HOW TO DIRECT A MODEL
I’ve been a professional model for 10 years now, and I consistently see photographers struggling with how to direct their subjects when working with people. While it’s common to lack confidence in posing and directing, it’s an essential part of becoming a capable photographer. It comes with experience and practice and is one of the key components to elevating your work.
If you’re working with models, it’s normal to feel nervous and a bit intimidated at first. But just as you’ve honed your technical abilities with a camera, it’s possible to perfect your directing skills as well. In this blog post I share my top tips on how to direct your subject, how to pose a model, and how to create a comfortable shooting environment that results in the best photos possible. Let’s dive in!
How to Direct a Model
Every photo shoot with a model is an opportunity to improve your abilities and practice your directing skills. Over time you will become more and more skilled at communicating what you want with good directing. Here I’m sharing some fundamental processes to keep in mind.
1. Sound Clear and Confident
It’s important to deliver directions during a photo shoot that sound clear and confident. Practice directing subjects until you feel more capable and self-assured.
2. Speak Loudly
Remember to speak loud enough that the model can hear you from across the room. They won’t be able to take your directions if you are talking quietly behind your camera.
3. Be Mindful of Your Language
Always be aware of your choice of words, and only use language that is polite and respectful when directing a model. This will have an enormous impact on a model’s comfort level and is extremely important. Only use anatomical terms when referring to their body parts, and never use slang or discourteous language.
4. Be Specific
Focus on delivering directions that are specific, and clearly explain what you’re asking for. Practice communicating what you want through simple verbal cues that are easy to understand.
5. Physically Demonstrate
If possible, learn to physically demonstrate what you want by using various directing techniques. If you have a specific pose in mind but are having a difficult time explaining it, demonstrating the pose yourself can be quite effective.
6. Tell the Model Where Their Light is
If you’re using more than one artificial light in a lighting set-up, be sure to tell them which light is their key light. If you’re shooting natural light, be sure to explain the direction of the light to the model. This knowledge will help guide them while they pose.
7. Tell the Model Where Your Frame Is
Explaining your framing and composition helps the model better understand your goal for the image. Remember that they cannot see what you’re seeing through the camera, and you need to communicate your intentions.
8. Don’t Let a Pose Get Stale
If you spend a lot of time refining and fine-tuning a pose, it can start to look stale. Sometimes it’s useful for the model to remember how they are positioned, come out of the pose, shake off the tension, and then re-enter it. This way the pose will look fresh and natural.
9. Be Mindful of Strenuous Poses
A model may be too polite to tell you if they’re getting sore or exhausted while holding a strenuous pose. It’s important to be mindful of the physicality that every pose requires. Don’t have them holding poses that are strenuous or physically challenging for too long.
10. Tell the Model When You Get the Shot
Depending on the model’s body position and eye line in a pose, they can’t always see you and the camera. Be sure you are communicating effectively and continuously talking to the model while shooting. Always be sure to tell them when you have the shot, so they aren’t holding a difficult pose for longer than necessary.
Directing skills are immensely important in portrait photography, and your attention to learning them will surely set you apart from others in the industry. Remember that a great photographer knows how to interact with their subject, and is confident in guiding a model toward their vision.
If you’re looking for more resources on how to work with models, be sure to check out my e-book.
HOW TO WORK WITH MODELS: A MODEL’S GUIDE FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
With an in-depth look at model photography, this guide book teaches photographers everything they need to know about working with models. As a professional model with a decade of industry experience, I’m providing the important perspective of a person on the other side of the camera. How to Work With Models: A Model’s Guide for Photographers offers expert advice on how to make a professional model-photographer relationship result in the best work possible. The comprehensive guide outlines the entire creative process including before, during, and after a shoot, and will equip any photographer with all the tools they need to feel confident working with models.
I’ve been in this industry for a decade now, and I love working to educate photographers on how to work with models. At the start of 2019, I was invited to be a guest speaker in the photography program at Langara College in Vancouver, Canada. I gave a presentation to a class of new photography students about how to work with models, and what it means to cultivate a positive model-photographer relationship. I really enjoyed speaking on the topic, and quickly realized that there are very few resources on the subject. Even fewer of them are offered from a professional model’s perspective. I decided to turn my presentation into an in-depth e-book for photographers, and now here we are!
A PDF download is available directly through my website, and a Kindle version is available through Amazon. If you give it a read, I would love to know what you think!
Please tag me at @kaitlinchapple #howtoworkwithmodels and let me know your thoughts.
As well, be sure to check out my other blog posts about working with models:
