Lately, I've seen a surge of photographers complaining that they just don't know where to begin when getting started with portraiture. Taking that first step can be a daunting feeling, especially considering that you need to convince someone to take a leap of faith and model for you, despite your complete lack of a portrait portfolio. Personally, I never had a problem finding eager models; it came quite easily for me, so I figured now is a good time to share that experience and maybe give some soon-to-be amazing portrait photographers a little extra help in jumping out of the nest.
Note: I'm going to be showing some of my early work in this post as examples of where I was in the beginning. My soul burns a bit looking at some of my older work now, but at the time, I was quite pleased with it.
Be Honest
Don't try to make the person you are requesting shoot with you think that you are more experienced than you are. Models aren't stupid; they can tell you are a novice, so be up front about it. Tell them that you are trying to learn. Tell the model that if they don't like the images, you will just delete the shoot. Make the model feel comfortable that they won't regret working with you.
Have Something to Show
One of the biggest challenges female models face is that there are a lot of people out there pretending to be photographers who are just looking for a girlfriend or a romp in the sack. Models want to avoid these people for obvious reasons. Even if you have never taken a photo of a person before, make sure you have some work to show to the model that speaks to your pursuit of photography. That work should show that you know how to use your camera. Below are some examples of images I showed to the first few models I worked with. Not great work by any stretch, but certainly enough to build credibility that I was a photographer.
Start With People You Know
My first portrait shoot was with a friend named Christine. She was, at the time, an acquaintance that I didn't know very well, but we had been social media buddies for a while, so there was enough familiarity for her to not think of me as a complete stranger. To this day, I'm grateful to her for taking a chance and trusting me. Here is one of those first images.
Do Your Best on That First Shoot
Is that image above anywhere near my best work? Certainly not! In fact, looking at it makes me cringe a bit at all the mistakes I made, but Christine loved it, and that is what mattered. If your first set of images is going to drive models away, you have a big problem. Invest as much time learning and studying up on technique before the shoot so you can confidently create images that are going to make other models willing to shoot with you.
Don't Be a Creep
I hope this goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway: Don't do anything that would make the model perceive you as a creep at anytime. Take a look at one of my older posts discussing how to avoid being a creep for some tips (though some of them naturally won't apply to you since you are brand new).
Be Professional
I know you aren't one, but there is nothing stopping you from acting like one. Don't sit on the images for six months; edit them and deliver them quickly. Don't pick the model up in a dirty, mess, car half-full of fast food trash; instead, clean it up first. Don't communicate in slang or Internet speak while planning the shoot; use full, complete sentences that are respectful. Tell the model exactly what to expect and then deliver on what you told them. There shouldn't be any surprises. Also, be clean and wear deodorant.
Conclusion
Most of all, just don't be afraid. Get out and get going. Being intimidated is one of the biggest barriers most people stick in front of themselves. Models don't bite; reach out, and start shooting. Even if most turn you down in the beginning, you will eventually find someone willing to take that chance on you. When they do, make sure they were glad that they did. If you can do that, finding models will get easier and easier until it becomes second nature. So, get out and do it!
You missed the best possible way to find a model: PAY MONEY!
It doesn't have to be a lot. I had a really hard time finding anyone to shoot with me when I started.
And then I offered $25. Problem solved.
Offering money also cuts down on cancellations.
Agreed. There just as many aspiring models looking to have a quality creative photo to add to their portfolio as there are guys running around with embarrassingly large camera kits.
The first time that I put out a call for a model ($100) and stylist ($50) I was getting emails for months asking if I was still looking.
A few things that I would add:
Be extra honest about your experience.
Give them a brief list of the types of shots that you are hoping to get.
Find someone that knows a bit about photography and recruit them as an assistant.
Even better, find another photographer that would be willing to split the cost and time.
*Don't restrict yourself to strictly female models.*
There are lots of models looking to get accepted into an agency. A portfolio of actual modeling sessions will go a long ways for them. A paying session with someone that also wants to be a professional can be hard to resist for our counterparts on the other side of the lens.
What's a large kit lens? All I can think of is the canon 18-135mm 3.5-5.6.
Beyond that first shoot, does anyone here recommend any model databases for connecting with professionals? Modelmayhem, etc??
Facebook groups
Instagram is also a good avenue, not sure what city you're in but there's probably lots of 'models,' of varying levels, posting lots of content, judge for yourself who's worth shooting :). I think Model Mayhem is decent as well.
not sure about social media around me, when compared to major cities and in general population. Nobody claims to be a model on facebook/instagram and is from x, y or z city from my general area. I find a ton of them hide the city they're based in too when I do stumble onto them on facebook groups and ALWAYS have to ask, and its 99% too far.
