Hints for a good photo shoot

• Make sure that your make up is PERFECT! Hire a stylist for your shoot unless you are very good with hair and makeup (and by this I mean you do this for a living). If your hair and make -up are not good- your photos won’t be good. If you hire a stylist (ladies) they will stay and change your hair and make-up as you change your outfit. This will give you a great diverse shoot. Make sure you discuss this with them when you get your price.
• Your main head shot is the MOST important shot so (for us) it must be a plain white background (let your photographer know this!) and you must be smiling with your teeth showing. (here is an example of a great photo of one of our models and she gets a lot of work. Nilde) This is the shot that will draw people into your web page. It must be a knock out! Focus on solid colors vs busy prints and steer clear of logos. These are all distractions. Avoid trends as well as these will “date” your photos.
• Bring and assortment of clothing- upscale casual, business etc. Bring and assortment for the photographer and you to brainstorm over. Don’t just bring a few things.
• DO NOT wear excessive amounts of jewelry or bejeweled clothing. The star of this shoot is YOU. Excessive accessories are a distraction and can also “date” your photos.
• There IS a difference between photographers who shoot weddings & senior portraits, and model portfolios. Agencies want lifestyle photos that look commercial and editorial (not like you are the manager of the month at Walmart) If you are unsure- ask your agency and they will review the photographer's site/work.

ALSO- try not to go crazy with your photos either. A picture of you with a flower pot on your head with bizzare make up is not going to help your career much. Sometimes TOO much diversity is a bad thing. Lately we have been seeing a lot of new photographers taking photos of models that look good in their portfolios but don't help the models. (and by help the models I mean: GET THE MODELS PAYING JOBS!) If you are helping a photographer out, that's great! It is a good way to get photos for free, but make sure you get photos you need out of it too. Ask the photographer if at some point during the shoot you can get your critical head shot, or business shot or whatever else it is that YOU need as well.

The bottom line is your professional photos are not just for your friends to OH and AH over on FACEBOOK. They are supposed to get you paid jobs.