So you want to be a model...and other forms of etiquette in 2017.

Listen above!

I have my coffee, dark side of the moon is spinning on the record player(one of the more brain expanding albums IMO) and I'm ready to write a centered non vindictive blog post about a topic that is very near and dear to me, modeling. It's a term that grossly encompasses way too many people, actions and statuses in this social media, narcissistic world. I'm going to try to keep some of my more base emotions about modeling in check as I write this. What in the hell could that mean Mike? Well, let's get some of my bullshit out of the way first because I truly really do want to help people understand what it means to model. I hesitate to say "be a model" because that means SO many things.

Okay, let me sort out some of my choice feelings first so that I can have a clear, helpful guide to those who actively want to pursue this trade. I'm pretty sure a lot of "what it takes" to be a model falls in line with most successful jobs but everyone needs a refresher. More on this later.

Okay bullshit time.

I don't even like the term model. It's like talking about amateur photographers and pro photographers. Does one have a different connotation than the other? Sure it does! It's the same thing with pro models and amateur models. Social media has driven all of us insane. Technology has driven us all insane. Let me explain. If you're "attractive" people always say that you should model. Quite a true falsehood as many attractive people can make pretty shitty models. Modeling is more of a subset of important actions that attractiveness can only help so much. So in this social media driven world that is guided largely by how you look, folks are being told they should be doing certain things they may not be cut out for. Coupled with technology this becomes downright scary. Let me tell you, digital cameras have gotten AMAZING. I'm thinking about just buying canon's entry level slr and shooting with that and saving tons of money but seriously, blokes who have picked up a camera in the past 1 month are taking "decent" images of people. Like, it's getting exceptionally hard to take crappy photos. Seriously, I will give my slr with nice lens to my cousin who is 6, put it on auto, and have them take pictures of what they like and they are BEAUTIFUL.

Okay, I'm starting to get tangential, the point is, this community of people with access to good technology and "attractive" people have bred a pool of amateur models and photographers that just continue the cycle of mediocrity. Are there amazing photographers and models that come out of this? Sure, definitely, nobody is saying that you can't amount to anything if you start out this route but I feel a lot of people would agree, those individuals would have pursued their trades regardless. I mean this guy didn't go to a photography school. Totally not tooting my own horn. I feel I'm okay at what I do but I try, really hard, like engrossing my life in all aspects of photography, hourly.

Anyway, my point to this garbled mess is that there is a lot of noise. I speak of this noise a lot in photography. It just so happens with modeling as well. So I tend to have a little bit of a pulmonary embolism explode when I see people throwing up their picture and saying "I have never modeled, I want to shoot boudoir, can photographers take pictures of me?" Excuse me, I need to clean up the pool of blood at my desk that has escaped from my brain. 

So that's my bias. People know, I try very hard to not work with new folks. I generally end up having a bad experience, why? They are in it for the wrong reasons or they aren't in it for enough of a reason. I'm so dedicated to what I do and I guess it could be unfair but I expect people to be as dedicated to what they do as well.  My time is so important, so important. I would hope they thought their time be important too. 

I want to deter the wrong people from coming aboard. I want to cultivate the people that really want to work hard. This work ethic kinda makes me think of my high school choir teacher, Mr. Ed Dalton. He scared the shit out of a lot of people, made them cry, possibly made not so PC remarks to the class at times but his expectation weeded out people that weren't in it for the right reasons. We had a smaller, sleeker, more musically focused choir because of it. Now I don't want to go scaring people but I want to let them know that there is work ahead and the best models work so hard at what they do.

If you want instagram followers, stop reading right now. So here it is, a small list of things that you can do to start modelling or be  better at modelling. A note before I start, this is for someone who really wants to be doing this at 50% or more of the time in their life. It may not matter to the para legal that does liquor events on the weekend or the figure nude model that's also in school. Don't yell at me too much. 

1) Check your emotions and reasoning as to why you want to pursue this. Are you a narcissist? Do you just like having your picture taken? What do you have to give to the industry? This is a funny question but it's true! Do you have a marketable look? Regardless of what you think of the industry's take on sizes of people(IT COMPLETELY FUCKING SUCKS) there are a host of opportunities for print and commercial models. A word on the industry, it's slowly changing with lots of ear pulling so please never feel distraught if you aren't a size 0. Are you in a large or small market? What kind of jobs are out there? Agencies? This takes a lot of research, get to it!

2) Photographers aren't your client. Look, there are some amazing art models out there that tour and get paid by photographers and other artists alike but they are few and more far between than you think. If you can point to a majority of them charging photographers and making upwards of 60k a year I'll shut up right now. A lot of people end up in this rut of charging baseless rates for clothing/nude/hourly to others that will pay them. Your clients are the companies that book you for jobs. Some people even get into a bad situation where people start just charging them to take their clothes off. Photographers are not your end client.

