31Mar/08Off

April 2008 Newsletter

NOTE: This newsletter is not quite complete but I opted to post it so that the meeting announcement can get out.

The upcoming April 2nd Meeting:

Kevin Stenhouse will be discussing wedding & glamour photography with us.

The theme for the print competition will be "Graffiti".

Meetings are held at the University of Calgary, in the Kinesiology "B" building . Our normal meeting room is KNB133; if there are availability problems, the alternate room used is typically KNB129. The meeting starts at 7:30pm.

And more stuff in the Newsletter

Summary / review of Marla Singer's presentation on models and modeling from the March meeting
The results from the March print competition
and more! (well a tiny little bit more. this one's a bit sparse!)

March Guest Speaker Review - Marla Singer

Photo by Jeff Clement

In our March meeting the charismatic Marla Singer (a.k.a. Andrea) spoke to us about shooting models, from a model's perspective. She's been modeling for two years now and had some interesting tid-bits to share with us.

For finding models, especially those willing to exchange time/talent for prints/cds, Marla recommended Model Mayhem or Craig's List. Be careful when scouting for potential models. Many of the "models" listed are women looking to get some nice portraits for themselves and not necessarily competent models. Make sure to keep an eye on how much work they have in their portfolio. A single photo on their profile is not usually a good sign.

When working with a model for the first time it's a great idea to go for coffee first and get to know each other. Shoots should be fun and being comfortable with each other before hand can help both the photographer and model work together better. This is especially important if the model is going to be working nude!

Be sure to give the model and idea of exactly what you are wanting to shoot before the shoot. Models often supply their own clothes and make-up. If you let them know what you're looking for they can pack accordingly. If you are looking for vintage clothing, Cat's Eye Vintage Clothing has been known to lend out outfits for shoots as do a number of local designers. Many models are often art students and will have ideas of their own which could help you out.

During a shoot, the number of people in the room should be kept to a minimum lest your model start performing for the crowd instead of for the photographer. In a similar vein, never allow a model to bring a boyfriend along. That just makes things weird. Speaking of weird (I can't believe she had to say this) making a pass at a model, especially while she's nude, is just not cool. Go figure! Again, this should be obvious but the photographer should never get naked too during a nude shoot. It is not going to make the model feel any more relaxed. And finally while some amount of "hands-on" for repositioning a model is tolerated during clothed shoots it's probably not kosher during a nude shoot. If you can live with all these rules, and are interested in shooting a nude model, the going rate is between $60 and $120 / hr although you will be able to find models willing to pose for free on the fore mentioned sites.

Sometimes a first shoot doesn't go smoothly. It does take some time to establish a chemistry between photographer and model. Try and work with each model a number of times and as a friendship develops the model will be more willing to push him/herself to achieve your vision.

Interesting locations are good. Modeling in front of a plain white backdrop gets boring. Bring along some interesting props. Even if you don't use the shots with the props it'll help liven things up.

Some models work for cash. In most other cases it's customary to provide print(s) or CDs to the model for their time and talent. Even if you don't get anything you like from the shoot make sure to provide the model with some images. Often models are art students using public transit. Providing rides to/from a shoot and some cash is always appreciated if you can swing it.

Following Marla's talk she shared with us part of her portfolio in the form of a slide show and spoke about each shot. She's done a lot of modeling and these days she generally changes for her work.

Marla's work can be found on her website <a href="http://www.infectioushumanwaste.com/">InfectiousHumanWaste.com</a> and <a href="http://www.modelmayhem.com/marla">Model Mayham Page</a>.

-- Jeff Clement

March "Open" Print Competition Results

Advanced Category

Advanced Open - Scott Winter - Repose

Score	Photographer	Title
8.3	Scott Winter	Repose
8.0	Wei Quik	<untitled>
7.6	Deb Marchand	Tulips
7.3	Tony Field	Montana Bar

Intermediate Category

Intermediate Open - Jeff Clement - Construction Chaos

Score	Photographer	Title
9.0	Jeff Clement	Construction Chaos
7.6	Ryan Pahl	All Business
7.3	Helmut Schoderbock	Proud
6.3	Wes Devauld	5lb 6oz
6.3	Mike Roest	Bottles

Novice Category

Novice Open - Stephen McCracken - London Eye

Novice Open - Tomoko Kusama - City Dweller

Score	Photographer	Title
8.3	Tomoko Kusama	City Dweller
8.3	Stephen McCracken	London Eye
7.0	Mike Johnson	Subset Shadow

March "Theme" Print Competition Results: "Back Alley"

Advanced Theme

Advanced Theme - Wei Quik - E. Enterprise

Score	Photographer	Title
8.6	Wei Quik	E. Enterprise
8.0	Tony Field	Alley Games
6.3	Scott Winter	Best Seat in the Alley

Intermediate Theme

Intermediate Theme - Mike Roest - The Wonderer

Score	Photographer	Title
7.6	Mike Roest	The Wonderer
7.0	Wes Devauld	My Back Alley

Novice Theme

Novice Theme - Stephen McCracken - <untitled>

Score	Photographer	Title
9.0	Stephen McCracken	<untitled>
7.3	Tomoko Kusama	<untitled>

Upcoming Print Competitions Themes

Date	Theme
Apr 2, 2008	Graffiti
May 7, 2008	Paper
Jun 4, 2008	Different point of view on a common subject
	More themes to be announced soon!

Web Crawl

Mike Roest sent this link to an online version of Photoshop . It's not quite a replacement for the real thing but it's neat none the less.

Sonja Mueller's website has some pretty amazing images (with a rather difficult to navigate interface).

The weblinks archive can be found here.

Also. For any members with websites that would like them listed, please e-mail the URL to me at jeff.clement at calgaryphotographicsociety.ca.