Shooting in a box.....

I have a shoot tonight with Vanessa...I have been working with her off and on since she was 14....Shes now 17....We are shooting in this lil apartment guest house type thing...She wants to do something sexy but i find it a challenge shooting in such a small area....

I did a lingerie shoot with Jordan at the same place and the shoot only went as good as it did due to Jordans pure talent and posing abilities...Vanessa lacks the confidence that Jordan has.

When shooting with Jordan i was very pressed for poses...Most of those Jordan came up with...Some were my idea and those turned out good...But i found it to be very challenging and with anything glamour,lingerie or sexy the shot has to make some kind of sense or it just looks like crap....

Vanessa works 2 jobs 7 days a week and nights is the only time she has to shoot...She works tomorrow morning so we cant shoot too late....When shes not working shes visiting a now ex-boyfriend whos in a coma and has been for 2 years....So tonight she has time to shoot its just what i can come up with and my model stuff generally looks pretty damn good but this is more of a challenge shooting in a box....I'm grabbing props like a sword an such...Oh wait, the kitchen sink need to grab that too....

I dont have a lot of poses for this kind of shooting...I'm use to shooting outside the great outdoors...Vanessa did her last shoot with me by a river,those turned out really nice i was really pleased with her shes starting to get some confidence down...This is a girl who at a shoot with Jordan she started to cry...Not right in front of the photographer i pulled her aside and she said she didnt want to shoot and that shes not pretty..I asked her who told her she was'nt pretty she said guys she knew...I told her to tell them to F*** off and not talk to her if they think that...Her self esteem i have worked very hard on and its starting to show in her images...

So....30 minutes till we shoot and i have no idea as to what i'm gonna do...No game plan...I like to have some room to shoot in...Not in a tight area like this...I guess its good practice maybe...

Erik,

Don't take my response wrong, but I do have to protest for many reasons.

First, what's the point of you talking about these teenagers modeling underwear when we have no idea what you are doing! It's just like we're supposed to get a buzz from this chatter? As it is, I really don't fathom a purpose. We don't know folk you are referring to; they are not national figures and any sad background is lost without a proper framework.

More importantly, I'm not sure it's even legal to photograph underage girls in sexy poses or lingerie! If the girl has a boyfriend in a coma then it's a bizarre set up to start with. That's a very difficult situation and likely the girl is under stress at the best of times. She doesn't appear to have natural talent anyway, so you lose little and gan a lot by not be using her, IMHO!

Next, as a general rule, don't work with models who have emotional problems as this can come back to bite you and your position will be defenseless. Pick girls who are old enough to give consent. Underage girls can be used if from a professional modeling agency on a project with no sexual intent or message and you must have a chaperone present and team of makeup artist and stylist.

Lastly, ad hoc shoots of underage girls in sexy poses/lngerie, in your guest house or whatever, appears tawdry and although you are with good intent, can easily be misinterpreted. Worse it might be considered a felony. It's of little importance to a D.A. that you might be innocent with the most noble intent when the framework matches exactly their strict criteria for child pornography.

As an experienced shooter, I'd be remiss in not sharing with you these thoughts out of concern for everyone involved. Even if you are also 17 years old, any photography with under age children is fraught with risk. It must be done in the most pristine of conditions protecting everyone. Nude or semi nude photography of the young is looked on with serious questions of motive and purpose. Unless you shoot for Sears Roebuck or other catalog or you're an already famous artist with a gallery or publisher with deep pockets to back you, "lingerie" or "glamor shot" situation can lead to ruin.

Asher

Shooting in a box? More like putting yourself into a box, with bars on the outside!

PS: Asher has said it all.

You know, Erik, it occurs to me that you might do well with a blog. Have you tried blogging?

Why does one of my legs feel like it's longer than the other one?

You are using the wrong lens and f-stop.

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Asher...Thats exactly the response i expect from someone whos older and out of touch with the modeling sceen specially on the freelance side....And having no idea what i'm doing,far from that...As for having a tean MUA etc etc..Yes you point me in the direction of the tree filled with money,i'll get the money and hire those people....

It is her now ex-boyfriend...They were dating at the time of his accident....She still goes to see him..Thats rather kind of her i think but if you want to see that as bizzare so be it....

We shot mostly just jeans n t-shirt type stuf and it looks like typical stale studio stuff.Some of it could pass as cute.None of it close to the level i prefer my work to be at...And shes lost 15 lbs..She informed me that while shes not pregnant for the last 6 months every time she eats she gets sick and thus has lost a lot of weight...She doesnt have the money to go to the doctor...I have to spend some time seeing what social programs there are that would help or pay....I knew of a guy whos 16 yr old daughter was getting sick and he was even accused of child abuse cause they found nothing wrong, then they ran this very specific test and found a rare form of stomache cancer.....Or it could just simply be stress...

I will continue to shoot with Vanessa till shes 30 or 35 or 40 for the simple fact that she enjoys shooting and it does her self esteem good...She knows shes most likely not going to get anywhere with modeling. Vanessa is a very outstanding person. As long as she wants to try i am going to shoot with her.....

i dont know how studio shooters do it, just shooting in a studio all the time.Seems very flat compared to shooting outside...

Erik, please reconsider your post. It's disrespectful to Asher and he doesn't deserve that.

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There was no intent to be disrespectful and i dont see it as such.

I'm glad none was meant, but us old coots might find references to our age and the suggestion that we're out of touch as disrespectful. Actually, to use a tired old cliche, Asher has forgotten more about shooting models than many pros ever learned. He's sharp and knows his stuff, Erik.