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LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) – How would you feel if you got the opportunity to do what you love with your idol? One McNeese State University student earned the right to do just that.
Caitlyn Dionne is an amateur photographer who specializes in equine photography. She said she has been surrounded by horses for as long as she can remember.
Once Dionne was able to pick up a camera, she tells us she never put it down.
“We had a lot of kids who didn’t have horses, and so my mom and her good friend were kind of like the horse club leaders, and they had the idea of let’s try to do events that kids who have horses and kids who don’t can do together and still enjoy, and one of those things is photography,” Dionne said.
Through photography, Dionne was able to show her idol, famous equine photographer Barbara van Cleve, exactly what she was capable of.
“There was something about photography that just clicked for me. I’m not super great with words, English for me was always a subject that I didn’t like, but with a camera, I didn’t have to explain things, I could just show you. And you could also take your own interpretation of what I saw,” said Dionne.
Dionne was selected for the Art of the Cowgirl Fellowship and will spend a week in Arizona with van Cleve soaking up as much new knowledge as she can.
“My mom had known about Art of the Cowgirl, and she kind of told me at one point like you need to do that, I was like umm, I’m not ready. I’m not ready for that, I don’t know about that, and she kind of was like no, you need to do it, and so we applied last year and I really did not think I was going to get it. I was just doing this to make Mom happy,” Dionne said.
Art of the Cowgirl is a fellowship program that is considered very prestigious, and its purpose is to pair less experienced, younger artists with “master artists” for a once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunity.
“I’m very blessed. I’m just very happy I’ve been able to take something I love so much and use it as a career,” Dionne said.
Once the week of mentoring is over, Dionne will get an opportunity to showcase and sell her art to the public.
Copyright 2023 KPLC. All rights reserved.
Food photography is an exciting offshoot of the still-life genre, where you can really take your time and be a perfectionist with all of the various elements around the frame: from product placement to the position of the sun or your flash. It’s not uncommon for tweezers to be used to carefully position a garnish or detail around the frame for total precision. The best news is, once you’ve wrapped taking pictures you can tuck into some tasty treats!
We recently caught up with professional food photographer Monika Grudzinska, who has perfected her style over many years and now takes the food and product photography for some of Poland’s largest brands.
• Elevate your food photos with the best lenses for food photography
Monika, 42, is based in Gdansk, Poland, specializing in food and product photography since 2017. She mainly works with Polish brands but has recently taken on work from Swedish and German companies too. She tells us: “All of my work is about creating feelings and emotions while using natural light. I am a total fan of the dark mood style.”
She tells us her story, her top tips for food photos, as well as the camera set-up she uses, including her favorite lenses. To see more of her fantastic culinary pictures, be sure to visit her website and Instagram.
“I grew up in Gdansk in the north of Poland. When I finished my studies, I left my hometown. I didn’t know what I wanted to do in life, but got into photography in 2009 when I got my first Canon EOS 80D. My love for food photography was born a few years later. Sadly my cameras were stolen and I had to start building it all up again, buying a used Canon EOS 40D from a friend.
“At the time I worked a 9-5 and spent all of my free time on photography. I cooked and then posted recipes with photos of the dishes on my blog too. Over time, my first clients started to appear, so I started my own company and start working as a full-time food photographer. I gained experience by photographing food in restaurants. These were quick sessions for large culinary platforms, but it wasn’t 100% what I wanted to do. I dreamed of creating beautiful, artistic photos of more than just food. I wanted my photos to evoke emotions.
“In 2016 my private life was turned upside down and I put my camera away for almost two years. I came back and decided to focus on my love of photography and I so started from scratch again. I worked hard building my portfolio for four years and today I’m proud to say I work with some of Poland’s largest companies.
“After all these years, I can say that I have my dream job and work in my dream photo studio. The road wasn’t easy, but it was definitely worth all the ups and downs I experienced. I know that dreams can come true, you just have to really want it.”
