Taking it to the limit?

It is one thing that in modeling you hear very often. You hear about limits being pushed. You hear about condescending, suggestive, and interesting comments being made during a shoot. This is one avenue that I find gets pushed as the shoot progresses.

A photographer might say “Let’s try this.” In some cases it is very innocent and it is something that maybe a new photographer might want to try. There has to be pre-planning to any photo shoot. How else will you know what to bring to wear? How will you know how to do your makeup or hair? Rolling with the punches at a shoot, I have found in some cases just wastes time. The more time that is wasted then the more time that the model has to get tired. Even if a model is shooting all day, if the model is not resting or getting the looks refreshed…Then the images show it in the long run. Then the complaints from the photographer about having to do so much editing come in.

The other issue that always needs to be addressed but sometimes is not talked about is where are the images going? If it is a paid shoot, there should be a models release and a contract. Even if it is TFP, there needs to be some parameters on the usage.

Limits are there to protect each other. You never want to hear about a model who has been pushed to her limit and then had to quit modeling from that experience. It happens too often. If a photographer wants to try something that is past your current comfort zone, talk with that photographer and ask about how you can schedule a shoot for that theme. Easing into it and not rushing into it possibly will assist in the outcome of the images. Again communication is key.