"Let me just move that hair for you!": A Guide to Touching Models

Hello and Happy Monday!

This week I’d like to talk to you about something that is not really talked about but is super important to be aware of. This week I’ll be talking about whether or not it’s ever okay to touch your model during a shoot.

Now, this post ties in nicely with my levels and level pushing blog posts: you can refresh your memory about levels by clicking here and remind yourself about level pushing by clicking here.

Before I get started, I just wanted to say that I’m only including a few images in this post, as it’s the words that are important. The images you’ll see are some lovely portraits taken on a location shoot with Dave Edkins recently. I’m wearing my muggle clothes as these were captured while we waited for some people to walk past before we shot some art nude in the woodland. Sometimes those shots where you're just killing a few minutes are the ones that work the best. Dave shoots on a Nikon D850 camera and these images were edited by me.

Anyway, onto the matter at hand…

Should you or can you touch your model when shooting?

I’ll probably annoy a lot of people with what I’m about to say but I don’t really care because I feel like it needs to be said: You never need to touch your model for any reason.

But this would be a very short blog post if it was just as simple as that, so I will elaborate.

When you’re shooting models, they are doing their job. They are at work. You don’t need to physically guide someone’s body in any other line of work so model photography should be no different. It becomes more obviously inappropriate when you’re shooting a higher level like lingerie or nude, but it’s not okay regardless of the state of dress your model is in.

It seems a bit weird to me that this is ever even a question, but there are some times where you can touch your model, but only if they say it’s okay first and I will explain more about this shortly.

A lot of movies and TV shows that depict a photographer seem to portray them as having exclusive creative control over the shoot and they often pose the models limb by limb as though she is an object, rather than a person. It makes me cringe. While it may be the case in some high end fashion shoots or celebrity shoots that the photographer is the only creative person in the room, at the level most hobbyists are working at this depiction is wildy inaccurate and would be seen as incredibly inappropriate. Models aren’t mannequins at the mercy of whoever is shooting them: they have an equal creative input to the shoot and are helping the photographer to achieve their vision.

Experienced models often don’t need posing, and therefore don’t need touching: a photographer will tell us their vague idea and we work with them to bring their vision to life. Models are easily directed with words and the chances are they will know what the photographer is going for. There is zero need for touching a model in most cases.

Three step process to get a specific pose:

I was at a shoot recently where the photographer shared something they learnt while studying photography about how to get a model to shoot a specific pose. I absolutely loved this approach and I asked if I could use it for a blog post. I think it is a great framework for deciding whether or not it is necessary to ask to touch your model. For the most part, I am of the opinion that you get better images when you get a model to free pose. When free posing, they are in natural and comfortable poses that flow nicely, meaning the images will be stronger when compared to a pose that has been micromanaged. But there are times when models need direction and this process is great for those times when direction or guidance is necessary.

It went like this (but I’ve put it into my own words, of course):

Step 1: Describe the pose with words.

Step 2: Show the model the pose you want with your own body.

Step 3: Ask the model if they mind you guiding whatever part of their body you think needs guiding. If they say yes, gently guide them. If they say no, move on to something else because you’re not getting the shot.

For me personally, I would have more respect for someone who gave up at step 2. If a model is unable to help you get the shot from you describing it, or by mirroring your pose then it's usually best to try something else. This is because there is usually a reason why it hasn't worked, such as: they aren’t able to do the pose you're after, the pose might not be as good in reality as it was in your head, or they may simply not be comfortable doing exactly what you’ve asked and they are adapting it as they feel is necessary. This generally means that step 3 isn’t needed because it won't help. However, occasionally it may be appropriate or necessary to attempt step 3, but it is important that you respect your model’s choice immediately if they say no.

Sometimes I will invite people to help guide me to the pose they need if I feel comfortable, but I will rarely say yes if they ask. That’s because I trust myself to know if it’s a pose I’m going to understand better with them touching me, or if it’s not going to help.

Perfecting clothing and/or hair

The other scenario where photographer's think it's okay to touch their model is when they are adjusting their clothing or hair. While it’s important that things like this are sorted out before you take the shot, I lose all resect for people who just come up and touch me without asking me to try to fix it myself first. It's important that the model is always asked and given the chance to decline being touched.

If I’m in an awkward position or holding props for example, and my hair needs adjusting I will outright ask a photographer to sort it for me if they want it moving and it would be difficult for me to try to do it. That’s perfectly okay because it’s my choice… if I’ve asked you to do it, it means I trust you to do it. But if someone just goes in to do it without asking or being asked, that trust is gone.

This whole thing is about consent and you always need to gain consent first. Obviously it goes without saying that the photographer is allowed to say no to this too. Sometimes as a model, it’s easier to get someone else to do it... but that only works if you’re both comfortable.

As a side note, the clothing company Nobody Apparel that we collaborate with, have a t-shirt that says, “If you don’t hear yes, it’s no”. This sentiment applies to so much of what we believe the model-photographer relationship should be and what we teach on our workshops. Always ask. And if it’s a no, it’s a no so move on.

Outtake

And as I often do, lets end on an outtake. This shot was taken as we were trying to see if an art nude shot would work, so I did it in my muggle clothes before we shot the art nude version:

I hope this post has been informative and I’ll be back next week with some more modelling images for you. Have a lovely week!

Misuzu x