3) Your body is a temple and so is your face, take care of it. Like I said, a pretty or handsome face doesn't work well if you're sleep deprived, hungover or eat like trash most of the time. Your whole self is marketable. Sounds incredibly toddler like but things like, getting sleep, drinking water, regular exercise, taking care of your hands and feet, regular grooming habits make everything go so much better. Think if you didn't take your body seriously and you looked like hell on a job, now you've made the photographer, makeup artist and retoucher work harder. What happens if you show up to a job with awful tan lines and you have to wear shorts or backless dress? Yes these are minor things but when your face and body are your job you always have to be thinking about them. Invest in yourself always.

4) Punctuality and the art of caring. I don't know why this is number 4, it should be number 1 for life and in all jobs. Paid or unpaid, showing up to a job, creative endeavor, on time is a testament to caring. I always say, treat it like you are going to a job that is paying you 2000 dollars a day no matter what. If your stomach was hurting would you still show up to the job if that's what you were being paid? I sure know you would so take that mindset to all jobs, big or small. Not feeling well, fights with significant others or sleeping too late are all kinda unacceptable in any career when calling out sick so don't do it as a model. Use your phone like a phone, call and confirm with the job or client when you'll be there. Ask them how long you will be needed for, remember your time is worth it too.

5) Establish a model kit to take to gigs. Make sure you always have water/snacks/moisturizer/basic makeup/socks/extra underwear/tweezers/mirror with you at all times. A little pack like that goes a long way.

6) If seeking agency representation, you definitely do not need to work with 100 photographers "to get a strong port." This is some sort of lie. I've worked with agency models who were just signed and generally they need a head shot and to see you in person. I see so many photographers saying that they want to help build some port for "up and coming" models. It don't work that way pal.

7) Always continue educating yourself. Every week I set aside 3 hours to learn something new. Whether it be retouching or a new way to light someone I always want to build upon my own base. It's no different for modeling. Study posing, your best friend will be the mirror. Learn to understand how your body looks in different positions, flexed, unflexed. Muscle memory is key to some poses and I always know a model doesn't know what they are doing when they are put in a pose but their face says, "what the hell!?" Work with people better than you, more experienced and enjoy helping others. You sometimes get a lot of feedback and tend to grow when thrown into situations that cause you to be out of your comfort zone.

8) Demand respect. Oye, I could write a book on what has historically been not the nicest industry. You are a human and you are amazing don't let anyone disrespect your body, your time or your self worth. No job is worth any sort of sexual/verbal assault. No job. It is not okay for anyone to touch you, ever, unless it's an assistant who asks for consent and it directly has to do with clothing/hair/makeup. Reference check who you are working with. They should be able to provide you with accurate references.

9) Learn the art of patience. Modeling is a business and you're the owner. I believe I stole that. I'm sorry model management. It takes so much time and commitment, things don't happen overnight. Also, learn actual day to day, mindful patience. You will be on jobs that are long, arduous, boring and the most seasoned models won't bat an eye. I'm looking at you Lyndsie!

10) The act of modeling isn't always glamorous. Some of the most wonderful models are pretty mundane looking people but they come to life when they are in front of the camera. Nobody shows up, looks pretty, goes home. If you feel that is what you're going to get, well, refer back to guideline number 1. 

There are so many other things to list here but I feel like those are the most basic things people can follow. Will you be successful if you do all of these things? Hell no but I believe it's your best bet at success. It's a hard, unfair business that too many people choose lightly. If people knew what it really took to being your own photography business well, you wouldn't wish it on most, the same with modeling. I want people to succeed for all the right reasons. So think deeply about the decisions you make and the time you take of others. If it's still in you to try for this life let me know, because I love working with people who really care about what they are doing. Questions? Comments, I'd love to hear your ideas and criticisms. Leave them below.

Shout out to some of my favorite reliable newbies below.

That's a Michael J. Bambuch photo...

Oh, site is revamped. I don't want to spend too much time on this. It took me way too long to get things straight on here. It looks amazing on a desktop but I'm still not happy with the mobile representation of the site so I'll be quarreling with square space for the rest of the day. I hope you enjoy it. The template is a little more forgiving to photographers and I really like how you can swipe through galleries instead of just scrolling up and down.

