In this industry, there are plenty of people that call themselves “models.”  However, most photographers will attest that there is a strikingly low percentage of models out there that can be deemed “high caliper” … or top-notch.  Of course, each photographer has his or her own criteria by which they rank the talent they shoot.  For me, there are three … in order of importance:

#1 Professionalism: I don’t care how stunning a model is in her looks, if she is not professional the beauty means nothing! What good is a model that is almost flawless in her body and looks, if she doesn’t show up on time or at all, is obnoxious, has a “diva” complex or is just down right rude and disrespectful to the people she works around? I have seen a few… and usually I try to cut them off at the pass and hopefully prevent them from even stepping foot into my studio.  If you consider the talent out there with “super model” status, you would be generally hard-pressed to find those bad traits I mentioned above in them.

#2 Complete Beauty: I wrote the word “complete” before beauty because I have found that most models will posses an amazing body and “ok” face, an amazing face and “ok” body or unfortunately neither.  My heart will usually skip a beat when I come across a model that has both of these qualities.  I was watching an HD show that had women in bikinis posing for a shoot on the beach.  I just laughed as they presented these women with hard bodies and blah-looking faces – complete with close-ups of their sad, blotchy, pimple and make-up covered faces.  Yuck! They even had one woman posing topless, which reminded me of another peeve of mine.  Sometimes women will automatically expect I will want to work with them because they are willing to pose nude.  I don’t blame them for this expectation, but rather the GWCs (Guy’s With Camera) that are so desperate to get a woman naked in front of them that they will accept and pay anything.  Doing so lowers the standards for everyone else in the industry, pushing photographers to hire someone who is lacking the “quality” because they will remove their clothing.  Some may think I am being too critical, but keep in mind when someone tags themselves as a “model” they are inviting a review and judgment from everyone and anyone.

#3 Open-mindedness: Ok, so I have managed to line up the most amazing model – the pre-shoot details are set, the shoot is scheduled, the model is booked… my creative juices are flowing like a river and ready to be captured on film.  Great!  Model shows up and then proceeds to lay down the law – I won’t do this, I don’t like this angle, that makeup is too much, I need 10 bathroom breaks, lots of this…lots of that… My creative license has been pretty much revoked or stifled before I even shoot my first frame.  Point is… if a model is not going to be open-minded enough to embrace my creativity and professional movement to ultimately create some fantastic images, I say “why the heck are we here?”

Fortunately, this industry is a scalable one, so there IS work for the masses and less than perfect specimen.

Took me a while, but I finally pulled together my thoughts and have established a new project I am now working.  Over the summer, I will be casting and photographing twelve beautiful Native American women for this project.

Scope:

The calendar will contain images of women who have at least 50% Native American heritage.  I will be shooting outdoors, on location, in four different areas of the country (Pacific Northwest, Southwest, Central, East Coast).  Three women from each location, will represent tribes from that local region.  I could have went the route of having each woman wear specific tribal accessories, but I decided against it.  There is enough media content, whether it be images or movies, that stereotype the “American Indian” and I just won’t subscribe to it.  Instead, I’ll keep the intensity and focal point on the model’s beauty – presenting Native American women as sexy, strong and most of all empowered.

Charity:

I have decided to donate $1 for every calendar sold, to a Native American charity.  Still need to find a charity that will embrace my calendar and help to promote / sell it once completed (since they would have something to gain from the sale too).  If anyone out there wants to recommend their favorite charity, please let me know via my “about” page.

Casting Details:
Now shooting for 2012 glamour calendar featuring Native American women.  Yes, 2012 – I plan on distributing / selling starting early next year.  Must be comfy posing up to implied nude.  Shoots will take place outdoors so must be able to endure possible sudden weather and temperature changes.  MUA and hair stylist definitely will be provided and present. Lunch and expenses paid as well.

Please, must have at least 50% Native American background and please be at least 18+.  ALL experience levels welcome.

Send me an email, if you or someone you know might be interested in applying for this gig.

I have been wanting to create this for some time, over the years I have stored up in my brain some of the best dumb-ass excuses I have received from models.  I certainly don’t think every model out there is giving me lines, but c’mon … really….. ok, you be the judge:

• Funeral: I remember a model one time told me the following, as to why she had to cancel her shoot scheduled in two weeks, “Hi, yeah, unfortunately I need to cancel my shoot on May 27 [two weeks ahead] because I have to attend a funeral on that day.”  Now granted, she was at least courteous enough to let me know in advance that she couldn’t make it, but wow … that excuse just left me utterly speechless! I was thinking to myself later “did she have an execution to attend?”

• Power Outage: A model sends me an email and says that she never bothered to show up for her shoot an hour before because she had a power outage.  She goes on to tell me though that she is even sitting in the dark, as she is typing the email to me because the power is still out. Hmm, now I am thinking, “so power is out but she can still send an email?” I call her, and when she answers the phone she sticks to her story, but in the background you hear someone say “hurry up, the movie is starting!”

• Stripper Pole: Had a model tell me the reason she was a “no-show” for our shoot was because the night before the stripper pole she was swinging on broke! She ended up having to be rushed to the hospital with a concussion.  Maybe this was true, but I still think it qualifies as lame-ass.

• Born Again Christian: Had a girl not show and later tell me the reason is because that day she became a Born Again Christian and then decided she was not going to model anymore.  That is all well and good, but does that mean she was now unable to use the phone, email or anything to at least let me know? Note: A week later my photographer buddy did a shoot with her – guess that BAC shit was short-lived.

• Deported: Model emails me telling me she got deported back to the Philippines and that is why she couldn’t make it to the shoot.  Just for the fun of it, I looked up the location of the IP address attached to the email – San Francisco!  Maybe she had a relative send the email from the US? I don’t know, maybe I am not supposed to be so technically savvy – sorry.

Of course, these five are on top of the many last minute sicknesses, food poisonings, dead grandmothers, car accidents, muggings, car towings and stolen everything (cell phones, laptops, keys, purses etc.).

Stay tuned… I am sure there will be more to come.