How American Fashion Models compare to European Fashion Models.
While several photographers had a remark on the area, I choose to focus on the responses made by a qualified photographer with over 20 years in the field. His feedback were very useful and fascinating, to say the least. Whether they are true or not is of course unknown, and your experiences may vary greatly.
Photographer Interview:
Me: How long have you been in the fashion model marketplace?
Photographer: I started about 20 years ago shooting for a small online company that worked with stock photos. Mostly I worked with freelancer models and produced the content that the enterprise would later sell along with the photograph license. After about 2 years I branched out on my own and began to work in the fashion marketplace. My job was 100% in the USA for the first few years and I worked with models ranging from formal evening wear, designer outfits, to Playboy style artistic work and amusement magazines which include Maxim. I treated the job as a specialist and always worked well with top rated level models.
Me: So when did you start touring abroad to work with models and what distinction did you observe?
Photographer: My initial trip to Europe was about 6 years ago. I started out functioning in Prague. The determination for this built up gradually over time. Essentially I was having more and more trouble finding acceptable American models. Not because of their 'look', but because the way of life was changing so fast in regards to online modeling and freelancer photographers. For example I would generally be required to pay for the model's boyfriend to attend the photo-shoot to ensure that nothing 'funny' was going on. Or to pay for a bodyguard/chaperon to be present at the shoot and during the interview. Now I fully understand the need for basic safety, but I am a specialist photographer with a huge profile and years of knowledge. Also the models I worked with often came from agencies and talent scouts, not Craigslist. So over time it became very unpleasant to work with American models. I even begun to feel 'sleazy', as if what I was doing was in some way shady. This feeling was not from the content I produced, but from the model's actions toward me. Aside from that to this the price started to go way up while the quality started to drop substantially.
My initial photo-shoot in Prague was an incredible experience. I organized the casting call through an agency. Upon arrival I found out that there were over 100 professionals, some from as far away as Brno (a two hour drive). My regular pay-rate was more the double the average pay-rate that models regularly obtain from local photographers. The models treated me with wonderful respect and openness, which was a tremendous difference from the paranoid US models. I journeyed with a small group composed of a make-up artist and crew members. We leased a big house that we created into a studio for the photo-shoot. The house was over 5000 square feet and could have cost thousands in the states. Nevertheless we were able to organise the stay for $1200 (which covered 2 weeks).
The models also came completely ready. What I mean by this is the models actually knew how to pose and what pattern of imagery I was in search of. Prior to the photo-shoot we have a casting and I display the image styles and review the particular type of work I am looking for. I do this in America as well but in spite of my prep work the models constantly show up having no clue and I essentially have to spend around 20-30 minutes reading the posing variations and overall feel I am trying to reach from the photos. I was pleasurably astonished to see that all of the European models practiced before to arriving at the shoot.
Me: Does this imply you will not work with American models anymore?
Photographer: Well I do think it may seem is if I am coming down to hard on US models and I don't mean for that to be the case. I have worked well with some amazingly expert American models. Nevertheless the feeling lately in regards to American models seems novice. I have experienced complete photo-shoots completely spoiled because the model was not completely ready or simply changed her mind mid-shoot. So in the meanwhile It looks like I will adhere to European models. glamour models