This quandary of my mind may have lost some steam as it popped in my head a couple days ago in a violent night of racing thoughts but I will try anyway. I have a bad habit of looking at too many people's work. I think it takes up way too much of my time. I'm not specifically measuring mine against theirs, I'm just looking. I guess sometimes, I get jealous. Well, jealous is an inferior word because I feel it's too primitive to describe what I feel. I see consistency in other people's work. I see a pattern that repeats that (sometimes) might raise some red flags in my head. When you look at any great or notable photographer you can generally see a constant theme. Sure, at times their body of work might veer off on occasions but as a whole you can tell a group of Avedon pictures from a Ritts or even a Leibovitz. I've just got this pit in my stomach at the moment that makes me feel like this is a real naive battle I fight in my head. Anyway, my point is I can't see a constant thread within my work. Well I can, it's just not an apparent, in your face, thread. Why? Is it because I'm still a baby? I'm still a photographer finding his voice? I'd like to think I'm not. I approach a lot of work I do with a formula in my head that I feel is, constant. What's not constant is how I apply that formula. Every shoot, every concept I feel I complete is lit differently, processed differently and handled inconsistently. 

Something grinds my gears. (I apologize this is a slight tangent on the mike train) I am a part of this very large facebook group called, the rising tide society. It's huge and encompasses many creatives and small business but a good percentage are photographers trying to grow their businesses. The concept of presets came up in a discussion and people were heralding how much time they save(they do save time) and how it makes their workflow easier(they do that also) but if you're not creating those presets and purchasing them, is it your style? Someone commented, "oh it made me find my style so much easier." I think that's a fucking cop out. You select some "vintage" film preset and now it's your style. Fuck that man, or woman. Style is not bought, it's not borrowed. I think to buy a preset and then say that's what your style is sucks. 

Maybe because the digital world is so wide open? The possibilities of anything to look like anything are endless.  When you had film you were more pressed to be a photographer that could utilize aperture and composition. I know of all the tricks in the darkroom but that world was smaller. Film type was the biggest decider of some aesthetic. Maybe I'm wrong in saying that. Maybe I'm not. I feel like my rambling argument is starting to make no sense or less sense. 

Insecure, that's the word. It's not jealousy. I'm insecure that my work just has so little Mike Bambuch in it. This also stems from me watching way too many lighting setup videos on creative live and becoming overwhelmed that there are 100 mediocre ways to light someone and get the job done.

But then there is that part of me that just says, fuck that. Why would I want to sit there and light something the same way 100 times and call it a day. Is that style? No it's wicked boring. A part of me wants to say, fuck it, I'm going to see every opportunity differently and whatever fits that specific shoot, I'm going to use it even if that means my work looking like 1000 different things. 

I really should just write this in a journal and not on a website. But oh well, this is also partly why I started this website. To question myself, to question photography, to just ramble.  Maybe the answer to this is that I just want to be more confident in the formulas I use. There are some I am very comfortable with and then others I fear. I want a lot of tools god dammit. I want to be good at them all. I want to paint the image in my brain with light.

That's me.

Obscured by the Clouds

Probably my most favorite Pink Floyd album, the title of this blog post that is. It doesn't get much love but it's great to edit to. Most Pink Floyd is great to edit to. Give it a listen if you can. Well so much has happened in the past month. I'm not quite sure what to dedicate this to. Well I know what I should dedicate this to but it's going to be hard to choose. This post should really be about my trip to Boston less than two weeks ago and the shoot that we put together months in advance. I'll try my best to keep it about just that. Maybe I should just blog more? I don't even know who reads this.

This brings me to my first tangent not related to my post. GOD DAMN, I spend a lot of money on my web presence. I just finished my business taxes yesterday for the first time ever and it was awful. The taxes weren't that awful but seeing where some of my money goes within a year is awful. Is it worth having two websites? I'll be honest, I don't know? This one definitely needs some work. It has half of the images I want, nothing is fleshed out. I'm not too sure I'm keen on the layout oh, and there is that whole identity branding thing I haven't decided on yet. Calling Jose Ludyan!!(My cousin, who did my branding for Michael Jacobs Photo) It will get there. It has to get there. I'm paying a lot.