“The Canon EOS 5D Mark III was my first full-frame Canon EOS camera and was my workhorse for many years, I’ve now upgraded to the 5D Mark IV and use my 5D Mark III as my backup camera. After working with APS-C bodies prior, both of my 5D bodies have shown me the significant improvement to image quality and low light performance.”
“A 100mm macro lens is a must-have for photographers looking to shoot detailed close-ups, whether that’s food, still-life or even insects. The quality and detail in my close-up food shots with this lens are simply incredible and might just be my favourite lens when it comes to food photography.”
“The Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L USM is perfectly suited to my Canon EOS 5D Mark IV full-frame body and is ideal for the times when I need a wider angle to squeeze more of the frame into view. I use this lens alot for food photos and also for time-lapse videos.”
“This is one of the smallest and cheapest lenses you can buy, but this ‘nifty’ 50mm has huge capabilities. This is the first lens that completely changed photography for me – I discovered the shallow depth of the field and I created my first successful bokeh photo effect! Its wide maximum aperture of f/1.8 also makes it a great option when shooting in a dark environment.”
“The Canon RC-6 is a remote that allows me to fire my Canon EOS 5D Mark IV wirelessly. This is crucial for my work as it prevents camera shake from touching the shutter button, and allows me to fire it when I’m looking at the Live View on my computer screen, and not standing directly next to my camera. It’s an ideal gadget for sharper food photography and making films.”
“The TetherTools TetherPro USB 3.0 to Micro-B is a very helpful gadget that allows me to connect my Canon EOS 5D Mark IV to my computer. This means I can see my image in Live View on a much larger screen, which is essential for seeing which details are sharp when working with a shallow depth of field.”
As we wrap up 2023, a year that featured a ton of incredible photography gear that will undoubtedly feature in many a photographer’s kits for years to come, we began to wonder, “What popular photography gear from years past is much less common now?”
Our internal discussions kicked off with PocketWizard. Unlike a later entry, the company still exists, and some photographers still use PocketWizard remote triggers as part of their work, including sports photographers. But these radio triggers used to be everywhere, and now, they’re rarely seen. The company’s last major firmware upgrade was in 2019, and even then, the company had lost much of its once-powerful stronghold on the photo industry and new product released had slowed to a trickle.
What happened? A bunch of things. The most significant shift is that many flashes began to include integrated radio-triggering technology, drastically reducing the need for an external triggering system. PocketWizard products were also costly, and when they were the only major player, that was fine. But cheaper alternatives came along, and PocketWizard suffered greatly, even a decade ago.
Relatedly, first-party flashes are also much less common these days for reasons similar to the dramatic downfall of Pocket Wizard. Affordable, feature-rich third-party lighting options have undoubtedly affected camera makers. Brands like Godox, Nissin, and Profoto, among many others, have supplanted camera companies in the strobe space.
For example, in Nikon’s DSLR days, the company frequently released new SB speedlights. Nikon’s current flagship speedlight, the SB-5000, launched in 2016. Coincidentally, it was also Nikon’s first flash to include an integrated radio trigger.
Canon announced a new speedlight, the EL-5, over a year ago. It was the company’s first flash for the EOS R system, arriving a few years after the original EOS R camera.
First-party flashes may matter quite a bit to Sony shooters soon, though, as the company’s upcoming a9 III camera can sync flash at any shutter speed, assuming the flash is up to the task.
The lengthy transition to mirrorless camera systems has also impacted another former staple of many photographers’ kits — the monopod. As mirrorless cameras and their lenses get smaller and lighter and in-body image stabilization improves, a monopod is no longer the vital stability accessory it once was, at least for photography. PetaPixel‘s Jordan Drake loves using monopods for video work.
Another factor is the incredible high ISO capabilities of modern image sensors. It used to be that photographers had to be very mindful of their ISO, which, of course, affected the usable shutter speed range. There is no longer any issue with cranking ISO up to 6,400, 12,800, or even higher on many cameras, meaning that shutter speeds can stay higher, and camera shake is much less of a concern.
Between lighter lenses, better camera stabilization, and improved ISO performance, the only photographers who still use monopods are people working with 400mm f/2.8 and 600mm f/4 lenses, which themselves are becoming less common in the age of super-light, compact telephoto lenses with slower apertures.
