How to find models to build your portfolio
My name is Michael Iorio and I am a portrait photographer in Philadelphia and south jersey. A few years back I decided to get into portrait photography. I originally started shooting landscapes but found out quickly it was a tough sell. However the one thing that I could always rely on was there was always something for me to shoot. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that if I was going to move on to shooting people, then I need people to shoot. As someone who was not very outgoing at the time and somewhat of an introvert it wasn’t going to be easy. So I wanted to write this article today for those of you that were like me and maybe you want to photograph more people, but have a hard time finding people to photograph. I can tell you they are out there, and the problem is more likely that you need to change your approach.
Models are not going to just show up on your doorstep
Perhaps it just so worked out in my favor that I had recently been contact by a local store who saw photos of some of the landscapes I had shot locally and wanted to sell them as coasters in their store. It’s a small gift shop, called Gifted in a local shopping center near my condo that sold clothes, nik naks, etc. They had a bunch of teenage girls working in the shop and I saw on their social media that sometimes they would take photos of themselves wearing the outfits they sold in the store. Already having an in with the owner, who by the way made the coasters, I offered to photograph the girls wearing the clothes. I don’t have those photos today, but I remember they were not great. But that’s not really the point here. You see, I was not the kind of person who would have just walked into to store and said hey can I photograph people here because I want to start doing that. And if your always waiting for these opportunities to come to you, you might be waiting a while. I was able to schedule my first one-on one modeling shoot with one of the girls from that day. She wanted to get into modeling and I wanted to get in to shooting portraits so it worked. One of the photos from that first session is still in my Portfolio today.
Friends and Family
I remember the first time I shot a male. I was at a friends house and I was still learning how to use my camera. I shot a couple photos of him and put it on my social media account. He saw them and asked me to take them off, so I did. While I would like to be able to say your friends and family will support you when your starting out, that is not always the case. I personally have some close relatives, and wont name them, who refuse to let me photograph them, even today. But this should not deter you from asking. One of the biggest lessons I think I got from this, is the acceptance of being turned down. You see I think part of my problem in why I was so introverted when I started, is I wasn’t ready to face rejection. I hadn’t even really started and I was worried about being turned down. But being turned down only pushed me to find ways of finding others who could help. But if you are planning on getting into the business of working with other people, you need to work on this. Because it’s going to happen, and sometimes, it doesn’t have anything to do with you. You need to get over your blocks of approaching people and asking. As I said before especially when starting out, no one knows you and no one is just going to show up and say hey photograph me.
Modeling sites
I know sure exactly how I cam across it, but somewhere I heard about modeling sites and in particular Model Mayhem. Up till this point, everyone that I worked with one on one in trying to build a portfolio, I knew through some type of connection. I did a few meetups with photographers and models but I just found it to be to hectic. So this was really stepping out there for me. I remember I started a free account and it was right around the time Covid was starting I got a hit. We were going to shoot at the Camden waterfront where I had shot a lot of landscapes. She was down near that area and the backdrop was good. I was happy with the photos and she was too. I’m not sure if the experience was bad if I would have been turned off from the site, but never the less, it went well. Since then I join every year in the paid version and it has been the biggest source of building my portfolio. I’ve worked with a handful of models on there, both men and women. I have found that I do not get many responses from casting calls, so today I just direct message everyone. I’ve found getting responses is mixed, but if you throw enough stuff at the wall, you’ll get some to stick.
Everywhere else
This brings me to today. Now I try to find models and people anywhere I can. Instagram has been a good source however I have that it can be somewhat unreliable. Especially with younger kids. I will sometimes put out a model call but again I have found direct messaging people works better. There is no shortage of people on Instagram taking photos of themselves and influencers photographing themselves wearing products from companies. I try to make it a habit to find new people to message monthly. Again, the more you throw out there, the better chance you have of something sticking. I also carry business cards and sometimes will approach someone and offer a shoot. I approached the AT&T girl in my local Target and have since photographed her twice. It’s like anything else, the more you do the better you get at it. And as your photographs improve, you’ll find it somewhat easier. Hopefully you’ll get to the point where you’ll be able to pick and choose the people you want to work with and have people models reach out to you offering to work with you.
In conclusion
So hopefully this article can give you an idea of some of the ways you can start working on that portfolio. The main thing you should probably take from this is that no one is coming yet. You need to go out and get it, and prepare yourself for being rejected sometimes. Over time your confidence grows, your experience grows, and your photography grows, and it will get easier. Remember what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
*You can find me on Instagram @Mviorio and Model mayhem @Michael Iorio
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