Now, wasn't that a fun tangent? Boston, yes, talk about Boston Mike. Here is some small insight as to how this shoot came along. Boston artist and model, Naida Black, whom I am acquaintances with put out a call for people to delve into the topic of Mental Illness more specifically people who deal with it on a daily basis. Though not diagnosed, I have worked in the mental health field for 15 years. Wow, yes, 15 years. Schizophrenia has always been a terribly large and confusing mental illness. It is consistently misrepresented, over dramatized and just plain poorly explained to the general population. I'm not sure if I should go into what it is? Maybe you should Wikipedia it? Do some reading in your spare time. Buy a DSM. One facet of Schizophrenia is definitely psychosis, more specifically the presence of hallucinations. Now there are many types of hallucinations. Some are more apparent than others. I can feel myself going down the rabbit hole of explaining these things but for time and piece of mind from this blog I focused on auditory hallucinations. Again, one small facet of this very complicated mental illness. I have interviewed hundreds if not a thousand people with schizophrenia. I spent countless hours working in a group home chatting with clients who are shaped by what they hear. Just think, decades upon decades of yourself hearing things, sounds, vibrations, perceptional changes, the voice of god, the voice of friends, the voice of a stranger, mangled, sometimes incoherent(like this sentence) sometimes pleasant, sometimes frightening, sometimes so constant, sometimes infrequent. It shapes who you are. It is you. 

So that is what I focused on. I attempted to anthropomorphize auditory hallucinations. Just a very tiny facet of Schizophrenia but one I do not forget. I enlisted the most wonderful people to work with. Samantha, Paige, Kayla and Lindsay have always been there for me when I wanted to do something strange or weird. I knew I didn't have to worry about them. I knew they would just create something amazing. I was so happy I got to work with them again. I tapped Shannon Rouvel for makeup and hair. I've known Shannon for almost 7 years but have never worked with her. Gosh, why am I so silly? Shannon has to be the most professional and focused person I've ever met. If you ever need her services and are in the New England area, please don't hesitate! http://www.shannonrouvel.com

And I've just decided to eat breakfast. Is that another tangent?

.....

I just ate breakfast. It was wonderful. Okay now I have some good belly filled focus. Where was I? Yes the great team! Oh also, Fritz! Fritz is an old college friend that has helped me on so many shoots. That was strange to say "old college" Well it was 11 years ago. Wow. Okay, I need to stop scaring myself. I've been out of Boston for more than a year now so studio space is not my strong point but there seems to be a need so much that there is a website dedicated to finding spaces to create art/shoot and rehearse. It's amazing. http://mass.spacefinder.org/spaces

Just plop your info and price range and a host of wonderful places around Massachusetts pop up. I found a church, yes a church in Dorchester for the shoot. Well, okay, it's the dance studio inside the church but still. This agnostic atheist always has a chuckle when shooting in such sacred spaces. It was perfect, dark floors, wooden plank walls and mirrors! Which you will see later but it was great. Like I said, this shoot has been in the planning stages for months, getting dates, the space, wardrobe all had to come together. I am pretty proud of myself because the "dress" you will see Kayla wearing was mostly made by me. I also did most of the sewing!

I need to back up. So Kayla would be our main protagonist. She's got a wonderful range of expression and an actor's wit. I wanted her to be an individual with a life, loves, wants and needs slowly skewed by schizophrenia. This is why her "dress" was a hospital gown. No I didn't steal it this time(I have worked in a lot of mental hospitals). I bought this one off of amazon but did some heavy editing to it making it more like a dress. I added ribbon, brought it in to cater to Kayla's tiny frame and laced up the back like a corset. She wore hospital socks and heels. I did steal the hospital socks (Fuck you Holly Hill). She ended up looking a bit more patient like than I wanted but it's very subtle. She looks put together, thanks to Shannon, but something is off. Anyway, as I write this I totally am pissed off I didn't take any shots from the back. It was pretty and laced up like a corset. 

Yes, well that was Kayla, now the "auditory hallucinations" were Sam, Lindsay and Paige. I kept going back and forth in my head about how to represent what noise could look like, what static could look like as a person or as a human? I wanted these voices to have their own sort of personality but no significant defining features. It was also luck of the pick that the three of them have very different body types. It just added to my overall idea. I ordered these, well how else can I describe them, body socks, cocoons made of sheer nylon. Go to amazon.com and read some reviews of them. Hilarious. They are used for, ahem, many things, sleep, sex, uh, sex. Oh well, that's not the point here. I just wanted shadowy figures as you will see.

Are you ever afraid that the picture in your head can't be recreated? I always fear this. Seldom do I feel my thoughts on how a shoot will look actual recreate themselves in the work I do. It's something I want to get better at. Visualizing light generally is my biggest concern but that is another blog post for another day. Anyway, it was a riot having them try on these body socks. I implore you to purchase one in your spare time and scare the neighbors.  I'm going to throw some pictures up here and talk about them as I've been so wordy. Enjoy.

Kayla getting into character with Shannon

Shannon doing her thang

Lindsay so hot she needs a fire extinguisher! Woo! Dad Jokes!

Samantha!

Fritz being my test lighting subject. Don't get me started on how many lighting setups I had in my head. I must have spent about 1.5 hours setting and resetting the lights. What I ultimately love using in the end? Window light. Sigh.

