Model Mistakes / "What Not to Do!"
The following information has been compiled by
photographer, G. Gregory Geiger.
1. Visible bra straps.
2. Twists in swimsuit or dress straps.
3. Labels showing.
4. Off-centered necklace jewelry.
5. Orange cast from spray-on tan models who decide it'd be a good idea totan excessively right before the shoot & either show up with hideous tan lines, dry cracked skin, or lobster-red skin.
6. Visible bandages
7. Exposure difficulty from white clothing - dark skin, black clothing - light skin, and white clothing - black clothing combinations.
8. Moiré and body distortion from stripe patterns.
9. Sad or tense expressions (even when enjoying the shoot).
10. Chipped/old nail polish.
11. Excessively long strings on thongs and swimsuit bottoms.
12. Hair band on wrist.
13. Nipple peeking out to say hello
14. French manicure and pedicure is best as it does not distract as coloredpolish would.
15. Bunches in fabric.
16. Yikes, you never wear a white bra under a white shirt (unless the shirtis SUPER thick). It shows up terribly... Always nude, or light pink. Nude colored bra. or even better- if you're small and perky enough to do it-no bra! NO BRA! If you're rather endowed, tape is awesome, I use tape. I recommend a light or clear medical tape. It's less visible under light clothes, and comes off a lot easier than duct tape, without sacrificing stickiness or getting sharp tape edges like you would if you used regular scotch tape. Well endowed ladies-no bra, use tape. Practice a couple of times before the actual shoot so you don't end up with weird boob lumps, tape lines, or an uneven rack.
17. Too tight undies or other clothing/jewels that leave marks on the skin. This takes 20 to 30 min. to disappear.
18. Eating in studio? Don't forget a toothbrush.
19. Dirty or biting fingernails. (damn.. some things really can ruin a shoot!)
20. Old shoes under nice dress.
21. Shaved where needed!
22. Chewing gum in mouth during shoot!!!
23. Coming to a shoot after a party and waking up at 4 am.
24. No body piercings unless the shoot requires it.
25. Model release - TFP contract
26. Models who get hired for a certain look and the day before a shoot with no word to the photographer they decide to shave half their head & dye the other half blue, or something similar.
27. Another 'gotcha': lying about measurements. The model might get away with it online, but not in person. Lazy eyes and slight uneven features. She model has to know them and compensate accordingly (by selecting poses where it won't show, or by forcing an eye to open slightly more, for instance). It occurs often that one eye tend not to open as much as the other. Sometimes, it shows a lot and makes the model look awkward.
28. Roots showing. Don't shoot if the dye is in severe need to be redone.
29. Avoid long, tacky fake nails for fashion.
30. Visine is good for nice clear eye whites if used occasionally.
31. Puffy eyes. 90% of the time it is from dehydration. A model should start drinking large quantities of water 48 hours before a shoot.
32. Frizzy hair. It happens a lot on dry, permed, curly, or dyed hair. If it's too hot and humid outside, the hair will be a mess. Warn the photographer about the risk of shooting on location during the hot months of summer if this happens to you.
33. Raccoon eyes unless that what you were going for.
34. Ghetto bad hair extensions, which start half way on the head-or bad hair weave.
35. Don’t wear tight clothes if you are going to do lingerie, swimwear or nudes. You get those red lines from the bras or elastic.
36. Don't do anything drastic to your hair.
37. Only use false eyelashes if you can put them on right.
38. Don’t wear tight or stretchy clothes unless that is the look. Do you want “camel toe”?
39. Don’t wear “chicken cutlets” in bikini tops. A lot of times they are noticeable.
40. Leave the caution tape with the cops.
41. Belts are meant for your pants not your boobs.
42. If you wear a corset make sure it's the right size or you'll have armpit breasts.
43. Make sure your clothes fit properly. You don’t want a muffin top.
44. Thongs aren't meant to be a back accessory.
45. Team effort is always appreciated, but a large mirror helps to eliminate things. The naked eye is still a human eye which means it is subject to error so the more eyes, the better...generally.
46. I can't believe nobody has mentioned the dreaded tampon string showing...
47. VPL - Visable Panty Lines
48. Big photographer issue: Especially when you wear tight outfits or contrasting colors to the point you can tell the color of the underwear, the day of the week and the embroidering on them. I always tell the model to bring at least nude, black and white underwear to cover most shooting situations. Then other times depending on the outfit and the tightness of it, you have to as one model explained it to me 'free ball it' (provided you don't have a dark patch of pubic hair). BTW it may be easier to clone out than some undies in Photoshop.
49. Wrist watch left on.
50. Strands of hair out of place
51. Lipstick on your teeth.
52. Missing a spot while shaving.
53. When wearing fishnet tops, having nipples poking out the wrong hole inthe netting. (I haven’t figured that one out yet.)
54. Clip in hair. You can tell when you clamp on the fake pony that it's not going to work.
55. It's better to have clean, new lingerie that matches to wear.
56. Bring clothes that go with the theme or location.
57. If your outdoors and walking bring tennis shoes. Muddy heels inpictures aren’t attractive.
58. Armpit stubble and bikini bumps. Enough said.
59. Rough nasty heels/feet -pedicures are your friend!
60. Shiny/sweaty face from hot lights.
61. Late in a shoot: fall out from dark eye-shadow and eyeliner migrating south. Manages to age you about 10 years!
62. Wearing lacy underwear under thin clothes-the bumps from the laceshow right through.
63. Drink plenty of water starting a day or two before the shoot. It helps flush toxins and prevents water retention (bloat)
64. Cut down on salt, too, for the same reason.
65. If doing lingerie or nudes, don't wear clothing with tight waistbands, wrists, etc., (as those leave marks and indentations on the skin) for several hours before the shoot.
66. No alcohol before the shoot - dulls the senses, eyes can become cloudy and listless (unfocused)... No drugs, either.
67. Try to cut down caffeine before the shoot. Too much can cause anxiousness, and cause veins to pop out on the skin.
68. Trips to the spa should happen no later than the day before. Facials can make your face quite red and splotchy for several hours or even a day or two.
69. No waxing within a day of the shoot.
70. Bring signed model release to shoot (and, of course, you should have a copy for when the model forgets)
71. If the model is doing her own make-up and hair, practice a few times before the day of the shoot.
72. Ask the photographer if you can bring music (or, does he/she have an iPod player?)
73. If soda/pop makes you bloat, don't drink it the day of the shoot.
74. Don't decide that, because your shoot is in the late afternoon, that the morning is a perfect time to get that new tattoo or piercing.
75. Don't forget to change earrings between outfits!
76. And for outdoor shoots, bring comfortable walking shoes, flip flops ... once had a new model try to walk 300 yards on an outdoor path (bumpy/rocky) w/ her high-high heels on ... too bad about the twisted ankle.