Having Fun

Photo by Castle Rose Photographer 

Even when getting paid for a shoot, if the photographer does not give you specific directions...there is no reason not to have fun, not to play a little and for goodness sake, inject some of yourself into the shoot.

I recently shot with Castle Rose Photography , and really the direction that I was given was 'soft hair and makeup"  and "showing off the ink" That's it.  Why not show off the ink and bring in some favorite things?

In the process, I found out that the photographer and I share a love of  Doctor Who.  I brought the 4th Doctor arm warmers and knee socks, and the photographer HAD a stuffed Dalek and a TARDIS standee.  The rest of the set just came from that.

We experimented , we played we laughed,we had fun, and the images show that.

Being professional, does not exclude being able to have fun at the same time .

Patience

                              Photo by Cadence McCarrel



There are just a very few photographers that I do TFP regularly( trade for picture) with....Mostly because these are the ones that took a chance on me...the ones that brought me in ( and kept bringing me in) when I had no idea what I was doing...the ones that I am SUPER comfortable in and will pretty much shoot any wacky idea I come up with ( as I would do the same for them) Other than that, I get paid for shoots for the most part....even if that payment consists of a percentage of procedes from sales ( of calendars, prints whatever ) Payment does not have to be immediate.

However, when working TFP, there are things that one must remember.  Like patience.  Paid work for that photographer comes FIRST...that is how they pay the bills, eat, and all that other good stuff.  Trade work can and does get put on the back burner. The edits might take a while.... and bugging the photographer for them, is just bad form.

( Now if one is  GETTING paid to shoot...ANY edits they give you are nice, be appreciative!  They have all ready paid you for your time, unless agreed upon beforehand,they don't HAVE to give you anything else...remember that)

Above all, treat your photographers as you would like to be treated..with respect, and dare I say ,kindness?  This business can get catty, and snarky and ego driven....but you don't have to add to that.  Be NICE, you will be remembered for it.