Starting out can be daunting and getting agency models to raise your skill level and portfolio is important. I remember the lead up to even reaching out to an agency. I had many doubts whether my porfolio was even good enough. I never even knew how other photographers reached out and set it all up. Lucky at the time I was encouraged by another photographer to reach out. I asked him to look over an email I drafted up. Too much going on he said. Make it to the point and include your 5 best images curated on a pdf. So I revised my email and pressed send. How nerve-wracking, to wait for a response. I remember a numbing feeling going over me. At the time I felt like it was the first time I was truly putting my work out there to be judged. I was so relieved and escstatic that I got a response. Immediately I was sent a package. Side note: I’ve done quite a few shoots now and gotten sent many packages as well as check out other photographer’s packages and it’s interesting to see who they send across based on your experience and who is available. When you start out, you won’t get a lot of model. I only had 3 choices. Don’t be disheartened, it’s normal starting out. Choose the one closest to your vision and get it going.
Anyways from this point on it was all about making a good first impression. With a potential agency model onboard it’s quite easy to convince people to work with you and form a team. I reached out to previous people I worked with. A moodboard and callsheet was created and sent and the day and time were finalised. I made sure they were very thorough and detailed. I like to be prepared. Ultimately I have come to learn that you’re gonna have to adjust on the fly as your best intentioned plans will go out the window.
Long story short it’s a lot of planning and pre-production. I was going for an early morning shoot on the beach. Unsurprisingly on the morning of it was raining and very cloudy. I also had to pick up the stylist and the model as the beach was not accessible via public transport. Unbenownst to me my makeup artist was also running late. But I pushed on. After a while the clouds would slightly clear and a moment of hope. In the end we shot around 4-5 looks but I knew the strongest shot of the day was the ones posted here. You can check them out below.
Starting off is hard and every step towards your dream is another step to making it reality.
Leila from IMG
