The Round Blog

Towards Tom Ford: Pushing the boundaries

Certain people inspire me, maybe not the entire portfolio of their work, but some parts of it, some attitudes I can feel in their photos, some poses, some lights, some directness. When I take a photo and I look at it I know what I like and what I do not like, and I may take inspiration just from one of the many elements that composes it. If I show an image to Fabiana, I normally have to specify what I like of that photo. It is incredible how many interesting things can be found in horrible photos.

Kayleigh and Mikael playing in front of our camera

The thin line From this perspective I am attracted by two photographers, Tom Ford and Tony Duran, whose style is very strong and extreme in the way they depict the sexuality of men and women. I do not like all of of their photos, but it is like when I see a photo of Helmut Newton: some of them I simply love, some others are almost vulgar. I know that the line is very thin and moving from one to another is very simple and dangerous at the same time. If you are able to stop just before pushing your photo into the vulgarity, the strength of what you created is incredible. You push it just a little bit too far and it is a failure, at least from my perspective. Very much of this line is defined by the photographer, but part of the same line is defined by the models and by the way the photographer is able to pose them. As I told in the past, photographing models is more a psychological game than a technical study and to make the most out of them the photographer must be confident.

Let a model be himself and he will show you something great you may mot have expected

In order to get close to the some part of the style of Ford and Duran, Fabiana and I are approaching that line starting from far below the line, trying to understand how to produce those results shaping the models without going into areas we would not like, and on the first week of February we laid the first stone for this, with the first steps towards a Tom Ford style. We did not look for any nudity, but we decided to push the boundaries just a little bit more, we wanted to analyse the reaction of our models while working with them. Moreover one of my target is to start learning to know the limits of every model by the way they communicate: if you want to reach the line, without going over it, you need to know which are the models who are willing to trust and play with you.

Ask your models to play a role, but be sure they are up to the task, as Alex and Mikael were

The Team Photographers: Carlo and Fabiana Nicora Make Up Artist: Yvonne Mazurkiewicz Hair Stylist: Caterina Maiolini Models: Alex Butt, Kayleigh Ann, Mikael Angesjo

Kayleigh relaxed immediately in front of the camera

Underline everyone's strength and avoid uncovering the weak spots If you want to make the most out of your models, you need to be quick to understand what are their strengths, but you have to quicker to learn what they feel their weak spots are. It does not really matters if you think that the model in front of you is perfect photographed from a specific position or if two models together make a great couple shot: you need to understand if they feel well placed in those situation. It does not matter if the model is very professional or if he or she is just starting his or her career, there are situations where someone can be uncomfortable and it is the photographer's role to understand and avoid, or correct, those situations. As photographer you have to make the most out of your models' strengths, being careful to avoid their weakness. The photos will show this, will show a relaxed and confident model. With time you will be able to start using the models' strengths and then making them forget those they consider weaknesses. You will be able to push their boundaries without bending their confidence.

Mikael led the dances once he entered in his character

Listen and read carefully A good photographer is not the man behind the camera. A good photographer is the glue of the photoshoot, is the man or the woman that brings together the magic of many professionals and underlines everyone's strengths. In order to achieve this the most important thing a photographer can do is to listen carefully to the people, really reading what they write about themselves even before bringing them in, during the communication from the casting on. One of the things you have to be careful about is to understand if the person is really interested in what you want to achieve, in the photos you want to produce, especially if you are going to push your limits towards a style of photography that is not the normal one. You have to remember that maybe the model that may be perfect for the role, and that applied for it, is not very happy to pose in certain situations you want to reproduce. That model is not the right one for your photoshoot. Be honest, from the first message, write about your targets and read between the lines from the model that replies to you: casting the right fit for the right role is the first step to the great images.

When she bring the movement in her body to extremes, Alex delivers great modelling

Look at their portfolio When you receive an application for a specific role, do you actually look at the portfolio of the applicant, or do you just look at their photos? There is a big difference to look at what they have in every frame from what their portfolio tells you. Open your vision, use a wide angle lens and analyse the bigger picture. Does the applicant's portfolio reflect the style you are looking for, or is it completely different from what you want to achieve? If it is different, did the model tell you something about it? You have to consider that if the model does not have the type of photos you are going to create there may be three reasons: - they don't want those kind of images - they have never tried - they have tried, but the results simply do not work You have to consider this as it is a risk to bring in a model who is scared of showing some more skin for example. Maybe she will, but she will be so uncomfortable that the whole photo simply will not work. Spend some time feeling the bigger picture of your applicants' portfolio: it will save you a lot of headaches.

Pushing the boundaries may not mean revealing more skin, it may mean revealing different personalities from your models

Be polite, but be yourself! Models are a very important part of every photoshoot, but you have to keep in mind that they are models, they are part of your results, they are not your results. You have to remember that you have to put in the bag the shot you want, the one you need, not the one they are comfortable with. Models should be aware of what you are going to ask from them, you have to be extremely clear on that, because at the end of the day, you have to produce a result and models are instrumental to your ideas and targets, they do not dictate the tempo of the session, you do. The relation with the models is extremely important, but you have to keep in mind that if, at the end of the photoshoot, the photos will not be those you wanted, you, as photographer, have failed.

Confident models deliver more. Kayleigh and Mikael were at ease while working together and they worked really well

In the end you have to have clear ideas on what you want to produce and you have to bring on board the people that may help you in that road, not those who might do great, if only they were able to push their boundaries some more. On the day we were lucky, as we worked with some fantastic, committed models and a first class team. Thanks to all of them we nailed the images we wanted, just outside our standards and towards that line. Step by step...

This editorial session was a success, thanks to everyone who was involved