I haven't been on here for ages.  So, please accept my apologies.

I'm writing today because a photographer friend of mine had a shoot with a model last Wednesday & what he saw really shocked him.  It just looked like the poor model had been dragged through a fence backwards!  Or, she may not have just bothered to wash her hair on the day of the shoot.

You can make up your own mind:

He said it was the 27th shot on his camera.

Still, it reminds me of the time I worked with a model for the second time about three years ago.  On that occasion, she admitted she hadn't washed her hair that weekend.  Full stop.

If you have any horror srories about hair, then please get in touch.

Models who are also photographers...

Yes, there are models out there who are also on the other side of the camera.  And, most of them are better than me.  I will not dispute that.  My ADD just makes concentrating on post-shoot work very tiresome.

But, I sometimes think these models fail miserably when it comes to communication.  Here is why:

I had a shoot with a model aged 21 last June (2013).  On her profile it states that she is a photographer also.  Well, it was mentioned on her profile that her hair was pink with blonde highlights & her chosen hair colour on her profile options was 'Other'.  Our shoot had been booked approx. six weeks in advance.  We're exchanging PMs on MM every few weeks checking that we're still both on for the shoot.  Anyway, when I arrive she has black hair!  No mention of it in PMs, or on her profile.  Nothing.  She confirmed that it was a DIY job as you could clearly see her previous highlights under the dye.  Her reasoning was that she kept her profile notes as 'Other' as she changes her hair colour every few months.  It wasn't a great shoot & I should have never stayed.  Also, she did the 'Professional ' model excuse of "My ID is at home.  We can get it if you want.  I only live ten minutes away...

She mentioned during the shoot that she had booked Joel Hicks but had sent him packing on arrival as she claimed that he hadn't told her that he did not pose full-frontal.  I have worked with Joel & he is a fantastic model.  Perhaps, a bit too 'Burnt' for me as I prefer my models to have only a very light tan.  Whether or not she was 'Bigging' herself up with that story, I just could not help but not believe it.  The level of nudity should/must be one of the first topics discussed when arranging a shoot.

The second model (19) didn't even turn up for our first studio shoot.  She called the studio & they e-mailed me.  We rescheduled for a three weeks later.  In her profile she is fully shaved.  When she arrives, she has a full, but trimmed bush!  Not what I was expecting.  The erotic nude side of the shoot was kind of lame - she only seems to do it when she gets the images to put up on her modelling profiles on TF deals.  Not for paid work.  :(

The third model (26) was telling me when I was setting up that she had a planned TF shoot with another model as a photographer.  And, another one there...  Anyway, it was an adult shoot & I had enquired as to whether she was fully shaved front & back when I booked her.  She said she was.  Well, the front was shaved but the hairy bum was right there.  Eww!!!  Perhaps I should have brought along some hair removal cream?

I did work with Madame Bink a few years ago, and I believe that she is a photographer, too?  She was cool with the shoot ideas & worked quickly, but just seemed to disappear for ages when changing because she needed to have a rollie every 30 minutes.  ;)

So, if the model's profile mentions anything about them being a model/photographer on their profile.  Well, I'm just going to avoid them like the plague.  They may wish to appeal to photographers as being in the unique position of being able to understand both sides of the camera.  But I feel my examples prove the opposite.  They just take the booking, and payment, from the photographer & you get what they give.  Plain and simple.  You're STUFFED!

I was reading this locked thread on Purestorm:
http://www.purestorm.com/forum/readThread.aspx?id=273348

I have had contact with the model involved & she's not a really nice person when contacting her via e-mail.  I had enquired about full-frontal nudes & she sent a very condescending reply stating that she did pose to art nude, but with nothing on show.  Her personality came over as quite neurotic.

For everyone out there, a nude model with no lady garden on show is posing to classical nude level.  Or, implied nude if you're a thicky!  :)

Going back to the above thread, you can wonder why she may be checking the images on the back of the camera on a regular basis.  An edgy shoot, as stated by the OP, with a classical nude model would make me do so too.

