Harry Smart
60 Bridge Street
Montrose
Angus   DD10 8AF
Tel: 44 (0)1674 673389
models@harrysmart.plus.com
www.harrysmart.net

MSN: papageiscot@hotmail.com
ICQ: 14709321
Yahoo & AIM: papageiscot
NOTES FOR MODELS

What to bring

Makeup, shampoo, conditioner, etc. … best to bring your own usual products. If we shoot for my ‘domestic nudes’ series, you may well be washing hair, putting on or removing make-up, etc, so you should use whatever you’re used to for that.

For headshots / fashion / glamour, just bring your usual stuff, and ensure you have at least one lippy in a strong red … a blood-red or crimson rather than a scarlet is best. And bring lip gloss.

Clothes and accessories … keep clothing simple both for cut and for colour; avoid patterns or stripes, and avoid clothes with trims, piping, fancy buttons, applique, lettering, logos, etc.. Go for classics … both formal and informal, from elegant cuts for frocks or tops, through to faded jeans and a good t-shirt. Avoid designer labels and put any money you spend into good fabrics, a good cut and finishing.

Bring something cosy you can slip on quickly between setups to keep warm. This applies to non-nude as much as nude. A fashion shoot on a beach in May can be chilly. A robe is fine indoors, but for outdoors, your granny was right: wrap up warm.

The exception to the ‘plain’ rule above is lingerie, but stick with the kind of things you actually enjoy wearing … if it’s leopard prints, fine, if you’re a diamante kind of person, fine. PVC or leather is OK if it’s your thing and if they’re good quality, but cheap bondage accessories usually just look naff.

On sizes, aim for a good fit, obviously, but sometimes having a top that’s a cup size too small can give a nice suggestion of fullness, and sometimes pants that are slightly large can avoid elastic waistbands etc. digging in and spoiling a profile. A dress that’s loose is easy to gather up in the back with a clothes peg; too tight can’t be fixed.

Shoes, a couple of pairs of heels, one in a light shade, one in a dark. Go for a simple court shoe, slim heels. Avoid straps, buckles, cutout bits. Have something light and casual for any bathroom shots, and something suitable for outdoors … not climbing boots, but something you’d be ok scrambling down a grassy bank in, for instance.

Ideas

However good the lighting, composition and so on, what makes the image is expression and attitude. A good model has a range of styles, characters, moods in their head, and much of that comes from ideas, feelings, interests … from the films you watch, the books you read, the way you see the world. Visual references are useful too. What do you want in your portfolio; images with a light, peaceful mood or a dark, brooding mood? You know yourself way better than the photographer does, and the images you dream of seeing of yourself are in your head.

Limits

The only problem I have with limits is if I don’t know what they are, and part of the problem is that people’s ideas of what’s OK or natural vary massively. We don’t need diagrams; ‘nude but no bits showing’ is fine. And remember, things can be hidden in shadows or lost in a burnt out highlight, or simply covered by a hand. If you don’t want to do topless or nude, are you ok with ‘implied’, say, with a towel just held in front of you or a sheet draped half across you? Etc.

If you’re shy, say so, it’s totally normal. Even experienced models will often feel a bit shy at the start with someone they haven’t worked with before.

Most photographers won’t push a model to go that little bit further because once you start to feel uncomfortable, it shows in the pictures. In glamour or erotic images the face is important because the image is often about relationships and feelings, and a viewer wants to feel that the person they’re looking at is enjoying what they’re doing.

Other stuff

Keep in touch. Any revisions to arrival times, for instance … just ring. Don’t worry about ringing at odd times.

Food and drink preferences / allergies … let us know.

Boyfriends … don’t always make the best chaperones, but quite often with models travelling up from England it is the easiest way to manage, and some models travel up to us with their boyfriends and make a short break of it, so it’s fine. The rule is, they’re not there when we’re actually shooting.

Spots etc, don’t worry. They’re easy to take out in photoshop. They are totally not a problem. Everyone gets them, I’m used to it.

Piercings, tattoos etc. Are totally fine.

Other other stuff … we’re all human; stuff happens; don’t worry, and let us know if you’re at all concerned about anything.