Editing Differences between American Fashion Models and European Fashion Models.
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While a number of photographers had a comment on the topic, I choose to focus on the opinions made by a skilled photographer with over 20 years in the community. His responses were very insightful and helpful, to say the least. Whether they are true or not is of course unknown, and your experience may vary greatly. Photographer Interview: Me: How long have you been in the fashion model sector? Photographer: I started about 20 years ago shooting for a small online supplier that worked with stock imagery. Mostly I worked with self-employed models and developed the content that the corporation would later sell along with the photograph license. After about 2 years I branched out on my own and began to work in the fashion industry. My job was 100% in the USA for the first few years and I worked well with models ranging from formal evening wear, designer outfits, to Playboy style artistic work and entertainment magazines such as Maxim. I treated the job as a professional and always worked well with top rated level models. Me: So when did you start flying abroad to work with models and what significant difference did you notice? Photographer: My first trip to Europe was about 6 years ago. I started out working in Prague. The desire for this built up gradually over time. Primarily I was having more and more trouble finding suitable American models. Not because of their 'look', but because the way of life was changing so fast in regards to online modeling and self-employed photographers. For example I would typically be required to spend for the model's boyfriend to attend the photo-shoot to ensure that nothing 'funny' was going on. Or to pay for a bodyguard/chaperon to be present at the shoot and at the time of the interview. Now I fully understand the need for protection, but I am a experienced photographer with a huge stock portfolio and years of expertise. Also the models I worked with frequently came from agencies and talent scouts, not Craigslist. So over time it became very uneasy to work with American models. I even began to feel 'sleazy', as if what I was doing was in some manner shady. This experience was not from the material I produced, but from the model's actions toward me. On top of that to this the amount started to go way up while the quality started to drop drastically. My very first photo-shoot in Prague was an astounding working experience. I contracted the casting call through an agency. Upon arrival I found out that there were over 100 applicants, some from as far away as Brno (a two hour drive). My common pay-rate was more the double the ordinary pay-rate that models normally obtain from local photographers. The models treated me with excellent regard and openness, which was a huge distinction from the paranoid US models. I traveled with a small-scale team consisting of a make-up artist and crew. We booked a large residence that we designed into a studio room for the photo-shoot. The dwelling was over 5000 square feet and might have cost 1000s in the states. However we were able to organise the stay for $1200 (which included Two weeks). The models also came well prepared. What I mean by this is the models really knew how to pose and what pattern of imagery I was seeking. Before the photo-shoot we have a casting and I display the image designs and critique the particular type of work I am looking for. I do this in America as well but despite my prep work the models constantly show up having no clue and I essentially have to spend around 20-30 minutes critiquing the posing styles and overall feel I am trying to reach from the photos. I was cheerily thrilled to see that all of the European models practiced before to arriving at the shoot. Me: Does this mean you will not work with American models any more? Photographer: Well I believe it may seem is if I am coming down to hard on US models and I don't mean for that to be the case. I have previously worked with some astonishingly experienced American models. However the feeling lately in respect to American models appears inexperienced. I have experienced total photo-shoots completely wrecked because the model was not completely ready or simply changed her mind mid-shoot. So for the time being I do think I will adhere to European models. [http://www.mymodelplace.com fashion modeling]
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