What is a Test Shoot?

[@romyec]

Thank you so much for sharing your industry knowledge. ❤

[@THEMODELGENE]

You are very welcome! I really should redo these first videos now that I'm better at youtube :P

[@alexandraw6264]

Would you consider making a video about what makes a test shoot photo useable in a portfolio, and what types of photos one should aim to have in their portfolio?

[@THEMODELGENE]

Yes, I was planning on redoing all of these first videos I made :) What makes a test shoot photo useable is if the photo represents you as a model, your natural beauty shining through. The photos in your portfolio should represent the type of career you are trying to have, so if you are more of a swimwear model, then more beachy shots, more editorial-type images for high fashion, close up beauty images if it is going to be all about the face.

[@gustavravn6424]

Love your videos

[@THEMODELGENE]

I'm trying

[@sarabyrd3374]

applied cuz i was bored and got excepted for a trial shoot

[@josephchan4198]

Interesting. Thanks.

[@THEMODELGENE]

You are welcome!

[@testshoot]

100% accurate

[@rahuldev642]

I'm a freelance fashion photographer and I wanna know about how to get shoots or job in a agency where I Can shoot with professionals and I got paid

[@THEMODELGENE]

Once your book is developed enough to sell yourself as a photographer, you can reach out to local brands and businesses to do work for them. That is exactly why photographers who are interested in shooting fashion photography need to do test shoots with models, to get their portfolios to a place that makes people want to hire them.

[@Dmvhooptroop]

What if it’s a company doing a test shoot for there brand wouldn’t it be recommended to charge them

[@THEMODELGENE]

Thank you for your question, but if it is for a brand, then it wouldn't be a test shoot. If they were going to use the photos in any way, that would be for advertising purposes, so it should be paid work. Even when it is internal use only, it should be paid if it is for a brand. The exception would be if it was a fashion editorial, but that is a different category and you can watch my video on editorials :)

[@Tarun-g2s]

Can a model or photographer use the Photoshoot’s pic

[@THEMODELGENE]

both! but just for personal use, like their website and portfolio, not to sell.

[@xWingzTV]

How do you find a competent experienced fashion photographer willing to do test shoots? You said you gave up, is it not possible?

[@THEMODELGENE]

It is very difficult, especially depending on your location. In bigger cities, there are more photographers, photography students that could be more interested but I do not recommend aspiring models to try and arrange test shoots themselves. Having a portfolio is not a requirement for getting signed to an agency. There are too many “guys with cameras” using tests as a way to victimize models and an agency makes them more accountable to their actions out of fear of being blacklisted.

[@NilsDecker]

So you're saying models shouldn't be paying for test shoots, but agencies should? As you pointed out, finding "willing photographers" is probably hard if you just want their time, equipment, team etc. for free while the model + agency will use the images to generate income in the future.

[@THEMODELGENE]

Hi Nils, thanks for your comment. Yes, I am advising models that they should not be paying for test shoots. If agencies want to pay out of their own pocket, that is a different story, but that doesn't happen, the cost is always charged back to the model. It is a dangerous position when the models are trying to climb out of debt from their agencies, especially in the beginning of their careers before they understand the industry they are entering. Every market is different, but in the high fashion market in Europe, many clients are turned off by seeing a model's book with test images. Many scam agencies will sign models with no actual potential, arrange for them to do a test shoot for hundreds of dollars, for photos that are unusable for a portfolio. There has been a shift from clients wanting experienced models, to only wanting the newest models unseen by anyone else. Most of the bigger agencies in NYC hire photographers to work in their art department, so it would make sense for those salaried employees to be helping the models get more comfortable in front of the camera. All parties in the test shoot are giving their time for free and are able to use the photos to generate income in the future, but the photographer is the one who actually owns the images. Models can book massive jobs without a portfolio, (my model Patrick shot a Dior campaign in 2020 with Meisel with no book) but a photographer isn't going to be able to book commercial clients without a portfolio. Cheers!

[@NilsDecker]

​@@THEMODELGENE Hey Marco, greatly appreciate the time you took to respond 🙏🏼! A few points I'd like to add though. I fully agree with you on "scam agencies" - those are usually fairly easy to spot as the quality of their talent/ client list is low or non-existent. I would also argue that scam "photographers" (dude/gal with a camera) are fairly easy to spot. Check if any model agents or agencies follow their Instagram, is the quality of work on their website high/ do they even have a website etc? If the answer to those questions is no, probably better to stay away from them. Where I disagree with you, or frankly, am trying to figure things out, is when it comes to "time spent". For the agency, it's a few minutes, perhaps up to an hour to organize. For the model, the time it takes to shoot (and to put together wardrobe, if that's not provided). For the photographer, it's putting together a moodboard, finding a location and/or renting a studio, bringing thousands of dollars worth of equipment to set, having insurance for all of that, finding a hair & makeup artist and/or stylist, coordinating times with them, and retouching final photos (as a reference, a simple fashion image takes 30 or so minutes to retouch, a beauty image 30-90 minutes, per IMAGE). Long story short: 1 shoot, minimum half a day work, usually it totals a full 8-12h day. Regarding "ownership" of the image - most agents won't be thrilled if I start selling images from a test shoot, so the ownership gives me the photographer little to no value. And working with an inexperienced model can be fun, but if those images are usable for my portfolio is a different question. I am genuinely trying to figure this out 🤷🏼‍♂. I work with some (very very well respected) agencies who have their models pay a little bit for test shoots or retouching, but the business model isn't really working for me at all. I haven't booked a single commercial client because of a test shoot I did (for free) so I'm wondering what's really in it for me?! Happy to hear your thoughts on this ☺

[@THEMODELGENE]

​@@NilsDecker I completely understand your point of view. For new photographers interested in shooting fashion photography specifically, it is important to build that relationship with the agencies so they be more inclined to let you shoot their models for upcoming editorial work. A book full of test shoots for a photographer isn't really going to help make them marketable to commercial, but with so many online magazines, many will shoot a test shoot that will be submitted as an editorial. I've styled test shoots for photographers that did exactly this, which turned into to shooting for clients like L'Oréal and Shu Uemura. When I worked at the since-closed Jed Root, even their roster of top photographers were doing test shoots on occasion, exploring their creativity without a client making any demands, and those photos were used to show fashion editors what they were interested in doing for their publication. Photography lives in that space between art and commerce, I see test shoots on the art side of the spectrum. They are also a way to show other more established photographers what you are capable of, so you can go from being a 1st assistant to shooting for that client yourself. Tim Walker and Sebastian Kim started off as Richard Avedon's assistants.

[@NilsDecker]

@@THEMODELGENE Thanks again, Marco. I think it's a fair point if photographers submit their images to magazines which give both the model (and by extension agency) as well as the photographer some exposure. I still find it hard to understand if that's not mostly an avenue where the photographers actually get scammed - they organize a test/ creative shoot with an agency & model and then give images to some online publication that publishes without paying for it (or worse, charging the photographers for publishing the images). I guess it's a matter of finding the better magazines and only submitting them there. Oh well, everyone would do it if it were easy right? Wait... everyone IS doing it already just few people make it 😂. Appreciate the wisdom - if you're ever up in Toronto (or have any models here that would be great for a FREE test shoot ;-)), let me know.

[@ChrisM-yq2pq]

@@THEMODELGENEsure but why should photographers shoot untested or new models