Joe Edelman Photographer » Modeling

Shoot People? There’s an APP for That!

Joe Edelman — Tue, 04 May 2010 18:12:43 +0000

It’s official – I have an iPhone App!

Come on… you know how it is today – I have an app – therefore I am. Simple

Read the description from iTunes:

If you are serious about modeling and/or photography then this FREE and informative app was made for you. Award winning and nationally renowned photographer Joe Edelman gives you instant access to tons of information created especially for aspiring models and photographers who want to improve their shooting skills.

Carry Joe’s incredible beauty and fantasy images right on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. Each day a new image is featured from Joe’s portfolio. Be sure to check back often – it may be a photo of you!

With just one touch you can see what’s happening with Joe on his blog and web site. This helpful app even gives you one touch instant access to book studio appointments and contact Joe Edelman by phone, email, Facebook, Twitter and more.

For models and photographers, the News section will bring you new and exciting information, articles and instructional tips to help you improve your work and your ability to market yourself in this competitive economy.

The unique ‘For You’ technology automatically brings you individualized images and image galleries developed specifically ‘For You’ and your interests.

If you have an iPhone you can download the I Shoot People! App for FREE by clicking here

Please help out – download the app and be sure to give me a 5 star rating!

The app was developed by ProPhotoApps in Wisconsin. Developed by Tim Vertz and his partner Jason Kelley, this app was originally designed for portrait photography studios but allows for simple customization which makes it work for businesses like mine.

The ProPhotoApp is a very affordable entry level solution into the app world for just $299.00 for the first year and $99.00 per year after. The app comes with an online management tool that allows you to make real time updates to the app and also allows for customization of content to be delivered to groups of users or even single users.

For price and ease of set-up (less than 1 hour for me) – I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

For customization I give it 3 out of 5 stars but I have spoken with Tim personally and he promises even more ability to customize the app within the next three months.

For Customer Service I give them 5 out of 5 stars. Tim is very quick to respond to email and phone calls.

So check it out! Tell them Joe sent you.

Disclaimer: I have not received free merchandise, payment or consideration of any kind from any manufacturer or brand name listed in this post. In fact I wish they would all lower their prices or offer to sponsor me and send me free stuff! I will be sure to to tell you if they do.

New Model Megan – Finished Modeling Portfolio

Joe Edelman — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 07:45:29 +0000

3 months have gone by since I first posted images and a video from the first two days of shooting for Megan’s first modeling portfolio.

Now that the holidays are behind us and the east coast weather is beginning to settle down, we have completed one and a half more days of shooting to fill in a few blanks and Megan is officially on her way to beginning her modeling career.

I am proud to say that Megan mailed her comp cards to the Philadelphia based agencies just last Thursday. While she is planning to make her follow-up phone calls this Thursday, she has already received callbacks and appointments from two of the top agencies in town and hooray – she has been signed by both. She has her first go-see scheduled for next week so wish her luck!

I have posted the finished modeling portfolio for your review. This is the actual selection of photos in the actual order that they appear in her portfolio. I have also posted her comp card so that you can see what she mailed to the agencies to make her introduction.

Click the image to view Megan’s Modeling Portfolio

Megan’s Comp Card:

Be sure to check back over the next two weeks. I am going to be posting a complete set of ALL of the images that I shot with Megan along with an explanation of which images were selected for her book and why.

I will also be posting a video blog interview about what makes a good modeling portfolio. You won’t want to miss it.

Dirty Hair = Clean Hair

Joe Edelman — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 04:15:28 +0000

Always have your models arrive for a shoot with hair that has not been washed for at least 24 hours.

Beginners will assume that it is a good idea to wash their hair right before their big photo shoot.

Truth is that clean hair requires more product to hold a style and will frizz more easily as you make changes to the hair.

Remember that you only need the hairstyles to last for 15 to 30 minutes at a time during a shoot.

If you are working with a makeup/hair artist who also works in a salon; remember this: Salon stylists have a tendency to feel the need to make the entire head of hair look pretty (that is what their salon clients expect). Your photographs are two dimensional and only capable of showing the hair from one direction. Communicate with your stylist in advance of the shot and you can save lots of work and most importantly time by only styling hair that will be seen in the final image.

Last but not least… if you are working on a portfolio for a model, be sure to shoot LOTS of different hairstyles. The perception is that the makeup is what makes a girl look different from photo to photo. Certainly, a lot can be done with makeup but it is the hair that will dramatically alter the appearance of your model.

Here are a few examples… all of the same model.


«« Click images to enlarge »»

How many frames does it take to get a great flawed expression?

Joe Edelman — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 06:51:30 +0000

I am a very heavy shooter. In a full day modeling portfolio shoot, I will shoot 10 – 12 outfits and average anywhere between 1,500 and 2,000 frames.

