How To Prepare For a Fitness Model Photo Shoot

You know your body and your routine. Don’t change your routine, including diet, sleep, and workouts in the week before your shoot. Don’t add new products, new tanning, etc. Watch the salt intake the week prior to a shoot as well.

Make sure you have all the relevant contact information and a map to the shoot location. email, phone numbers, etc. You will want to plan to be early so that you have some cushion time in case of slow traffic, car problems etc. Take the contact info with you in case you have to call and advise your photographer or artistic director that you may be late. Arriving early will help you relax and boost your confidence.

Hair: Keep the head well groomed. That includes facial hair eyebrows, eye lashes. Guys, trim your eye lashes if you have some wild ones. If you have stray facial hairs, make sure they are plucked. Have your body shaved. Shave the body hair. Body hair hides the conditioning you have worked for.

Stay hydrated. Keeping hydrated with improve your skin’s appearance. Avoid activities that will abrade your skin or cause it to be discolored. Wear loose clothing and don’t wear socks or a bra. Depending on the shoot, you may want to forgo underwear

the day of the shoot. Tight clothing creates lines and discolors the skin causing the photographer and editors more work and fewer desirable images. Use lotions that you are familiar with and know how your body will react. Just before a shoot is no time to change routines.

Keep your hair color the same as the images your photographer used to

choose you for a shoot unless directed and agreed on otherwise. The AD (artistic director) or photographer will expect you to look like the images you provided. Also, don’t change the length of your hair unless cleared.

In most cases tanned skin is will provide the best look, but don’t change your tanning in the week prior.




Males should have clean trimmed nails. Females should have clean trimmed nails with a clear neutral coat unless directed otherwise. This goes for all 20 nails.

Underwear: Females should bring a variety of bras so you can fit the clothing provided. Make sure the bra fits. Tight fitting underwear (bras and bottoms) create unsightly lines and bulges and don’t flatter you and make it hard to edit or use the images.

If you are bringing your own wardrobe, avoid clothing with logos, prints, or artwork. These things make the images difficult to use because of copyrights and registered trademarks. Photographers can often deal with small logos, but often for fitness shoots, no name/no logo clothing will be most desired. Make sure any clothes you bring fit well and are in good condition. Shoes and socks included.

The night before a shoot, have a calm night. Go to bed on time or a little early having packed everything you will need for the shoot so you don’t have to frantically find something you forgot at the last minute.

Things to bring to the shoot:

Clothing, ie. shoes, socks, tops and bottoms, undergarments, hair ties.
Towels. Although towels may be provided, you may want your own. You may get sweaty, or be oiled and wetted and you may wish your own personal towels.
iPod with your music in it. Many photographers will be happy to work with music of your choice.
Water.

If you have to cancel... Do this if you have to but don’t be cavalier about it. 

Tell the truth. It is amazing how many times this photographer has heard stories from models that canceled that just didn’t ring true and later found out the excuses were lies. Most photographers would rather have an honest reason. Even if the reason is “I’m nervous” or “my face just broke out”. If something has happened that changes your appearance such as a major bruise or a rash,
the photographer may wish to cancel or they may advise that they are okay dealing with it. We would rather know. But only cancel if you really have to. A better offer in never a good reason to cancel. Word gets out about how dependable models are.

Is He a Creeper?

So many of the photographers that want to work with models are male. Some are newbies, just learning their craft, some are pretty decent at their work, and a few are the creepers we call GWC's (guys with cameras or gals).

How does a model tell if the free shoot she/he is getting is with a creeper GWC? There are signs, but I think it is more positive to work on finding a good photographer than it is to avoid a bad one. It is easier too.

New photographers need to find someone to work with. I had to find models to learn my craft with. But as a photographer, finding models was my problem. As a model, being safe and getting good work is your problem. So lets work on that, finding a good photographer.

Signs of a good photographer:

1) They have a killer portfolio.

2) Their pictures are much more than T & A. They might have some sexy eye candy, but the focus is on overall beauty, form, sensuality, style, fashion, etc. Not so much on body parts.

