On Monday I had a shoot in Antwerp for Rana Hair extensions until very late in the evening. I cannot share the result yet but I am very happy with the result.

For the indoor shots I used a Godox AD1200 Pro with a 180 cm silver reflector umbrella behind me.

To whiten the background I used two AD-B2’s (dual head with 2x a Godox AD200) with a standard reflector.

I did not have enough room to make the background pure white but I adjusted the flash power as much as possible without much reflection on the model.

All pictures were done using the Sony A1, Sony G 24-105 between f/8 and f/11 at a shutter speed of 1/200 and ISO 100.

For the pictures outside I used 2x a Godox AD1200 Pro, one with a SMDV 518 stripbox (double diffused) and on the other a Small-Rig Parabolic 85cm was attached that was also double diffused but wit a grid.

For the individual shots the SMDV was placed vertically and for the group shots it was in hortizontal position.

I used a low light cheap stand for this so I the softbox nearly reached the ground in vertical postion.

Here are some pictures of behind the scenes straight from the camera without any post processing.

Below is a close up at the end of the shoot.

Too many times models think you need a lot of pictures in a portfolio to convince model agencies to get a contract.

Let me be clear. The most important photo is called a polaroid photo. Don’t get me wrong. It is not a real Polaroid photo but an unedited picture of a model without any make-up. Shoot in RAW and only adjust color, light and contrast.

Here is an example of such a shoot.

Jeans, a top and normally you should wear sneakers. However a woman looks more elegant when she wears high heels.

In real life starting models send a lot of garbage to an agency. If you send them 20 photos without any good ones you can be sure you will not get any contract. The first pictures should always be your polaroids.

How is your skin, figure, hair,… It’s all in that ONE polaroid photo. You also need close ups, pictures from the side and the back. It’s always a good idea to send them one photo with a collage of different expressions like smiling, laughing, surprised, angry, cute, sensual,…

Everything else is less important BUT if you have PRO photos in your portfolio and if you have a website (not instagram) with great photos you will look far more professional. Use a domain name like I do: “www.joeripeeters.com”. Not some free website where your site name is for example “lauren.weebly.com”….

I cannot emphasize it enough. Looking PRO is very important to be taken seriously.

In real life models send average or sometimes even bad pictures to agencies. When they scroll through the ‘bad’ pictures you will not be taken seriously and you only get one chance.

Work with the best photographers. (the best will ask for money as it is their income). Provide a varied portfolio. Polaroids, in swimwear, casual, high fashion, special make-up, editorial.

Lingerie is not needed unless you have a really beautiful body and want to become a “lingerie” model. The pictures need to be stylish! Not some casual pictures taken by an amateur who just wants to shoot women as naked as possible.

I can provide these pictures for you. Just get in touch with me and we will work something out.

Shoot for Rana hair extensions in Antwerp.

Model Agency polaroid shoot