Advances in camera technology and features have also spelled the end of external intervalometers, at least for most photographers. Photographers who wanted to do timelapse work or stack a bunch of consecutive images once needed expensive, specialized cable release triggers and intervalometers, like the nearly $200 Nikon MC-36 I used regularly for astrophotography.
Now, most cameras include sophisticated intervalometer functions built right into the menus. As for the camera shake-reducing benefits of a remote release, there are apps for that now. A cable release is overkill for many modern digital shooters outside of some exceptional use cases or when using an older camera.
Cameras have also integrated electronic levels, kicking another old standby in my backpack to the curb — a hot shoe bubble level. The helpful lines on mirrorless cameras are easy to take for granted now, but there was a time when cameras had nothing of the sort. Years ago, the best way to avoid crooked horizons was to use some bubble level, either on a tripod head or on the camera itself. And yes, despite what are essentially foolproof features, I still sometimes capture a crooked photo. You can lead a horse to water, right?
Advances in memory card technology have also changed “must-have” camera gear. Current memory cards feature staggering capacities measured in terabytes, not megabytes and gigabytes.
Readers may remember Gnarbox, a now-dead company that promised mobile downloading, viewing, and photo backup. Current cards are so voluminous and affordable that they can themselves be a means of backing images up in the field.
To be clear, plenty of compelling reasons exist to use any of the equipment we discussed. If something is helpful for you, it is not obsolete; it is a vital part of your toolkit.
However, that doesn’t change the fact that there are accessories that have gone from “essential” to “barely ever seen” for various reasons, primarily because the need for particular gear has been reduced due to advances in camera technology.
Disclosure: The featured image was created using generative AI technology.
The American photographer Elliott Erwitt, who has died aged 95, was renowned for his largely unposed images of famous people. Among the political figures he caught on film were Fidel Castro and Che Guevara, laughing and waving a cigar in Havana (1964); Jacqueline Kennedy swathed in a black veil at her husband’s funeral in 1963; and Richard Nixon, pointing and jabbing his finger at Nikita Khrushchev’s chest in 1959.
Cultural figures included Marilyn Monroe showing a leg while filming The Seven Year Itch in 1954; Jack Kerouac, unusually meditative, wearing a tie, in 1953; and Dustin Hoffman, with whom Erwitt made a short film, The Many Faces of Dustin Hoffman (1968). Animals were his obsession, and he devoted several books to pictures of dogs, with titles such as Woof (2005) and DogDogs (1998), as well as another short film, I Bark at Dogs (2011).
He spent nearly 80 years behind a camera (for preference a Leica 35mm or a Rolleiflex medium format), selecting subjects from around the world, and working primarily in black-and-white, though he could use colour to make a point.
According to Erwitt, who disliked over-theoretical analysis: “Colour is descriptive. Black-and-white is interpretative.” He defined photography as “an art of observation” or “a biography of a moment”. He suggested that artistry lies in “finding something interesting in an ordinary place … I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”
In his view everything has photographic potential. If you care to look, he wrote, “you can find pictures anywhere. It’s simply a matter of noticing things and organising them. You just have to care about what’s around you and have a concern with humanity and the human comedy.”
He cared a great deal, politically and personally. Erwitt was furious rather than flattered that the Republicans used his Nixon/Khrushchev image (without his permission) for their 1960 presidential campaign, and sent a $500 invoice, which was paid. It can be viewed as Nixon bullishly asserting the US against the USSR, and represented what Erwitt most abhorred in US politics.
He was born Elio Ervitz in Paris, the son of Orthodox Jewish parents, Eugenia and Boris, who had fled Russia following the 1917 Revolution. His forenames were his father’s choice since “he had once attended the University of Rome … and liked it”, and he later anglicised his name. The family moved to Milan, until the rise of fascism prompted their return to Paris in 1938.