3) They have a reputation. I have worked with many models who don't know me, but have asked about me. I'm always hearing models tell me they have asked others about me. Are you new to modeling and don't know any other models? Ask the photographer you are considering working with for contact information for references. Certainly he/she will give you references that they know will speak well of them, but it is a start

4) The photographer is willing to have you bring an escort. I don't buy the creative interference crap that some photographers cite as being reason to not want an escort present.

Other things you can do to get a good photographer:

1) Insist that you can bring an escort, and bring one. The escort can stay a distance if desired, but have them handy. Many good photographers love escorts and put them to work helping with props, lighting, and carrying the couple hundred pounds of camera and lighting gear.

2) Don't show booby and butt pics in your portfolio. If you have only one decent looking photo, use only one photo in your portfolio.  If you show yourself trashy in your port, that is what you are going to get asked to model.

3) When you do shoot, ask the photographer (if you end up liking them) who else is great

4) Join and participate in forums. There are FB groups, ModelMayhem, etc. Sit back and listen.

5) Wait. This is very important. Wait for the right offer. If you don't like an offer, don't be so impatient to model that you just take an iffy offer from an iffy photographer. Wait. The right offer will come and once you do get started with a positive experience, more opportunities will come. Don't squander a first start on something chancy or more risque than you want.

Learning to Not Love Poop

I like poop best when it is far far away from me. When I was a baby, poo felt nice and warm, for a few minutes and then….I didn’t like it in my diaper and I cried till mom changed me.

What the? Has Sparky lost his mind? Talking poop in a modeling blog. Well, frankly yes I have. I’m about to go insane and this is why.

Rachell Sean

Some photographers that think every image they make is so wonderful that they think even their poo smells good. Worse are the models that fall for it.

Here is what I’m talking about. Photographers who shoot everything with a point and shoot or their iPhone, or all their models have static boring poses or the skin color is off, or the lighting is so bad that a monkey can do better. Or all the photos are tilted. Or the highlights are blown out. Harsh shadows on the face with no useful purpose, flash lighting that is direct and un-flattering, a photographer using the pop-up flash on their camera. (btw, I have done all of the above except the stupid tilted angle photos)

There is a difference between a photo that will make an advertiser or a director or someone else who has budget, hire you, versus a photo that all your friends say how sexy you are.  Your portfolio should be professional, it should show versatility, it should show more than the fact that you have a nice ass and great cleavage. T and A are cheap and easy and have no value unless you want to get just T and A jobs at a bar or dance club.

How do you know if you are working with someone who can give you quality images? Read. Go to the book store, get a cup of coffee and sit down and read the fashion magazines. Pick rags that have a style or styles that you want to do. Buy some of those magazines and rip out the photos you really like, memorize them. Stand in front of a full frame mirror and mimic them. Then, go through your prospective photographer’s port and see if he or she has that style and has demonstrated an ability to make those images. 

How do you learn what a good image is or is not? Again, study, look through images of people you do not know and see what makes you react. Why do you react to some and not others? Figure it out by hard work. If modeling is a job, it is your job to know this. If modeling is a hobby, why would you want to put out crap as a hobby? Either way, learn and make better images and demand more from your photographer.

Here are a few hints.

Color; does the photographer get accurate color? If the colors are muted, does it really look good? If lots of a photographers images have orange skin, move on.

Focus; are the eyes in focus? I see so many portfolios where the eyes are not tack sharp. Ugh. There is such a thing as “soft focus” but that is a select style that should be limited in use. If a photographer can’t demonstrate a consistent ability to get a good focus, move on.

Poses; Are poses awkward, stiff, unimaginative, all the same? Are limbs cut off in weird places? ( this is a tough one because fashion is a bit different than portraiture here, but still, does it feel odd? If so, move on.

Image Quality; Do the posted images look good? Are they pixilated and rough looking?

Have an agent or a seasoned and respected photographer review your portfolio and talk about what is good and bad in your port and if it is meeting your objectives. You don’t have to believe everything they say, but getting outside opinions is a good way to expand your understanding.

