I had a shoot last night that was definitely out of the norm for me, but it was very fun. I was one of three models helping promote a company called Tad Gear. We weren't told much about the company itself except that they deal with military gear and supplies. The company wanted to begin promoting more and needed models to give them that special edge.
The shoot took place in San Francisco around 7:30pm. The third model never showed so the photographer had to scramble for a replacement and luckily he was able to find someone last minute. After hair and makeup, we got into our military gear. I got to showcase a Vietnam War-era uniform. Each of us had real weapons (not loaded of course!). The American flag was hung in the background and we stood on soapboxes to give us the height. The shoot went really fast. We kept it pretty simple: standing side to side next to each other and looking off in the distance and saluting.
After that set of shoots, we each got to do another look. This next set was for the company's calendar, which is going to be sold in stores nationwide, as well as worldwide, depending on how much distribution Tad Gear can get. Instead of sporting military garb, we switched it up for a sexier shoot...this is for a calendar, after all! For me, the photographer and art director decided to dress me up as a sexy snowboarder. Sweet! They supplied the parka, boots, sports bra top and snowboard...I supplied the hot pants. They attached the snowboard to my boots and had a wind fan blowing on me--it felt so good, considering how hot it can get in front of the bright lights. I have never snowboarded a day in my life but lucky that experience wasn't needed. The art director gave me simple directions and we did a range of looks, from sexy/sporty, to even having me growl like a bear to get a bunch of different facial expressions. Talk about being fierce! LOL.
It was funny because prior to shooting the snowboard outfit, the photographer and art director were explaining that the look for this shoot wasn't going to involve a serious expression like the military uniform shot. As soon as they said they needed a sexy look, I gave them one as an example and they went wild! It's a good thing that I'm a Victoria's Secret freak--the catalogues are a great reference for sexy expressions! :)
In order to really get me in the mood, I pretended I was on the set of the Victoria's Secret holiday catalogue shoot. That definitely helped me get into the sexy mode. It was a bit of a challenge since I did have to worry about not only looking sexy, but posing my body in a way that was flattering, yet looked like the actions of someone snowboarding. We played around with a couple of different things and it was definitely a workout for me!
Just when I thought I was getting the hang of being attached to the snowboard, my clumsy behind fell back and onto the backdrop! I was so embarassed but I wasn't hurt and I didn't completely destroy the set. I couldn't believe I fell down! One minute I was listening to the photographer's directions about posing and the next thing I knew, I started to tilt back and just when I thought I could catch my balance--down I went! The crew was so worried that I was hurt, but I was laughing my head off! Hey, if you can't laugh at yourself, what can you do? It took a few minutes to get me upright since the board weighed me down a lot but I got right back up and went right back to being sexy!
When I was done, I was told I could keep the top so I removed the parka and boots and gave them back to the art director. As I turned around to get my stuff, the art director shouted out that he loved the curves of my back and wanted to do another quick shoot. Who knew that walking away and showcasing my backside could inspire another outfit! LOL. They had me get back on top of the soapbox, but without the snowboard and had me turn my back to the camera. They gave me a military hunting knife, which I held in my right hand and put behind my back, while I looked over my shoulder at the camera. I know they are definitely going to come out hot!
Thankfully, the crew and photographer I worked with were very professional about paying me as well as promising to give me copies of all the images. In addition to all that, when the Tad Gear calendar comes out, I'll get free copies to keep. Finally, I get some tearsheets! Yes! The photographer also told me that if I ever needed the large, high resolution images for my book, all I had to do was ask and they would send it right over.
After the many times I've worked with photographers, only to never see any of my images or receive them for my portfolio, this offer was a model's dream come true! I will be receiving the images within three weeks and it will take some time for the calendars to be put together but I can't wait to see how everything turns out. The photos will be used in Tad Gear's brochures, website, calendar and other print material. I'm very excited!
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