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Photographers need to realize!!
Ok so I get this email tonight saying that a photographer gets his best work from tall thin models. Understood, but my perspective is a lot of photographers do not know how to make us petite models look tall. I have had many photographers make me look shorter then what I am, and with that said I have had some awesome ones that were wiiling to get down on the ground and make me look tall. No offense to models who are thin or tall. I just think people need to realize how versatile a model can be!! As far as weight goes I do photographery as well I have shot some of those twigs, and I hate the fact they have no curves!! What is your opinion on this as photograper or model?? Aug 22 06 10:07 pm Link If it takes extra knowledge/effort to make a short model look tall, many photographers will just take the easier route and use tall models. It also has to do with clothing designers and their sample sizes. As for curves vs twig, it depends on the genre. Glamour or fashion. Art can go in various directions, of course. Aug 22 06 10:11 pm Link Photographers job is to take what is at hand and make the best image possible. Does it have to be a tall thin leggy thing to make a good image? Not if they know what they are doing. Not if they care what they are doing. Use the light, use the angle, use what is at hand. Bob Aug 22 06 10:12 pm Link Everyone with a camera isn't a photographer, and every photographer isn't a good one, it's up to you/models to select good photographers that can flatter you and your body type, be it thin, thick, short, tall. as well, every model doesn't fit every photographers range, again, that's where a model needs to take responsibility for who's camera she's in front of. A bad image can cost you work...$$ Aug 22 06 10:12 pm Link Aug 22 06 10:13 pm Link e-string wrote: first off I'm not referring to clothing model as you can see I do artistic nudes. We all know runway fashion you have to be tall. I'm talking about projects to where height don't matter. Aug 22 06 10:13 pm Link e-string wrote: first off I'm not referring to clothing model as you can see I do artistic nudes. We all know runway fashion you have to be tall. I'm talking about projects to where height don't matter. Aug 22 06 10:14 pm Link I have to totally agree with Bob adding only that the real trick is to find the balance between making someone look taller or thinner without overdoing it and getting an un-natural look. Aug 22 06 10:14 pm Link I just got done answering the same question that someone asked me via private e-mail. Here's a copy of my reply: To tell you the truth, almost every model and photographer on internet forums has the common misconception that a model must be tall and slender to be successful. In reality, those people are generally very wrong. To say that a person can't be a model because they're too this or too that is the same as saying that an actor must be tall and slender to be successful. Just like actors, models are needed in practically all shapes, sizes, and ages. One of the most successful models that I know is not only VERY short (about 5'0" or less), but she's also lucky if she can fit into an 'A' cup, and she's now in her 40's. Much of her success comes from using her mind. She's an excellent public speaker, and can act like she's an expert on practically any product or service that she's promoting. Her petite stature is an boom to her success. Smaller people are OFTEN used in major advertisements, because they make the product they're promoting look larger! Small models are OFTEN used in ads for airlines, furniture, hotels, restaurants, and car companies. Aug 22 06 10:15 pm Link My only opinion on the weight issue is that I think girls who have curves are desired more. It's about angles on how a model to look tall, and first off you never shoot a model from above that makes her look shorter with chubby thighs. Aug 22 06 10:17 pm Link Darkdesire wrote: I didn't look at your portfolio. Aug 22 06 10:17 pm Link That's an age old question. The answer is.... we don't make the rules. Some will say there are no rules. This is simply not true in the fashion world. Some of the MOST beautiful women I have shot were short... very short. Will they get work? None to speak of. They may land a few small jobs here and there, but to have a career, it just won't happen,(if we are talking fashion). The models have to fit the clothing, not the clothing to the model. The designers send one size called a sample size. Guess what size the clothing is. Made to fit, roughly, a woman that is 5'8" to 5'11", size 2 to 4. This is an industry standard. So, no matter how low to the ground we get, to make you appear taller, we still have to hire the industry standard model. Aug 22 06 10:18 pm Link SayCheeZ! wrote: You make an excellent point, and I think you realize what I am meaning. I mean if you have work with short models you would understand. Yes its a models responsibility to chose who camera we will be in front of, but shouldn't a photographer do the same much less not pose us in postions that us models know won't look good on us? Aug 22 06 10:19 pm Link Treagen Kier wrote: BINGO!!!!! Aug 22 06 10:19 pm Link Shawn Ray wrote: Your rigth I won't argue there, but as far as fashion no I knowI can't do that! Aug 22 06 10:21 pm Link Darkdesire wrote: I understand what you are trying to say, but you are 4'11". It will be a bit harder than you think to make you look tall. We might be able to make you a bit taller. Aug 22 06 10:21 pm Link U're absolutely right! Some photographers won't/can't invest in the proper lens' for their work.....most, I would suspect use wide to normal type lens'. Two key important elements in shooting models in a fashion type scense is: 1.) Height Perspective.....if a model is 6 foot tall, an ideal height for the camera to be is 3 ft off the ground. If is model is 5 foot tall, then approx 2 to 2 1/2 off the ground. 