Nobody should expect that an investment of gear alone will make them an accomplished photographer. These tips are good, but the best way to rise above the 100,000+ new DSLR owner every year who want to shoot pretty people is to- Pay the Models Now. It is a far quicker and more reliable path to pay a few models to start your portfolio now rather than to beg and plead for months. Emerging photographers should stay focused on building their technical and artistic skills now through workshops, seminars, and paid model shoots rather than wasting time begging acquaintances or strangers to model for them when the results are probably not a good trade.
Great tips. Don't be a creep is probably the best. I see a lot of up and coming photographers who suffer from that and even more alarmingly a surprising amount of models who allow it.
One way to build a portfolio I recommend is to find good meetup groups. Not only do you often have quality models but you also get a chance to watch and learn from others. MUAH is already taken care of and in a good group they will have wardrobe and cool concepts taken care of. Frankly, its a way of creating a very good portfolio without knowing a lot. I wish I had known about them when I first got started.
There is a good photographer in our area that actually had plenty of money and paid agency models to come and shoot with him. Now they pay him sometimes.
When you say models you mean regular people to be a subject right? Not professional models right? In my area only freelance professional models around me are glamour, nothing wrong with that just I shoot fashion. Of course every fashion photographer will say move to NYC or another fashion capital, not going to happen for me in my plans for sometime. So I have no choice but to use regular people as my models, which isn't bad too, just it does impact the portfolio. Only option I have is to hire an NYC or Philly model to drive up to me 2-3 hours.
If I was starting out I think it is a bit easier if you had funds to find models willing to pose for you, with or without a portfolio sometimes too, depends on the freelance model. I did not have that luxury so I did take the friends route, sadly I did not have many so I did shoot sometimes with the same over and over when starting out. Which isn't a bad thing either just don't count on having the whole portfolio of just 1 model.
This article seems like it's as much about convincing someone to shoot with you as much as it's about finding models to work with before your portfolio exists. That being so, I'll try and add my amateur perspective on what both worked for me in the past and what currently seems to work on both accounts. Hopefully this will be of value to some other photographers out there...
In the past...
Before a lot of changes, FB was a good source of willing and quality models. With all the changes, I've slowly and naturally been weened off FB almost entirely. I do see the potential in FB if used correctly though, I'm first to admit that I'm not using it correctly (considering the changes in the last 4 years). So give it a try! Take the advice given here in the comments and the article itself about how to convince them.
Model Mayhem doesn't work so well for me in sourcing models... Give it a try though, absolutely. Personally, I find it cumbersome to use and a little out dated. Again, the comments and the article itself give plenty of tips how to convince people to shoot with you.
IG seems to be working for me so far in terms of finding potential models. Again, the way I'm using it could be drastically improved. But, it's more to the point than MM or FB and I've had much better success with it than either FB or MM, at least recently. Once you find someone, use the comments already mentioned here to convince them, and maybe even how to keep them as future subjects.
Talk to strangers. I'm not shy to ask strangers if they'd consider modeling for a shoot. Most recently I approached a woman while taking my son to the zoo. One model I frequently shoot, I met the same way; I just asked her straight out. Talk to people like grown ups, introduce yourself (and your kid if he's there), tell them what you're talking to them for, offer a means of contact, ask if they have questions and leave...
View who other photographers you admire are shooting. I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned anywhere in the article or comments yet. Sometimes it's not easy to do, but if you see an opportunity to do so, I would suggest to give it a try. The best example I have is a model that was in a pretty popular photographer's video in 2015. I learned from a friend who the model actually was, and I contacted her. As luck had it, she was gonna be close to my location a couple of months later. Just contacting her, I got an opportunity to shoot her! I paid her for the shoot, so I'd take this as an example of how dynamics, luck, logistics, initiative, and willingness to pay (as other commenters mentioned) can all come together. Again, to convince them follow the advice here, or just use common sense.
Currently...
The main way I source models currently is from past models (either directly or indirectly) and/or contacts. I can't stress enough what a powerful micro demographic this has been for me. The bottom line is sometimes it's just luck. No matter how you slice it, dice it, or briskly brew it, luck will play a factor in your quest for subjects to shoot. The best way to increase the odds of your luck is to increase the amount of initiative you are giving, whether it's FB, IG, MM, or attending Meetup's (as a comment indicated), putting forth that initiative is important.
Pretty much everything mentioned in the article (so far) and it's comments I've considered and/or attempted (and-then-some in some respects), so hopefully this comment can hit home and help out fellow photographers.
Good luck and have fun!