Although Erwitt’s parents had separated, a year later all three left together for New York, then Los Angeles. Erwitt completed his schooling there in 1947, and a year later he returned to New York to embark on film studies at the New School. He then joined the US army Signal Corps and, while serving in Europe (1951-53), his fluency in four languages assisted him in compiling his portfolio.
He gained further experience working as a film cameraman in France; a staffer for the Standard Oil Company and Pittsburgh Photo Library; and then – increasingly – as a contributor to a variety of new picture magazines including Look, Life and Holiday, which provided his entry into the prestigious Magnum Photo Agency, established in Paris and New York in 1947.
Robert Capa, one of Magnum’s four founder members, recruited Erwitt, and a fellow founder, Henri Cartier-Bresson, championed him, describing him as “working on a chain-gang of commercial campaigns and still offering a bouquet of stolen photos with a flavour and smile from his inner self”. Praise indeed, which Erwitt later returned in a homage to Cartier-Bresson’s Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare (1932) with Umbrella Jump in Paris (1989), which captures the balletic leap of a man over a puddle beneath the Eiffel Tower during a rainstorm.
Alongside his sense of empathy, Erwitt maintained his sense of humour. Humans’ capacity for projecting their attitudes – and fashion fads – on to their pets was a reliable subject. One image, New York City, 1974 (Dog Legs), taken at knee level, shows a diminutive pooch in a fancy knitted beret, next to a pair of a women’s fashionable, shiny boots, with another pair of taller legs, clearly canine, completing the lineup. It was a perfect example of stylistic crossover: what appears to be a found image was in fact a shoe advert.
In another image from the same year, a disgruntled-looking bulldog squats on a brownstone doorstep, next to a much larger bulldog squatting on the lap of a human, obliterating any view of his master’s face. Erwitt not only loved dogs, but enjoyed seeing the world from a dog’s eye level.
He was not afraid of humour even in more ghoulish surroundings. In 1955, he shot the naturally preserved naked Mexican mummies lining the museum walls at Guanajuato. Their desiccated skins, slack jaws and awkwardly positioned limbs flank a prettily dressed young couple. The blond lad, in an American-style checked shirt, is pointing, in spirited discussion with his girlfriend. They appear as incongruous as their silent observers.
The incongruous and the absurd became hallmarks of Erwitt’s work, as did political events. In one sequence both came together, during Nelson Rockefeller’s campaigning for the Republicans in 1962. Once more taking a mutt’s eye view of humans, the first shot shows one apparently observing intently; in the next he has turned to sniff the ground; and in the third he raises a back leg. “Fair comment,” a viewer might say. Erwitt’s conclusion was, after all, that: “The whole point of taking pictures is so that you don’t have to explain things with words.”
His work appeared all over the world, including several shows at the International Center of Photography in New York, Elliott Erwitt: a one-man exhibition at the Barbican in London in 1989; and a retrospective at the Musée Maillol, Paris, earlier this year.
Erwitt married and was divorced from four wives: Lucienne Van Kan, from 1953 to 1960; Diana Dann, from 1967 to 1974; Susan Ringo, from 1977 to 1984; and Pia Frankenberg, from 1998 to 2012. He is survived by two daughters, Ellen and Jennifer, and two sons, Misha and David, from his first marriage; two daughters, Sasha and Amelia, from his third marriage; 10 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Chicago photographer Lenny Gilmore has been living a little dangerously for well over a year by spending a portion of each day on roller skates.
There’s a point to this, he says.
“It’s okay to fall, it’s okay to get a little bit hurt,” Gilmore tells Looped In: Chicago. “We all have to take a calculated risk with that, but I think we shouldn’t let those fears stop us from finding joy in our lives and in the world.”
The Batavia native and former Red Eye photographer is known for his portraits of celebrities, including Chicago musicians Chance the Rapper, Jeff Tweedy and Chief Keef and actors Michael Shannon and Rebecca Ferguson.
His current fascination with skating – from traditional roller skating to roller blading – dates back to 2015. That’s when the former hockey player laced up some roller skates while shooting a story about a women’s roller derby team in Chicago. He recalls being more than respectable on wheels.
“That kind of got me thinking about it. Then, I moved out to California for two years. Skate culture was just everywhere there.”