I have had two separate experiences recently where I found myself in a discussion of how many frames it takes to get a great shot.

The first situation was with my young assistant who is trying to perfect her craft. I assisted her with a modeling shoot and watched as she fired frame after frame while keeping my studio strobes working with little time to recycle. I began to realize that she was doing what she “thought” she saw me do all the time – shooting heavy. I also realized that she was doing because she thought she needed to and NOT as a way to get that perfect shot. While helping her edit the shoot she observed that she wasn’t thrilled with the facial expressions.

The second event was a conversation with a fellow shooter in Denver, CO. I stumbled upon a shot that he had on his blog of a young lady in lingerie. The shot was well lit and attractively posed but the facial expression was very flat – almost a dead stare. I asked him out of curiosity how many frames he thought he had shot to get that image. His reply was approximately 10 frames.

So we have one shooter with tons of frames and weak expressions and one shooter with only 10 frames and weak expressions.

So the question arose – how many frames does it take or how many frames should it take to get a great shot?

Well before we can even attempt to answer that question we have to determine what defines a “great shot”?

Example of a "flawed expression".

Obviously, good lighting, exposure, composition, makeup, and styling ALL play an important role. That should be a given. You can only get out of the camera what you put in front of it.

In my opinion, one of the most commonly overlooked aspects of great people photography is the facial expression. I can’t even begin to tell you how many portfolios I look at – especially in the web modeling world – where the model shows two expressions in 20 or more photos. A full blown “cheese” smile and the mouth closed attempt at a “sexy” expression. In other words BORING!!!

Expressions that are flawed, not perfect – are MUCH more engaging and interesting to look at.

If you actually pay attention the images that you see in magazines, in advertisements, on billboards, etc. you will notice that you actually don’t see a lot of perfect smiles or closed mouth sexy looks. What you see are “flawed expressions”.

Expressions that look real. Expressions that look like the person was saying something or reacting to something.

It all seems so logical yet if I am a betting man most of the people reading these articles are guilty of the two expression photo shoot.

Let’s put some more logic and science behind this observation.

Let’s start with the dictionary definition of the word: Expression Webster’s tells us that this word is a noun that represents the depiction of mood or sentiment.

We should also look at the definition of the word: Pose Webster’s explains that this is to put or set in place (as a model) in a studied attitude.

So we can pose the body but an expression is an action – a depiction – in other words it requires energy. I can pose a models body but I need her face to be expressive.

Science also teaches us that our brains process a tremendous amount of information without us even realizing this is happening. A perfect smile is an icon, a symbol that is immediately recognizable. As a result our brain will process this information and allow us to skip right over it as simply boring because it is readily identifiable.

Take a look at every teenagers MySpace or Facebook page. These pages are loaded with photos that are blurry, over or under exposed, poorly lit, etc. What we don’t see are the properly lit and composed school portraits that these kids sit for every year. In fairness to the school photographers, their portraits are better lit and composed than the cell phone snapshots that grace the profiles, yet nobody posts them Why? The expressions! The school portrait has a forced expression and all of the snapshots are spontaneous and flawed, hence they are much more real and engaging.

Ok, so if you are still reading… some of you have decided I think too much and haven’t answered the initial question and some of you are rubbing your chins and saying “wow – I never noticed this”.

So let’s get to the answer now… How many frames does it take to get a great flawed expression?

The answer: Only one! In order to get that one you may shoot 10, you may shoot 300. The moral to the story is that you have to pay attention.

Don’t be lazy and just shoot a few frames and don’t “spray and pray” expecting that you will get a good shot somewhere in the mix.

You must learn to see not only good lighting and composition but also what the eyes and mouth are communicating in the photo.

So for me – while I am a heavy shooter, it is not a rule. It is a process by which I am working with my model and pushing her to give me an expression that is natural, different, flawed and as a result – engaging.

Sometimes the shot comes quickly. Other times it takes a while. Either way – it is the expression that is most important. get that right and you will be amazed at what people will NOT notice in your images.


«« Click images to enlarge »»

New Model Megan – Portfolio Shoot and Video

Joe Edelman — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:27:45 +0000

The models name: Megan Fleming

Megan is a 5’5′ adorable 20 year old brunette from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania who works as a hair stylist.

Megan is just beginning her modeling career and came to me to get her started.

What you are seeing here is the result of about three weeks worth of planning. Several face-to-face meetings, two – two hour practice sessions, and three full days (8 hours each) of shooting in early December.

Her goal: To get signed by as many agencies as possible in the Philadelphia market and work part-time as a model.

In addition to being beautiful and in great shape, Megan’s greatest strength as a potential model is her range. She can easily look 15 or 25 or anywhere in between. She also has a tremendous amount of personality and is very comfortable in front of the camera.

