remind you that this photo HAS NOT been retouched yet and the model did have slight acne, but with the combination of a great make up artist and soft beauty lighting, this image will only need slight retouching.  I can’t stress enough how important it is to light your work so it doesn’t have to go through hours of retouching.  It only creates a bigger budget for the client no matter how small or large the client is.

To sum up, when you get the call to shoot a model portfolio you want to:

1. Ask questions – gain insight – give answers

2. Shoot five different looks.

3. Shoot in studio (if you can) and shoot on location

4. Include a make up/ hair artist

5. Use clean flattering lighting.

Talk to your model during the whole shoot.  Direct the model especially if she is new and never shot before.  You need to help her feel confident and sexy.  You are the one person she is counting on to make her shots great and that those shots get her an agent !

Now get out there and shoot shoot shoot !  Ask me anything you would like and share with everyone ! 

A photographer friend of mine recently came to me very frustrated.  He is very good at shooting lifestyle, commercial, weddings and let’s call it commercial fashion.  On his website he had all these sections up.  He asked for my advice and opinion on what I thought.  I told him to narrow down to two – three categories of photography that you really love.  Don’t think about how much they pay, or how much they don’t pay, just shoot what you love.

I told him this is something we all go through in the beginning of our careers.  He was concerned and insecure because he doesn’t know what he loves the most.  Eventually I told him you will know what you love the most.  It took me three years to finally know in my heart that I love shooting fashion and beauty.  But not just fashion and beauty, fashion and beauty advertising.  It all works out.  When we first start shooting, we literally have to get to know ourselves again, but this time we have to get to know ourselves as a creative.  We go through growing pains, emotional let downs, the highs and the lows.  Trust me, every single photographer out there who is working has gone through this process.  It’s a friggin roller coaster and you know what ?  It sucks !  It really does.  I mean come on, can you really say in your heart that you loved your teen years as a kid ?  Hell no ! But eventually we grow up, well MOST of us do lol.  And we find our way.  The path opens up right before our inner eyes and heart.  Sometimes it takes a road trip all by yourself and just shoot.  Shoot whatever you think is cool, beautiful, weird or whatever !  Just shoot !  Take at least three days and just drive.  No destination in mind, no preconceived notions.  Just drive and stop when you want to and shoot.  If it’s a stupid cactus or a stupid wood fence and you think they look cool, shoot them !  Take your digital camera but also take a film camera.  Yes that’s right a film camera.  It’s time to grow up !  I can guarantee that when you return from your little trip, you will feel totally different.  Will you have found yourself ? I don’t know.  But if you don’t, take another road trip.

The voyage of self discovery is something that every creative goes through and listen to this, you will go through ANOTHER voyage of self discovery again in your career and probably another time too !  That’s ok though.  As creatives we don’t ever want to get stuck in a rut.  We feel stale and useless.  I will mention my very good close friend and celebrity fashion photographer Jerry Avenaim who coined the phrase voyage of self discovery.  He had his own voyage of self discovery early in his photography career.   To this day he still goes through discoveries here and there.  I do, my other colleagues do, actors do, you name it.  If you are a creative you will always continue to develop.

The reason I am talking about this is that as photographers you MUST shoot what you love.  If through your own voyage of self discovery you find that you have changed, then go with it.  Never forget this though; clients will hire you because they love your style.  It could be your lighting style, the way you pose your models, the emotion you evoke from your models or it could be that they don’t even know.  All they do know is that when they look at your portfolio, it grabs them and never lets go !  And that is the photographer they want to shoot their next campaign, look book, catalog or whatever.  Your passion for what you shoot does show in the photo.  The photo that you produce is in some way an extension of you !  Yes !  It’s true !

So as I leave you with these words of wisdom, don’t make growing up complicated.  Trust your own gut.  I will be 41 Dec. 6th and I can tell you that my guy has NEVER ONCE been wrong, NEVER !

I want to know your thoughts on this.  I want to hear all your voyages of self discovery.

This photo by the way was one of my first photos I ever shot with a real model.  It isn’t really fashion but it is by far the most popular photo I have ever taken.  It is a photo that gets me very much work because you FEEL when you look at it !

Beautiful Ballerina