Fast forward to a few years ago when he became interested in the idea of rollerblading the RAGBRAI course in Iowa. After attempting a leg of the course with mixed results, Gilmore said he hit the reset button by committing to roller skating every day to stay conditioned. His modus operandi is to make small improvements to his form and not worry about going vertical or doing dangerous jumps. He takes video of many of his runs.
“Skating is just a pure act of joy,” Gilmore says, using that word often. “It’s kind of how I found community. I found creative collaboration and exercise. Anywhere I go in the world I can find someone who wants to roller skate.”
His consecutive streak of daily skating sessions, which he has done across an array of settings, brought him earlier this week to the WBBM Newsradio studios at Prudential Center. He marked his 500th day on wheels; that tally continues.
Now, Gilmore has spun his passion for roller skating into a children’s book, “If You Roller Skated the World,” which has an environmental message. It’s also meant encourage young people to set aside their fears of the unknown, he says.
“I want this book to kind of encourage kids to find their passport, find their excuse to go see the world, see what’s out there.”
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December 21, 2023
In November, Ross McDonnell, the Irish filmmaker and photographer, died while swimming in the ocean at Fort Tilden beach, in Queens, New York. Ross was forty-four, a giant as a filmmaker and photographer, widely published and lauded for his photographs and cinematography. He was committed to the mission of documentary work: to make meaning from the events of our times.
In 2022, Ross and I met for coffee in Brooklyn. I had recently returned from covering the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, and told him about the Sharia courts that were now the official legal system there. He listened carefully and said, “That sounds like a film.” Four months later, we were in the heat and dust of the southern part of the nation, making the New Yorker Documentary “Swift Justice.”
Things were tough from the get-go. The Taliban threw us in jail on our second day in Kandahar. Later, we were tailed by a unit from the Taliban intelligence section. Ross was relentlessly attentive. During the Sharia court proceedings, held in a brutally hot, tiny, pink room with a single window, he caught every glance, every tick. Ross would pick his way through the seated plaintiffs and defendants and install himself right beside the judges. At first, they were startled, shooting each other grim looks, but Ross eventually disarmed with his easy smile; soon they hardly noticed him.
We knew we were telling an important story about what “Sharia”—a label often used in the West as a cudgel to sow distrust of Muslims—actually meant in this context. We talked about the challenge of getting beyond the two-dimensional visual shorthand, established in decades of coverage of the global war on terror, of beards, turbans, and commandeered U.S. rifles. The Taliban authorities vacillated between grudging accommodation and weary rejection of our attention, but Ross had an uncanny ability to connect. He learned Pashto words and peppered them into conversations throughout the day. He made friends with locals, and made them laugh. He charmed the judges with trivia and a friendly demeanor. On one day, the group was tickled to hear Ross’s assertion that Ireland has more cows than people.
The shoot tested our capacities and our patience, sometimes with each other. We were both relentless in pursuing our sometimes competing visions, approaches, priorities. At one point, we were so fed up with each other that I told a friend over text that I thought I was going to throttle him. But, when I got home, I told that same friend that I couldn’t imagine ever making a film with anyone else.
Ross went missing in November, and, while waiting and hoping for news, I started reëxamining his films and photographs. What strikes me most are the faces. Ross studied them, delighted in capturing the complexities of personality and expression. He knew that the world was a complicated place, that the easy assumptions were usually the wrong ones. He was courageous in his demand that you listen to the lads in Dublin’s Ballymun estate, bear witness to the chaos of the Mexican drug cartels, or try to understand Taliban judges: he focussed on figures who are often rendered as caricatures.
The last time I saw Ross was the weekend before he disappeared. We were shooting pictures at a protest against the Israeli invasion of Gaza. I was struck, as I always had been, by his concentration, the way his eyes scanned the scene while he held the camera under his chin, waiting. Then whatever moment he was hunting would reveal itself. He would raise the camera, and freeze it.