Don’t buy the crap out there. It belongs far, far away from you. Make sure your portfolio represents how awesome you really are.

You can find Rachell Sean and her portfolio here.

Don't Fall For That Crap! Avoiding Scams

Ladies and Gentlemen, I see scams all the time. People love to have your money. Some people deserve to have your money because the bring you something of real value. The photographer who can really build your portfolio and give you great advice on the things that should be in included. The agent who gets you a job ( a real agent, more on that later), a publicist that gets your name out there and noticed, your skin and hair care person, etc.

But there are those that really want your money and will try to make you think that there is a good reason for you to give it to them. You have to think carefully about each "opportunity" and evaluate it for yourself, but here are a few scams for models that I see over and over.

The "agency" that you have to pay. Often they will send you to a "required" photographer who will often charge much higher than the local standard rates. Often I hear models complain that months and months later, they still have no images. Then the agency charges the model a large fee. Total crap. An agencies job is to collect two things and then hook them up together. When a connection happens because the agency was in the middle, the agency gets paid a commission on the modeling fee.  What does the agency collect? 1. Talent and 2. jobs or auditions.

An agency will send out several models who best fit the need expressed by someone who needs to hire. If an agency is asking you to pay them, then I don't believe that they have any paying jobs to send you to, so they have to make their money from you. Stay away.

Another scam I see are contests. I personally have not yet used a contest to promote my work, but I probably will at some point. But there are some contests that are just a big money grab. When a "contest" sends you to get and pay for photos from a single source and you have to pay their photographer to get photos to enter a contest, it is just a bag of moist brown stuff.

Another scam is an "audition". Again, where the model has to pay, there are limited numbers spots open. If it is a real audition for something that they need and are in short supply of, then a legitimate organization will go to the agencies to get talent and or will post an audition without asking those applying for a job, to pay to apply for the job. An audition is a job application.

If you have to pay to audition nude, WTC? There are so many people who will pay you to model nude that there is never a need to pay to audition nude or partly nude. For nude work, the other side, not you desperately wants nude models. GWC's (guys with camera) who's images look like crap are not people you should pay a pile of your hard earned money to be naked in front of. They should pay you. Duh!!!

Beginners Should Just Shoot

My work is primarily in developing new model portfolios or rebuilding established models ports.


I often see amazing growth with some models and then sometimes pitifully little growth with others.

What makes the difference? Well, how much raw talent is one factor. You can't change that. You have what you have. Brains is another factor, you can change that. Okay, your IQ is pretty well set, but you can learn, observe, think, and study. Another factor is time in front of the camera. You can control that too.


Brains: I watch models get started and some of them are actively studying the craft. They look a magazines, practice posing and working their face in a mirror. They look at the photos from their shoots and figure out what they did right and what they could improve. They ask other models, photographers and other industry professionals questions and they learn. Smart models figure out what they are good at modeling and go after that type of modeling. They learn to understand if they have a unique look or way of expressing that is different than everyone else. They understand the being pretty is not enough.

Time in front of a camera: This is easy. There are going to be different groups depending on where you live. Find them. Your area may be active in Model Mayhem or One Model Place or other online modeling groups. Perhaps there are Facebook groups for modeling in the area you live. There are often meet up groups or "creative" groups. Find them and participate. Shoot often, even if you are not getting paid. If you find a photographer that is building his/her portfolio that is willing to do a TF shoot, do it. Get experience.


These photos are of Shauna and Jeremy. Jeremy is just starting out, Shauna is kind of new, but she is out there getting more opportunities and every time I shoot with her, she has gotten better and better. She is a good example of someone who is thinking about her craft and learning all she can, and getting all the practice she can.

Find Shaunna on Facebook

Find more of Shauna and Jeremy's shoot here.

Be Safe!

So, I just posted an article on my blog for photographers about keeping models safe and having a positive work environment. But as I was presenting to a group of models on Saturday, the topic of escorts came up. I am always surprised at the number of models who show up with no escort.

