I was just wondering whether it makes any differance on whether you stick to a couple of photographers or use lots??

Premium

I guess it all depends on what you want from your modelling.

If all you want is to have a hobby which gets you out of the house ever so often and gives you some nice pictures then there is probably no harm in just working with a few photographers so long as you enjoy working with them and they are of a level that you are happy with the pictures.

If, however, you have ambitions to either get the best pictures you can or even progress to the level of paid work then usually you would have to work with numerous photographers. Part of this is due to the inherent differences between modelling and photography in that models can generally improve their skills fairly rapidly but have shorter lived careers compared to photographers who usually take longer to learn their skills but have much longer careers. As a result if a beginner model and photographer start together at the same time I would expect the model to outgrow the photographer.

The other thing is that usually the way that a photographer will determine which models they want to work with is by looking at the model's portfolio, previous experience and their look. As a result usually what happens in the TFP/TFCD way of doing things is that you start off with some pictures you maybe took of yourself or a friend took which is hopefully enough that a lower level photographer sees something which makes them want to work with you. The pictures they take hopefully then spark the interest of someone at the next level and so on until you reach the point of having an impressive portfolio which is enough to attract the interest of high level photographers and has also allowed you to gain modelling experience and skills along the way.

Of course some of this process can be accelerated by paying good professional photographers to take pictures for your portfolio but you need to be careful that anyone you choose is of a level that would actually benefit your portfolio.

Once you have achieved an experienced level if you do then start charging simple economics suggests that you would want to work with as many photographers as you could.

Hope this is of some help.

The final thing I would say is that if a photographer you are working with ever suggests that you should only work with them and nobody else I would suggest you treat this with some suspicion as to what their motives are.

Hi

From your perspective I guess you'd get more experience working with a number of photographers.You'll quickly figure out who you get most from working with and you could stick with them to develop your modeling until you're ready for the next step.

AF

Hi

From your perspective I guess you'd get more experience working with a number of photographers.You'll quickly figure out who you get most from working with and you could stick with them to develop your modeling until you're ready for the next step.

AF

How about if you were able to understand differences between photographers and then able to decide which one suits you best? There are several differences, some of which may or may not be relevant to you. Whether you use your time or your money, always consider what 'you' want and what 'you' will get from it.

Manager

The benefits for using as many different photographers as possible outweigh the benefits of using only one.

As PGPhotographic above said, models often develop a lot quicker than photographers do - largely because photography is such a massive learning curve - so you could feel yourself being "held back", or not progressing as quickly as you feel you could.

Having said that, theres nothing wrong with having a photographer who you work with regularly, maybe to experiment different styles and try different ideas.

Each photographer has different ideas, so in the end you'll end up with a varied portfolio which is key.

Quoting cerity from post 5

Thats a key point, shoots are often just as much about you as they are about the photographer - so make sure you get your ideas across, and make sure you benefit from the shoot too.

James