happens, it’s time to switch hats and work with
the subject as both a coach (giving them the psy-
chological boost in confidence they may need)
and instructor (drawing on your knowledge of
posing to guide them in a professional manner).
For example, during the creation of this book
I began working with a new model who lacked
confidence in her posing abilities for the camera.
She’s a very gorgeous, vivacious, photogenic per-
son with a true model’s figure, but during several
shoots she’d grown so frustrated that she had lit-
erally decided to give up on modeling completely.
I grew somewhat frustrated, too, knowing that
she was loaded with talent. In fact, I’d often let
her model at my workshops and everyone loved
her (not to mention that anywhere we’d go, men
would miraculously become photographers and
want to exchange phone numbers with her).
Then, on one of our shoots where she’d given
up, I took a break. I went to the store and pur-
chased a carved wooden mask. When I returned
to the shoot, I walked in with it on my face,
looked at the model, and spoke through it in a
deep, slow voice, saying, “I am the I Can Model
God.” She broke out laughing—and from that
point on became such a great model that she’s featured many times in this
book. She’s even on the cover!
Tess still carries the mask as a good luck charm and a reminder that all
models transition from green to gold—just as all photographers transition
from beginners to professionals when it comes to directing a model’s pos-
ing. Today, Tess poses beautifully for the camera—like a natural. Some-
times all it takes is something for the model to believe in, or someone to
believe in them. A little positive reinforcement can really go a long way.
Basically, a good photographer needs to display faith and confidence
so it can rub off on their subjects. Anyone can pose, but the path to a
good pose will be a little different for each subject. For photographers,
then, part of posing is knowing how to make it happen. Sometimes it’s
easy, sometimes it’s not. But don’t let your model just give up; only quit-
ters quit.Tess never leaves for a photo shoot with-
out her lucky “I Can Model God.” Pho-
tographers should believe in their mod-
els and help them achieve success by
giving them something to focus on—
from lucky charms to goals.
FOREWORD