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Interesting Article on American vs Eurpean Fashion Models

While a lot of photographers had a opinion on the area, I choose to focus on the opinions made by a qualified photographer with over 20 years in the business. His reviews were very useful and intriguing, to say the least. Whether they are true or not is of course unknown, and your experience may vary greatly.

Photographer Interview:

Me: How many years have you been in the fashion model community?

Photographer: I started about 20 years ago shooting for a tiny online company that worked with stock graphics. Mostly I worked with freelancer models and developed the content that the firm would later sell along with the graphic license. After about 2 years I branched out on my own and began to work in the fashion business. My job was 100% in the USA for the first few years and I worked well with models ranging from formal evening wear, designer outfits, to Playboy style artistic work and entertainment magazines such as Maxim. I treated the job as a professional and always worked with top rated level models.

Me: So when did you start touring abroad to work with models and what significant difference did you become aware of?

Photographer: My initial trip to Europe was about 6 years ago. I started out working in Prague. The motivation for this built up little by little over time. Essentially I was having more and more trouble finding appropriate American models. Not because of their 'look', but because the customs was changing so fast in regards to web based modeling and freelance photographers. For example I would generally be required to pay for for the model's boyfriend to attend the photo-shoot to ensure that nothing 'funny' was going on. Or to pay for a bodyguard/chaperon to be present at the shoot and throughout the interview. Now I fully understand the need for security, but I am a experienced photographer with a huge stock portfolio and years of working experience. Also the models I worked with typically came from agencies and talent scouts, not Craigslist. So over time it became very awkward to work with American models. I even began to feel 'sleazy', as if what I was doing was someway shady. This experience was not from the content I produced, but from the model's actions toward me. Also to this the amount started to go way up while the level of quality started to drop drastically.

My initial photo-shoot in Prague was an awesome experience. I contracted the casting call through an agency. Upon arrival I found out that there were over 100 appliers, some from as far away as Brno (a 2 hour drive). My regular pay-rate was more the double the regular pay-rate that models normally get from local shooters. The models treated me with excellent value and openness, which was a fantastic distinction from the paranoid US models. I journeyed with a small team composed of a make-up artist and crew. We rented a large flat that we developed into a studio room for the photo-shoot. The apartment was over 5000 square feet and could have cost 1000s in the states. Nevertheless we were able to organise the stay for $1200 (which included 2 weeks).

The models also came prepared. What I mean by this is the models actually knew how to pose and what fashion of images I was in search of. Just before the photo-shoot we have a casting and I showcase the image designs and evaluate the correct type of work I am looking for. I do this in America as well but irrespective of my prep work the models constantly show up having no clue and I essentially have to spend around 20-30 minutes reading the posing styles and overall feel I am trying to get from the pictures. I was pleasurably astonished to see that all of the European models practiced prior to arriving at the shoot.

Me: Does this imply you will not work with American models anymore?

Photographer: Well In my opinion it may seem is if I am coming down to hard on US models and I don't mean for that to be the case. I have worked with some astonishingly professional American models. However the atmosphere lately in relation to American models appears novice. I have experienced total photo-shoots completely spoiled because the model was not organized or simply changed her mind mid-shoot. So in the mean time I believe I will follow European models.

For more details please take a look at our awesome website at - fashion models.