The game plan: I knew from the time that I first met Megan that I would want to shoot some creative beauty shots with her. I also knew that I would want to work with my favorite creative artist from NYC – Natalia Egorova.

Given that Megan is a hair stylist, she is also very good at doing her own makeup for simple commercial looks (something EVERY model should be able to do and do well). This gave me a little extra flexibility by allowing me to skip some of the pre-requisite shots for the commercial presentation (College Co-Ed, Athletics, Business, Medical, etc) and focus on the more creative looks while I had Natalia available to me. I will bring Megan back into the studio after the holidays to shoot the commercial basics and a few real clean headshots.

Execution: Planning, planning and more planning! My shoots are very aggressive. My philosophy is that if I have a pretty girl and a talented makeup artist – I want to shoot. I don’t want to stand around and look at a bunch of outfits and hope that something inspires a great idea and worse yet I don’t want to take chances that the model will not bring the appropriate outfits. Megan made three trips to my studio before we shot with Natalia. We discussed her goals as a new model. We created a marketing plan, reviewed outfits and did two 2 hour long practice sessions so that Megan would be comfortable and know exactly what I expected from her during the shoots.

When the shoot days arrived, we began at 9:30a.m. (There is a reason you don’t see sunrise photos in my portfolio) and worked until about 4:40p.m each day. We were able to shoot an average of 12 completely different shots each day, changing the hair, makeup and sets for each one.

4,000 plus frames later, here are some of the results.

«« Click images to enlarge »»

Check back in a few days and I will post some behind the scenes lighting diagrams and check back over the next few months – I will share the rest of Megan’s portfolio and keep you updated on her progress.

Updated Modeling Portfolio – Tracey Dunn

Joe Edelman — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:36:22 +0000

Great things continue to come in small packages. I have updated one of the sample modeling portfolios on my web site with a new video.

The models name: Tracey Dunn

Tracey is a 5′2″ red headed ball of fire from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She also is living proof that short girls can and do model if they do business the right way. Tracey is signed with agencies in Philadelphia, and New Jersey and routinely auditions for Broadway and commercial projects in New York.

Tracey is a trained dancer as you will see in her images and has performance and theatre training and experience in her resume as well.

Her resume includes Print, Television and Film credits from local and regional projects to national advertising campaigns for companies such as Vera Bradley. Tracey appeared a s a featured extra in the Bollywood production titled New York and appears regularly on QVC the television shopping network as a hair, makeup and clothing model. (Yes – it says clothing model) Tracey is also a rookie member of the 2009-2010 Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleading Squad and traveled to Aruba in May of 2009 to shoot the teams annual calendar.

You can view her actual portfolio at: http://www.joeedelman.com/faq/portfolios.shtml

New Sample Modeling Portfolio

Joe Edelman — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:22:56 +0000

I have added a new sample modeling portfolio to my site.

The models name: Jen Hobbs

Jen is a 5’2″ dynamo from Secaucus, New Jersey. She is living proof that short girls can and do model if they do business the right way. Jen is signed with agencies in New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia.

Jen understands that given her size, she is not going to be walking the runways of New York. She has taken classes and developed her skills as an actress as well. You will see as you view her portfolio that we put her acting skills to good use to create a presentation that shows off her range and ability to act.

Her resume includes Print, Television and Film credits from local and regional projects to national advertising campaigns and a credited role in the upcoming M. Night Shyamalan film: The Last Airbender; scheduled for release in July 2010. Jen has appeared in print ads for Toys R’Us, DoubleTree Hotel, Borgata Casino’s mur.mur Nightclub, Harriet Carter Gifts Magazine.

You can view her actual portfolio at: http://www.joeedelman.com/faq/portfolios.shtml

Shooting fitness images for a modeling portfolio

Joe Edelman — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:13:13 +0000

Nothing burns me more than opening up a portfolio and seeing a shot of a pretty girl holding a tennis racket rested on her shoulder and she is looking at the camera and smiling from ear to ear.

Or the volleyball pictures where the girl is just holding the ball under her arm while she stands with a cute – non-athletic posture and smiles at the camera.

How about the girl who is actually a few pounds overweight and has clearly not been to the gym in a while, posing with weights?

How often do we see images like this in advertising? Rarely! So why put a shot like this in a modeling portfolio?

Remember a modeling portfolio isn’t just about showing how pretty the girl is. The goal is to show her ability to act and to convince a client that she can be believable as a given character.

When planning a portfolio shoot I make it a point to explain to the models that fitness shots are some of the hardest shots to pull off for several reasons.

1. These are images that are based on an activity that requires a specialized skill set.

2. These are images that require a lot of acting because if you ever actually watch athletes in almost any sport – their facial expressions are not very flattering – but they are also not looking at the camera smiling all the time. The challenge is to come up with an expression that looks real, has intensity in the eyes but is still flattering to the model.