Here are some of my thoughts on the matter. 1st. ALWAYS have an escort to work with a solo photographer. If you are on a commercial shoot with a number of other people such as AD, director, MUA, photographer, costumer, etc, then an escort will be in the way and just ad to the confusion and most likely will not be welcome. But when you are modeling for a single person, by all means, have an escort. It could be your brother, mom, dad, boyfriend, girlfriend, your hair or make up person, etc.


Your escort does not need to be physically close to where you are modeling, but close enough to keep you safe. If you are working with a photographer who does not want you to have an escort, it is not worth the risk to shoot with that photographer.

This 16 year old brought her mom to the shoot. Bravo.

If you are a teen, under 18 years old, you should have a parent with you. At the very least, take an adult escort and make sure your parents know what you are modeling and where you are going to be and when to expect to to return. Your safety comes way before any cool photos you might get.


Some photographers will complain that escorts get in the way, ruin the mood, or cause other problems. In four years, I have had only one escort cause any kind of creative problem. One in 4 years! So that excuse is bull. It's just an excuse. Don't give in. Nobody is that good or that influential to risk your safety.

Working For Free – Don’t Do It

Whether you model for fun as a hobby or are dedicated to becoming a professional model, you should not work for free. Here is why.

First, it is important to understand why you are doing a particular photo shoot. There are a number of things to consider when you decide how to price your work as a model.

1.  Who gets the advantage? By this I mean does the other party expect or hope to make a profit from your work? If a photo shoot is for a company or organization, you should expect them to pay you, just as you would expect them to pay you if you were answering phones for them or any other work. Are you getting the advantage? If so, perhaps you should pay the photographer? Is it a tie? Is the shoot for you and the photographer to learn and build your portfolios? If so, then trading (TF or TFP or TFCD) may be the right way to go.

2.   How much is it going to cost you to do the session? If you have not stopped to consider your costs, stop and think. You have the work of maintaining your skin, keeping your hair in a stylish cut, manicures, make up, personal fitness training, etc. You also have the cost of travel and time away from family or other things you could be doing (yes, that has value).

3.    Modeling is work. Even if it is fun, it is still work. It takes skill and looks. Both of which are things that most of the rest of the world does not have, and therefore, it has value.

4.   What kind of press, or positive exposure are you going to receive? Can you quantify it? On a limited basis, some very few opportunities will give you exposure that is better than you could get if you hired a professional publicist to market yourself.

5.   Are you modeling for something that is a high interest area? For example, nude modeling has limited commercial appeal, many photographers crave the opportunity to work with a nude model and it may be difficult to include in your portfolio, based on your location family, etc. Then you should be paid. If there is a high demand for what a company or photographer is asking you to model, you should charge a fee.

6.   Are you any good at what you do and do you have a good “look”? Okay if you can’t model and you look like a pile of bricks, maybe you should pay them to take your pictures. But if that isn’t the case, how easy is it for them to find what they want? Are you a high dollar value talent? Can 50 girls in your area easily replace you? Or are you the only 5’11” red head with very pale skin who can fit into a size 0 dress?

7.   Are the photos from this session actually going to expand my portfolio, or is it just another shoot in a similar dress, swimsuit, same kind of nondescript setting? If it does not add value to your portfolio, why model it unless you are paid?

Every time an offer to model comes along, weigh these things, and other things that are important to you. Maybe in your personal situation, you are comfortable shooting lingerie, but your boyfriend freaks out unless you are making money. Whatever your personal situation is, take a realistic look at what you have to offer and what the other party is going to gain. Then decide. Don’t be afraid to ask to be paid. Even the guy who has no talent gets paid to sweep the floors at night. If someone else is hoping to make money from your effort, morally, they should pay you and you have a right to expect it.

Why should a model who is doing modeling just for fun expect to be paid? Because a hobby still costs money and if another party is making money off your skill, unique beauty, and time, they have a moral responsibility to properly compensate you.

So, should you work for free? I don’t think so. Should you play for free? Yes, if you want to.


Here is Charolett's page.