It depends what you're after. There are lots of pro and amateur models to be found on
PurplePort, mainly inclined towards the fashion & glamour end of things but there are all sorts if you look. Depending on what you can offer you may find some willing to work for images (aka TF) rather than pay. Though paying removes a great deal of stress. One thing to watch for - many models have a limited range of poses they work through. You'll need to explain that you don't want them to do anything other than what you direct them to do. A good model won't have any trouble with that.
I get most of my practice subjects form PurplePort (great images btw Simon - I distributed some "love"
). Agree with Simon - there is an added stress to TF - you need to deliver as the images are, in effect, the payment. As long you can deliver something, reliably though, do this, and then mix in a bit of experimentation. To start of with, paying for a model means you are free to try out whatever you need to. I've taught myself to do this over the last few years and you can absolutely teach yourself everything you need to know, from books and videos including the softer skills as long as you also practice them. However, learning, like teaching, is also a skill - not everybody can do it this way, and 1:1 tuition will work better for many. It doesn't work for me tbh - you tell me I need to do this and that, and I won't retain it: I need to see the problem, and overcome it, and understand
why the solution works - not just apply potion A to rash B. I tend to watch videos on YouTube, and on KelbyOne which is an excellent resource btw, and then reverse engineer why these photographers do what they do (as many of them don't know why it works, just that it does, and lots of the reasons handed out are incorrect). I also use a lighting simulator called "SetALight3D". Often, I'll just de-construct an image and recreate it in the simulator. When I've done this, I'll know how the look was created (or one way of doing it anyway) and why it works. However! (and this is key, at least for me): I then need to actually do it: I test out the lighting principles at home, and then hire a studio and model. Nine times out of ten, I get the result I got in the simulator, and then, when you know you can re-produce the style, and why it works, you can get creative around that theme.
Great book I picked up was
Peter Hurley "The Headshot". He has some great tips to produce that natural look which I have managed to put into practice with great affect..
I learnt a lot from Hurley - and this book is a great reference. If you are a KelbyOne subscriber, check out his course on there. It's 90% about getting the emotional response, and expression out of your subject, He does talk about the lighting for a 10 minutes at the beginning, however at the time the video was made, he only really lit his subjects one way - white background, and 2-4 fluorescent tube banks around the subject. There's nothing special about the tubes btw - a lot of people bang on about this like there's some magic fairy dust in Kinoflow lights, but you can create the same look with strip-boxes and strobes - it's only ever about the size and distance really. Colour and intensity can be dealt with easily. Once the lights are up, it's just a more sophisticated Photo-Me! booth and the real skill at that point is getting a response from your subject. Hurley spends a couple of hours with each of his subjects (and charges them $1200 for a head-shot) however a lot of his methods definitely work in a shorter time: I did a charity head-shot session a couple of weeks ago - and shot 46 people in four hours. The first 6 shots on this page are from that session
http://owenlloydphotography.com/?page_id=2033 That gave me just over 5 minutes per person - sometimes shorter when there was a large queue. There are some reliable techniques Hurley teaches that you can use to go from zero to natural expression in a few minutes: ask them about themselves; what they do, where they've been, where they're going. Look for something that is going to make them laugh. I often ask them to portray emotions (happy, sad, anger,) and get more and more ridiculous with my requests ("Now give me.... ambivalence!"). I'm not really interested in their impressions of these emotions - I'm just waiting for them to crack up at the whole thing and then click! click! click! as the laughter fades to a smile etc. Keep clicking though and telling them positive things (great, cool look, awesome.. love that...). I use a tripod, and a small aperture for these white background affairs. This means I can focus on the eye, and then come out from behind the camera and keep eye contact with the subject. I use a radio remote for the shutter and sit next to the camera, and click away.
Many people in our society seem to have an ingrained aversion to having their photos taken. It's almost as if, by appearing enthusiastic at the idea of having your picture taken, you are somehow vain and narcissistic, and we get the "ooo no, I'd break the camera!; I never look good in photos" statements designed to make you appear modest, but really just make you look like a compete Diva. I do find these phrases funny as the same people who say these things are perfectly happy to wander around all day in full view - wearing the same face
Once you have a few decent shots though, show them these and most will come round. In the meantime, places like PurplePort allow you to find people who would very much like to have their picture taken