2.) Lens Perspective.....if shooting 35mm based camera, the nomal lens is 50mm. I suggest to double this length and get a 100mm lens. Most people enjoy that "Famous" 85mm.....same difference. And if you're outdoors, then double that, so go with a 200mm. As I said, this is based on Fashion Print or Casual Lifestyle. There will always be the exception to the norm.....such as when Art comes into play. -Mark Aug 22 06 10:22 pm Link Shawn Ray wrote: Your are right, and wrong! Some of my photographers don't work hard at all to make me look taller, but I'm talking about making me look 5'9 or anything like that. Yes I am 4'11 I have no shame in it I'm proud of it. I find it to be an advantage and disadvantage. Aug 22 06 10:24 pm Link about 23 years ago i took my first full legth baithing suit shot in a studio and i was standing up after i saw the results and got my ass kicked by my mentor at the time I never had the camera above pupik level (belly button level) I have shot many 5 ft nothing models as long as they got good proportions I'll squirm on the floor for an hour to make them look right Aug 22 06 10:24 pm Link SayCheeZ! wrote: O.K. Aug 22 06 10:25 pm Link Urgent message to the collective photographer "group mind": Shoot low, boys.. They're ridin' Shetland Ponies! Aug 22 06 10:27 pm Link Tzalam wrote: Ha......Told U So!!! Aug 22 06 10:27 pm Link Height matters a lot for runway fashion, because the model needs to fit the clothes. Outside of that, it depends. I'll let others speak for their own areas of expertise, but for the art shooting that I do... and admittedly I'm not at all typical of people on this site... I don't care if a model is 5'0" or 6'0" and actually I prefer to work with a diverse array of heights and body types. I'd get bored if every model looked the same. Example: My last two shoots were with models of average height, one thin with almost no curves, one a competitive bodybuilder with curves and muscle to spare. That, for me, is a fun day. I guess I'm interested in things way beyond the superficialities of making someone look tall or short. If that's all that mattered, any old mannequin would do. It's emotion, energy, passion, intangibles that bring an image to life. Like anyone, I have my personal bias, but am willing to work with a wider range. I can't really describe what I look for, but know it when I see it. Aug 22 06 10:29 pm Link Lost Coast Photo wrote: Ok not runway fashion I'm speaking artistic images, commericial or so on anything but fashion or Runway!!!!!!!! Aug 22 06 10:31 pm Link What many photographers haven't realized is that generally, the correct camera position for any model is to have the camera's lens half way between the head and the feet...or about waist high. That means, either the model is on an elevated platform, or the photographer is on his knees. That is so that the film plane (it's really the same in digital...just not technically a "film" plane) is plano-parallel to the subject. If it's plano-parallel then the camera is neither tilted up or down and nothing is distorted. If a 4'11" model is photographed by a standing photographer who is 6' tall and who holds the camera at eye level, the model is going to look short as hell, her head will appear large, her feet tiny, and if that's what the photographer wants, that's fine. Shorter models shot solo, can be made to appear taller by shooting upwards, but, those models need to realize that, unless they are particularly fond of their nostrils, they need to keep their chin down. Height is just one issue. A photographer working in a studio has control over absolutely everything. Some people have a good side and a better side. Some look best with short-side lighting, some butterfly lighting, some broad-side lighting. This has to do with the shape of the model's face and/or how the hair is done. Some types of lighting make model's noses appear huge, or make the model's face look very wide. So far, I'm just talking head-shots. The same things hold true for the rest of the body. With the right lighting, I can put cleavage on a board....been there...done that...well..figuratively speaking. :-) Photographers simply need to learn how to make the person in front of them look as good as they can. It's an art and a learned skill. It can be taught and it can be learned. Experience is the best teacher for both models and photographers. Aug 22 06 10:36 pm Link Mikes Images wrote: Yes yes...finally some freaking gets it!!! You could not be more right however I don't think many people who claim to be professional photographers realize any of this crap!! Aug 22 06 10:39 pm Link I, for one, prefer short models. Aug 22 06 10:39 pm Link J Schumacher wrote: aren't you a sweetheart! Aug 22 06 10:40 pm Link This is one of those posts I'm not sure if I should respond to or not... Darkdesire wrote: I'm going to be honest... at 4'11", it's going to be difficult to make you "look tall". Yes, a photographer can crawl around low to the ground, but that blows the perspective on your face. There's a point where the perspective ratio is blown. Darkdesire wrote: Good models - those that are versatile - can be hard to come by. Darkdesire wrote: Great curves are wonderful - but often come with a price. Women with perfect curves know that those curves are a commodity, so they price themselves out of the reach of most amateurs. Aug 22 06 10:45 pm Link A good photographer is paid to find the best angles and attributes a model has and emphasize those. If a client is paying (how my models make money,) odds are they will usually go with taller and thiner models, as the industry seems relatively fixed on these ideals. not saying a shorter or a model that's not thin as a twig won't get jobs, but as it's stated in here earlier they are unfortunately not the first ones called to foot the bill. This is just what I have found, I'm a professional, but far from an expert on the subject. Aug 22 06 10:46 pm Link macro photography? Aug 22 06 10:52 pm Link Darkdesire wrote: Isn't that what I said earlier.....where's my Kudos? (*sobs) Aug 22 06 10:52 pm Link Darkdesire wrote: Aug 22 06 10:52 pm Link Iris Swope wrote: so what if I'm th height of a chile, no offense but if you know your angels you would realize any model can look taller I'm not speaking of runway or anything if you read the post! Aug 22 06 10:54 pm Link Iris Swope wrote: .....not true! Aug 22 06 10:54 pm Link I enjoy shooting mods who are "twigs" as they bring an "angularity" to a shoot, with wonderful potential for creating lines. I also enjoy shooting shorted mods and realize there are different methods for shooting different bods/heights/looks. A lot of my "superwoman" photos are of short women that were shot while I was crawling on the ground. :-) Scott Aug 22 06 10:54 pm Link Darkdesire wrote: Were you looking to work w/ him before this email? Aug 22 06 10:55 pm Link Farenell Photography wrote: actually I worked with him once before. I was wanting to work with him again. He is a photographer that concentrates on artistic nudes. Aug 22 06 10:57 pm Link Darkdesire wrote: I did read the entire post...every single one.... Aug 22 06 10:58 pm Link Shoot below their eye level and wear clothing that shows illusion of length. Simple. Aug 22 06 11:00 pm Link |