Recruiting Tip #4

Experienced models know the importance of communication. When doing a nude shoot, there are a lot of questions that can come up. It’s important to get these questions answered before the shoot is booked. Less experienced models are not going to know what questions to ask. When recruiting a less experienced or inexperienced model, you need to use your expertise to help educate them. Make sure you explain what kinds of poses you expect. This needs to be established before the two of you agree that you’re going to do a photo shoot. When it comes to recruiting nude models, images communicate better than words. A well planned and executed portfolio is the core of your communication.

Recruiting Tip #3

Don’t give up if you have trouble finding models. The availability of models can be seasonal, rising and falling in sync with college schedules, weather, economic factors, and a whole array of dynamic elements. Staying motivated is the most important factor in early success.

New to nudes

Some photographers who are new to nudes may jump right in. Others are timid; if this is you, you need to work your way up by shooting other styles of photography. If your photography skills are rudimentary, you may wish to learn the basics with landscape and still life to fill in the times you can’t find a portraiture model. Start with friends and family if you don’t feel comfortable recruiting a stranger. Start with fashion if you don’t feel comfortable hiring a glamour model. Work on a glamour portfolio if you don’t yet feel up to photographing nudes or if you’re having trouble convincing models that you can produce worthy images.

At some point you’ll start working with nudes. A certain degree of apprehension is normal. After hundreds of nude models, I still have concerns about making sure a shoot works to its best potential. I wouldn’t say I experience nervousness any more, but rather a heightened sense of attention that keeps me on my toes. If you wait until you have no uncertainties, you’ll never shoot nudes. Somewhere between self-inflicted paralysis and utter calm lies the photographer who is ready to shoot nudes.

Building your portfolio

You need samples of nude shots in order to book your models. Building credibility is an essential step to recruiting models, and nothing builds credibility better than an astounding portfolio. But how do you get your first nudes? This may seem like a catch-22, but you can get there. You may have to add progressively unclothed shots to your portfolio until you have a portfolio of nudes. Shoot clothed models until your work is competent enough to convince someone to do glamorous bikini or lingerie shots with you. I’ve rarely met an attractive woman who wouldn’t pose in lingerie and for implied nudes. Then you can move on to models who do implied nudes (nude from behind, for example) or topless shots. In many cases your first nude model can be one you’ve already photographed clothed. Each time you work with a model, the two of you will build trust and comfort.

There is a first time for everything, and I’ve hired my fair share of models who are posing nude for the first time. I don’t recommend this for beginning photographers, since neither of you will have much experience with nude shoots. But bear in mind that every model who poses nude had a first time.

Eventually you’ll have no trouble finding your first nude model, especially if you work repeatedly with the same model or hire a model who has a lot of experience modeling nude. Finding your first nude model may seem difficult at first, but it’s really not.

Once you’ve finished your portfolio, complete with everything you need to impress prospective models, know this: you’re not done. You’re never done building your portfolio. Periodically review your portfolio and relentlessly eliminate weak or old photos. Recognize what works and stick with it or update it. Your portfolio should contain only consistently strong, recent work.

Recruiting Tip #2

Models care about more than just money. Certainly, getting paid is important to any professional model. Like anyone else, she has bills to pay and various other needs for cash. First-time or occasional models are going to be enticed by monetary compensation. Even part-time models rely on modeling for income. However, they want more out of a modeling career than just a steady stream of paying jobs.

Models want to be portrayed in a favorable light. They want a comfortable working environment and an amiable photographer. Models want to work with a photographer that they perceive to be an echelon above whoever they’ve worked with previously. Novice models will want to fortify their portfolios with images that are superior to their current ones. Experienced models care about working on projects that are higher profile than they have worked on before.

Certainly a few models seem to only care about money. But even the money-conscious model has more than one dimension. Although some models tell me that they are willing to work with anyone who will pay, I’m willing to bet that they perform better when they admire the photographer.

Offering more money will often bring in more models. But anything significantly above a fair wage will yield diminishing returns. Offering outlandish pay can backfire as models become suspicious of your legitimacy.

Recruiting Tip #1

I’m often asked how I’ve convinced so many women to pose nude. The answer is: I don’t. There is no need to. The women I photograph are willing to pose nude before they even know I exist. The first nude shoot I did was a total surprise to me. The model just took her clothes off and stepped in front of my camera, ready to model. She simply assumed I wanted to photograph her nude.

The fact is, plenty of women want to pose nude for photographers, so you don’t have to convince them to. Not only have I photographed plenty of nude models, but they’ve shared with me their reasons for choosing who they pose for.

Some ideas to think about:

• Almost all particularly attractive, fit women enjoy being photographed.
• The vast majority of the above women  would be interested in posing nude at least once in their life.
• Almost no woman would pose for something she considered truly embarrassing.

Kathy E. had never posed nude before she met me.

The observations above are based on my experiences and conversations with models. The notion that would surprise most readers is the second one. Among women who are physically fit, highly attractive, and enjoy being photographed, most would be confident enough and interested in posing nude one or more times in their life. The key concept is that they would do it at least once. So what about the rest of their lives? The times that are not one of those times they wanted to pose nude? Consider that women who model are being approached many times to pose nude; they sometimes say yes and other times say no. Although you don’t have to convince someone to pose nude, most models are discriminating about for whom they pose. You have to convince the model that you are worthy of working with.

Many women, many styles of nudes

Another reason a woman won’t pose is if she doesn’t feel attractive. Either she’s never felt confident enough to pose nude or she doesn’t feel attractive because of some temporary reason. Temporary reasons can come and go quickly or they can last a long time. For instance, if a would-be model is experiencing a problem with her complexion, she might avoid posing all together. It’s not that she doesn’t normally feel up to posing; but rather, her resistance is just temporary.

Sometimes external factors, such as what others may think of them, come into play. This could be judgment from religious people or family, or the envy of friends, for example. Worrying about the opinions and judgments of others is based on her self-confidence and feeling attractive. Many models are confident enough not to care that others may be judgmental or envious of them. Sometimes models are relieved to discover that their family or friends are supportive of their aspirations to model nude. Other times, they just choose to follow the beat of their own drum. This transition is usually a one-time event; once a model comes into her own and decides to pose nude, she has come to terms with outside opinions. So finding someone willing to pose nude is easier if you can find a model with nude experience.

Sometimes, a woman doesn’t know she’s ready to pose nude until she sees a fantastic image and is inspired to pose for a similar photo. Sometimes the image she sees is mine; sometimes it may be yours. In that case it’s likely she’ll seek out the specific photographer in hopes of getting the results she wants. Maybe it’s a sexy image or maybe it’s not sexy at all; maybe it’s deeply artistic or maybe it’s downright shocking. Different women don’t always agree on how they want to be photographed. A model’s self-image will not always fit with your assumptions of her, so you need to ask and listen. One woman may say yes to posing for sexy pin-ups and no to posing for more modest, artistic nudes. The point is your model imagines herself in the final image and that’s why she chooses to pose. However, if the model doesn’t think you can create the image or listen closely enough to her to understand her point of view, then she won’t pose for you. Hiring is a two-way street. Both employer and employee must have a common goal.

Having a varied portfolio can really help in this department. Stack the deck in your favor by showing a variety of your favorite nude styles in your portfolio. Remember your portfolio is intended to showcase the kind of images you want to continue to create. This will help recruit models that are amenable to your style and genre.