After two weeks of searching, we got the devastating news that Ross was gone. A message thread with many of his friends and colleagues started to swell with anecdotes and photos: adventures with him in the field, shared youth back in Ireland, road trips and good times shared. I scrolled and scrolled, absorbing all these accounts, these folks writing about the ways that time with Ross had altered the contours of their lives.
The more I read, the more I missed him, the more I was proud of him. To live like that, doing decades of committed, compassionate work, with so many people eager to testify to your vibrancy, fraternity, and loving care. What more could any of us want from life? I guess just to make it back in from the breaking waves and the rocks. To walk up on the shore, sit shivering on the sand, and drink it all in. For it all to last just a little longer. ♦
Self-Portrait, New York, New York, 1954
In spring 2024, Vivian Maier will get her first exhibition in the United States. The late street photographer rose to acclaim posthumously when her vast archive of images was discovered in a storage unit and made public, and now her vision of post-war America is coming to New York City thanks to Fotografiska. The organization is bringing Maier back to her hometown with an exhibition of around 200 works that include vintage and modern prints, as well as Super 8 films and soundtracks.
Vivian Maier will trace the photographer’s artistic journey as she honed her skills. The exhibition begins with her early photographs of 1950s New York City, taken during her downtime while she was working as a nanny, all the way up to images from the mid-1980s. Visitors will get an in-depth feel for her work and the visual language that she developed as she photographed women, children, couples, and even herself.
“The discovery of Vivian Maier’s archive and her extraordinary work is one of those rare stories that captures the public’s imagination,” said Sophie Right, executive director of Fotografiska New York. “We are thrilled to be premiering this beautiful exhibition in her hometown of New York—it’s a testament to her distinct perspective and talent, and an honor for the museum.”
Vivian Maier will run from May 31, 2024, to September 2024, at Fotografiska New York.
Chicago, Illinois, May, 16, 1957
Untitled, 1958
Grenoble, France, 1959.
Central Park, New York, September 26, 1959
Fotografiska: Website | Instagram | Facebook
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Jen Berke is a food photographer who’s headed to the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl on Dec. 23.
But, the Hampton resident won’t be snapping pictures of prize spuds; she’s one of 10 officials working the NCAA Division I football game between the Utah State Aggies and the Georgia State Panthers. It’s the longest-running cold-weather bowl game in college football, so heat up some tater tots and watch the action live starting at 1:30 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.
“I’m thinking there are going to be a lot of potatoes in the pre-game,” says Berke, who, as side judge, will keep her eyes peeled in the defensive backfield. “And the winning team dumps a big container of french fries on the coach.”
I wish that happened to me each time I completed a story.
BERKE AND FELLOW OFFICIAL STACY JAMESON
For 12 years, Berke’s donned the black-and-white-striped uniform on high school gridirons and college campuses. She is a member of the Collegiate Officiating Consortium and refs games in the FCS Missouri Valley Conference and the FBS Mid-American and Big Ten conferences. She has a part-time gig reviewing injury replays for the Steelers’ sideline medical staff.
It’s the perfect role for the lifelong sports fanatic whose parents enrolled her in gymnastics when she was 3 years old. While growing up in Elizabethtown, Pa., Berke played softball, field hockey, basketball, volleyball and rugby and ran track. She never let gender stop her from chasing her athletic dreams.
“I lifted weights with my high school football team,” she says. “I was stronger than the underclassman guys by the time I was a senior.”
After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh with a chemistry degree, the self-described introvert joined the Pittsburgh Passion Women’s Football team, serving as wide receiver, defensive back and kick returner.
In 2011, after several years in the league, she hung up her cleats to have a baby.
Days after giving birth to her daughter, Berke attended an NFL-sponsored officiating clinic for women to encourage more females to tackle the role. Later, during another weeklong seminar for aspiring refs, she received $300 worth of free gear, including the striped uniform, penalty flags, beanbags, a notebook and, of course, a whistle.
Berke says there’s a need for officials on every level throughout the country. She encourages locals, especially women, to get involved by joining the Greater Pittsburgh Football Officials Association.
