How to Direct a Young, Inexperienced Model During a Photo Shoot

As a photographer on set, it’s your job to get the most out of your models—to make them feel comfortable, and help them help you achieve your vision. In this great video, photographer Clinton Lubbe of dphog explains how to do this when your model is young, inexperienced, or both.

When you’re first starting out, working with a seasoned model is a godsend. If you allow yourself to be teachable, a model who has worked with more (and more experienced) photographers can help you avoid common mistakes and gaffs. But what about when your model is the young, inexperienced one?

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As Lubbe explains, creating a comfortable environment is more important here than ever. You should always take the time to build a rapport with your models, but when you’re shooting a 15-year-old with very little experience—as Lubbe was doing here—he doesn’t hesitate to take 30-45 minutes to just sit there and talk to her about her life, career, family, hopes, dreams, and fears.

“Sometimes it takes months to build a relationship,” he explains. “Your job as a photographer is to accelerate that process and build that relationship within an hour. It is something that you will learn and that you will evolve with experience.”

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Lubbe dives much deeper into this during the video, explaining what he did, how, and why. He also has a fascinating bit of commentary on the difference between “masculine gaze” and “feminine gaze” that, we imagine, might help at least a few male glamour photographers differentiate their portfolio a bit.

Check out the video at the top to hear about all of this and more, and if you like what you see, check out the dphog YouTube channel and Facebook page, or visit Lubbe on his website and Instagram.