Wishing to be paid twice with both images & cash.  Well, there are plenty of guys out there doing just that.  IMHO, they shouldn't be doing that.  It means that the model, just as in this case, expects it as part of a shoot.  I looked at AW for models & one particular model stood out.  You could just shoot her for an hour with no touching, but she stated that she also required all images so that she could put them on her website.  WTF!  At least she was honest.  And you would be paying escort rates (£80+/hour).

What the hell just happened..?

I contacted a model via MM with regard to a studio day that she has advertised on PP.

I quote myself:
"I shoot a particular style as per my profile.  I do not shoot models with their thighs clamped shut.  Instead, I ask the model to keep their feet apart, use their hips & work harder!  LOL.  I'm not looking for explicit material."

She replied :
 " If your on pp could you please message me from there as its easier to keep people together pluss the photographers I message on mm is normally comercial work so, it will be confusing.  And I would like to see you pp acount for references etc.
Yes there is one slot available the info should be on one of my castings.  But send me a message through pp. And we can go through there.

Also with out sounding rude, as its obvious through my portfolio that I do poses freely I dont think theres a need to demand the type of poseing you have asked for. Especially as my portfolio shows the style you look for. Your portfolio actually shows many girls with there thighs clamped closed so it sounds like your begining some Dom relationship."

I've replied wishing her well with filling the slot:
" Yes, I have two images in a folder entitled 'Not really my thing but it works'.  I try to make thing self-explanatory so I'll say no more on those two images."

I was not demanding a specific style.  A question, when asked, should be assumed as a request.  A REQUEST.

So, I'm guessing that I've had a lucky escape with this one.  A model who would get confused using MM!?!  And one, whom I assume would just pose her way, or the highway!  LOL.  Or not to book her at all.  I know!  I'll book someone else who is not UOA!

There are plenty of models who actually read the mail & can actually collaborate with the photographer, within their comfort zones, of course.  Those are the models I want to work with.

BTW, does anyone know what she means by a dom relationship?

Sometimes you wish you never bothered...

Driving almost 90 miles on the motorway in the pouring rain, to arrive at a location where two models are staying with a professional photographer.

You're planning to shoot with each model individually for one hour each.  That's it.  It couldn't be simpler.  Well, you're bloody wrong.

Firstly, you arrive about ten minutes early with the intention of setting up.  Instead, you're invited to have a jafa cake & waste your set-up time doing nothing.

And, then when you've already been communicating with the second model about shooting in a bedroom & instead you find yourself shooting a model wearing bra & knickers on a figure nude shoot with bird shit sprayed over the window!  OK, this was done with natural light & because the only lens that I had that could get that low was my 85mm f1.8 I was shooting from the other side of the room.  It was an experience I would like to repeat (Not with the same model), and with better planning.

You turn up expecting to shoot two models & the only available lighting was an Elinchrom Solar Lite which couldn't get any higher that about f2.0.  This was not what I was expecting.  Two flash units would have been pretty nice to use.

It was advertised as tasteful erotic nude poses.  Now, I was not after any explicit erotic nudes but for Pete's sake, please put some effort into it!  In the end, I just ended up with the same ol' crossed-legged crap you get from the knee nazis who espouse 'I'm an art nude model'!

The second model was getting ready whilst I was shooting the first model & I still lost a quarter of my shooting time because she wasn't ready.  I asked the second model to tweak her nipples & I get told that if she'd have known earlier, she would have opened the window to let a breeze in so that her nipples would get cold!  Huh?  What on earth does that mean?  I told her I wasn't interested in shooting her tweaking her nipples, just that pert nipples look better than lazy nipples.  Ah, well, who gives a crap.  She obviously doesn't.

The first model who was living at the house hasn't improved since our last shoot & has the demeanor of the management trainees we regularly have at our company.  Failed 2-2 graduates (If they get that far!)  LOL.  I just hate people who walk over other people.  UOA (Up their Own Arse) is what another model told me.

So, six hours of my life, 3 1/2 of them on the motorway just to shoot some unimaginative models  going through the motions!  :(

I'm expecting one of them to appear on wearehairy.com some time in the near future.  That would be amusing...  It would make up for the way I was treated today.

It was very poorly organised by Sarah.  Who stated "I've lived here since September, but Iain has lived here for over a year..."  Isn't that just like saying you you pay rent to stay there & to have use of the facilities?  Just one thing to say to that.  UOA!