3. Sports is one of the hardest categories for photographers to shoot because of its fast pace and need to capture that fleeting moment.

So how do you come up with fitness shots that are engaging, flattering and look believable?

PLANNING, PREPARATION and CHEAT whenever possible.

Make sure you are being realistic about the fitness activity you have chosen. Look at magazines and advertising for that sport or activity. If your body type and build doesn’t fit the activity – DON’T shoot it.

Make sure that both the photographer and model have a clue about the right way to do the sport that you are shooting. I can’t tell you how many times I see yoga pictures and the yoga pose is being done completely wrong. I am very aware of that one because early in my career I did a set of yoga poses with a model and the first booking agent she met happened to be a part-time yoga instructor. The agent crucified her book because all her yoga poses were wrong. The moral here is that we don’t want the model to be judged for the wrong reasons.

If you are not sure – do your research – go online and find some images with poses that you can duplicate – print them out and take them to the shoot with you.

KISS IT! Keep It Simple Stupid – Sometimes it is easier to composite the image so that you are not trying to do too much at once. Generally if I am going to shoot a very active skill sport like tennis or volleyball I will do the shots without the ball and shoot the ball separately and add it into the final image. This technique allows my model to concentrate more on her physical movements and expressions without having to worry about also hitting a ball.

Click to enlarge the above images

If I am doing this technique in the studio that means that I am not only going to shoot the ball separately but that I am also going to be adding the background later, so the original shots are done on a solid color background. (I use neutral gray)

If I am using this technique outdoors I will try to find a fairly simple background that I can let go out of focus so that I don’t have a lot of detail to deal with when adding the ball to the shot.

Click to enlarge the above images

If I am doing a running shot I will only have the model run for about 15 feet and just have her repeat process several times. I will give her a specific point in the distance to look at (never at the camera). I will tell her to always begin running from the same spot and with the same foot (this makes it easier for me to pick up her rhythm and catch the peak moments in her stride)

Most importantly I coach the model about her facial expressions. I will explain to her that she needs to look like she enjoys her sport (hence she is in a pleasant frame of mind) but of course she shouldn’t be smiling as she does it.

I have never figured out why but you would be amazed how often a model will begin running with her mouth closed. When is the last time you saw a magazine shot editorial or advertising and the runner had their mouth closed? Who could actually run like that anyway? It is the little details that make the photos work so you MUST pay attention to these.

Last but not least, for photographers, let’s talk about composition. Remember that we want to make it look convincing but we are selling the models ability to act. Don’t be afraid to crop tight. I often shoot running shots with no feet and you can still tell the girl is running. This allows me to get closer which makes her face and her expression bigger and more obvious. If we shoot a girl from the knees up – it’s a pretty safe bet she has feet – we don’t need to show them in every shot.

Also don’t be afraid to tilt the camera. Diagonal lines add energy and flow to a shot. There is no law against tilting a camera. Try it sometime.

I’ve been signed! Now what?

Joe Edelman — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:19:50 +0000

Do I sit at home and wait for the phone to ring? Hell NO! Not if you are serious about being a model.

You have to understand that 5 minutes after you left the agency another pretty girl walked in and half an hour later another, and so on and so on. That process repeats itself day in and day out. How is an agency going to remember you with the constant stream of new models walking through their doors?

As if this weren’t bad enough, let’s say right after you leave the agency a client calls wanting a girl for a print ad. They want someone with your look and your age range. You are still fresh in the agent’s mind. In fact, your comp card may still be sitting on her desk. Chances are, unless you have a very unusual look that the particular client wants, you will not be called for the job even though you would be perfect for it. Why? The agency doesn’t know you. They aren’t going to take a chance on a big job with someone they have never booked before.

So what do you do- you are now just one of many pretty faces, and the agency doesn’t know you and therefore doesn’t trust you with higher paying jobs, like print jobs.

Click Here to read the rest of the story.

New Video – Model Sunnie

Joe Edelman — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:31:57 +0000

Here is the first in a series of videos for models and photographers. The subject: How to produce a top notch modeling portfolio.

This video is a collection of images from a two day shoot that I did with New Hampshire based model Sunnie Anderson.

Feel free to leave comments and questions.

Hair and Makeup by Laurie Baldwin

Joe Edelman Photographer » Modeling

Shoot People? There’s an APP for That!

Related Posts:

New Model Megan – Finished Modeling Portfolio

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Dirty Hair = Clean Hair

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How many frames does it take to get a great flawed expression?

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New Model Megan – Portfolio Shoot and Video

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Updated Modeling Portfolio – Tracey Dunn

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New Sample Modeling Portfolio

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Shooting fitness images for a modeling portfolio

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I’ve been signed! Now what?

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New Video – Model Sunnie

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