When she’s not cooking, baking, playing with her two kids or photographing recipes for food blogs such as Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen of the Pacific Northwest, Berke works 10 college football games a season. Saturday will be her first time officiating a bowl (she suggests serving a keto-friendly Bacon Ranch Cheese Ball at your watch party). The pay is higher for championship battles, but so is the criticism. Even when a crowd of 85,000 is hurtling boos in her direction, she takes it all in stride.
“I notice if a coach is mad because I’m right in front of them, but I get so focused on what I’m doing I don’t notice fans at all,” she says. “It’s such a fun thing to be involved in, but you need thick skin.”
Kind of like a potato.
Traveling and photography are a perfect match. It’s so fun to photograph in a new place. Yet, for portrait photographers, locating models while abroad can be a challenge. There’s nothing more disheartening than finding yourself in an incredible place with no one to photograph. Here are some tips for finding models while you travel!
Barcelona is an insanely beautiful city celebrated for its stunning coastal views and exceptional architecture. It’s a unique blend of antiquity and contemporary urban charm, offering a perfect balance between city life and vacation vibes, with the beach just a stone’s throw away. So, it was very important to me that I capture some portraits while I was there.
During my trip, I was able to photograph several amazing models in this dreamy city, and it made my trip that much more amazing. Photographing local models brought a level of creativity, authenticity, and friendship to my trip that I hadn’t anticipated. I highly recommend finding local models to work with whenever you travel.
Here are effective ways to make that happen:
Explore popular model hashtags for whatever city you happen to be in. I used hashtags like #BarcelonaModel, #BarcelonaPhotographer, and #BarcelonaFotografo to discover models in the area. If you have a substantial Instagram following, announce in your stories that you’re seeking models in a specific city. Encourage interested individuals to DM you with photos and a brief introduction.
Platforms like Model Mayhem are valuable for finding models in different cities or countries. Create a profile showcasing your portfolio to establish credibility. Then, search for models and makeup artists in your desired location.
For a more professional approach, reach out to local modeling agencies via email. Explain the nature of your planned shoot and the type of model you are looking for. Agencies can assist in pairing you with the perfect model, considering your shoot requirements. Be aware that model fees vary based on factors like experience, shoot type, and demand.
During my Barcelona trip, I used Instagram and Model Mayhem. Browsing Barcelona-related hashtags led me to models whose profiles I scrutinized to ensure past modeling experience before reaching out via DM.
My approach involved introducing myself and expressing interest in collaborating for a specific shoot while sharing a link to my website. I also inquired about their rates or the possibility of a print exchange. Not everyone responded, so I definitely recommend reaching out to more people than you need. Here is an example message:
Hey! I’m ___(Name)___. I am going to be in ___(location)___ for the week and am looking for models to photograph for a ___(type of shoot)____ shoot. I love your look and think you’d be perfect for the shoot. Would you be interested in modeling? Here is a link to my website so you can explore my work. What is your rate? I’d also be happy to trade for prints if you prefer.
I also used Model Mayhem to specifically search for models in Barcelona. This website is pretty cool because it allows models to showcase their portfolio, so you can see a variety of past shoots they’ve done. It also makes it very clear what their rates are for different types of shoots and whether or not they are willing to trade for prints. The model I found on model Mayhem was amazing and even helped me find the perfect location for the shoot.
It is very important to remember that caution is crucial when photographing in another country with unfamiliar individuals. Consider bringing someone along for safety, or opt for public shoot locations to make sure everyone feels safe and comfortable.
Capturing images with models from other countries can be a really interesting experience, often accompanied by language barriers. While in Barcelona, I had the opportunity to photograph a recently relocated Russian model. Our communication mainly relied on broken Spanish due to our lack of a shared language—she didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak Russian. Surprisingly, this language challenge brought an intriguing layer to the shoot, highlighting how photography transcends language barriers. Despite our language differences, we had such an amazing time photographing together and produced some really great images.
Photographing local models during my trip to Barcelona was one of the highlights of my trip. I definitely recommend giving it a shot if you have a fun trip planned.
If you have any other tips for finding models in different countries, drop them in the comments!!