The ladies trying on their body socks.

I guess we should practice? I should have thought of that but while Kayla got her makeup done we got into some posing situations as it's vastly different to be a human condom and pose.

Ymca?

They are an emotive bunch wouldn't you say? Very much why I knew they would deliver. These are silly test pictures but it makes me so happy to work with quality and reliable people.

Now I don't want to get too crazy with the sharing of the final images. I'm still going through that process myself with the ladies but I did want to share 3 that I know I will use in some capacity, either for myself or for the gallery. Shit, should totally pickup where I left off at the top. So, artist and model Naida Black will be having a gallery showing of all these images sometime this spring. I'll get to have 2 shots depending on what works well for the setup. It's exciting, so exciting to get my work out there and also shoot a subject that has been very close to my heart and mind for most of my adult life. If you are or know someone who lives with mental illness I implore you to speak out. Educate yourself on it. Sometimes the people around that person are the first line of defense in keeping them from spiraling. Don't be left in the dark and don't leave them in the dark. Also, join NAMI, the national alliance for Mental Illness, run specifically by people living with mental illness. I hope you enjoy this sneak peak.

Always commenting the shoes and socks were very dorothyesque

Making Pictures

I was all set to blog about the last couple of shoots I've partaken in. I had all the images ready to go and hopefully was going to share some images I was really proud of. Like most intentions I seem to have they go out the window.  I was recently able to attend the master works collection of photographer Ansel Adams at the North Carolina Museum of Art, http://ncartmuseum.org/.

Everyone knows Ansel Adams, even if you don't know who he is, you've seen his landscape pictures, most notably the ones featuring a moonlit half dome or El Capitan. I'm sure they have hung in various psychiatrist's offices and accompany positive motivational posters. He is the Beatles or Led Zeppelin of 20th century American-west landscape photography.  I feel because he is so popular he may sometimes gets glossed over. I mean if everyone likes your work, there has to be something annoying about it. I mean, the most popular beer in america is bud light. It's awful. Well, maybe it's the most popular because it's so cheap. I digress. What I am trying to say is sometimes photographers give unsupported hate towards popular things.  Not just photographers, I'm just generalizing the field.

His work astounds me and not because of his ability to capture amazing natural landscapes. I actually kinda hate landscapes. I mean they have their purpose but, bleh. To each their own, right? It's because his system behind making the photographer, yes making, is so operational, it's more than just taking the picture. I explained that very shittily. That's a word, fuck off.  Adams knew what the print was going to look like before he took the photo. His "zone system" for visualizing the tonal range of an image is something photographers (should) still use today.  He understood how the choice of paper would drastically alter shadows and contrast. He spent hours setting up a shot, hiking to a perfect location with a 40lb large format camera. I guess he's a product of the times but I feel like he's also the archetype for a lot of photo making today. Or I should say, should be. 

I've looked at a lot of work lately, I guess in comparison, including mine. The first thing that comes to mind is, carelessness. As photographers we either chose not to or don't have the capability to make sure things are correct. The fashion photographer has a fast prime so they feel, "let's shoot wide open and throw everything out of focus" and people think it's a great picture because of bokeh. Someone sets up lights with a haphazard understanding of ratios or how color temperature works and then they "Fix it in post." I may be seeping into a tangent of distaste I have for the "modern" digital photographer but the same rules apply to everyone. Stop being careless. Stop it. I see so many photographers worried that their camera doesn't have the best iso performance or they want the best autofocus and I can't help but think. How did people do anything for the past 100 years? They obviously got by with more rudimentary tools. Ansel had wood, lens, grounding glass and film. Okay, I could be comparing apples to orangutans but my point is there is a whole facility(your brain and eyes) that is under utilized before making a picture. To Adams, and this is me talking, The photograph was the product of his brain and eyes, his hands were the camera. 

My point is simply, we rely too much on tools that are just tools. Your brain is the tool you need to constantly upgrade, not your camera or lens.  Hopefully this seeps into my work. Shooting people I have always had this animated quality and feverish need to snap snap snap. I can slow it down, I can think. Sometimes I wish memory cards were never invented. The way I treat my film should be replicated in how I treat my sandisk.  I can feel myself getting ever so tangential so I'm going to cease writing. Take a moment to visit the exhibit if you live in the Raleigh metro area or The Triangle, as they call it. Take a moment though when you are there, look at each photo. Go up close, you've paid, inspect the details in the shadows. No Lightroom, No Photoshop. Sure he had a dark room where he did a lot of the techniques now embedded in photoshop but he used his brain, not sliders to get what he wanted.