What Wes Taught Me... with Wes S.
- LIAM C.
- Oct 2, 2016
- 2 min read
Because we don't hire professional models at Elska, pretty much every guy you see in our issues are first time models. However, a few have done some sort of modelling before, or have done acting or other artistic performance - this is to be expected as the sort of person who's up for being photographed before may have already discovered an enjoyment of being in front of the camera. But for the most part, the guys we meet turn up pretty nervous before we shoot.
Wes was no exception, although he tried to mitigate his nerves by bringing a friend for moral support. That was Jody, who'd done professional modelling before herself, and who even ended up assisting on our shoot. It's not a bad idea to bring a friend along, but even without Jody, I do my best to make people feel at ease, which I think I'm pretty good at.
Since I'm not after "poses", there's not much to worry about, but sometimes people are just a bit stiff. My first tactic is to imitate to them how to move, and then let them follow my example. If that doesn't work then I can maybe give some ideas of something to think about (rather than just staring at me). And if all else fails, we just talk to each other and I snap a ton of pictures and hope for some good ones caught between blinks and open mouths.
But even after a year of making Elska, I really learned something from shooting Wes. The first set of pics we did, based around his first look, just didn't work. There were probably a hundred shots of him in his leather vest and headband, but only one was decent (you can find it in the magazine). I learned that almost always the first set of pics is the worst, so: 1) just keep shooting until you get a good result; 2) save your favourite outfit until the last shoot and leave your least favourite look for the first set. In the end, 90% of people do get into it and relax (of course some never do, unfortunately), but even with Wes, it got good after the first set, and then really good. By the sixth set he was well into it, and one of those shots is what made it onto the cover. Cheers, Wes!
Elska Boy: Wes S
Photographer: Liam Campbell
Location: Cardiff, Wales
Comentarios