The Picture Down the Hall -- Model Behaviour

During the years that I worked as a photographer, many a model wannabe came to me to help them create a portfolio. Most of the people who came to me did so for more than just liking me or my work; much of the time they came to me because they didn't have any money and they knew that I would shoot pictures of them all day for a nominal fee and expenses. Of course, when operating with that kind of artistic budget, one has to cut the suit to fit the cloth. That meant making the most out of the studio I made in our home and nearby locations. Once we were done, people went out into the world with, at least, a book of eight or so pictures to get started. Then they could find other high rent photographers to shoot glitzier pics that would, eventually, replace the ones I had done.

I never minded being the Filene's Basement of photographers becaue I loved helping these people with a dream, I loved the challenge of making art on a shoestring and I loved some of the artwork we created.

I don't know if these people succeeded in their modeling careers because, like children, they only call when they need something. Some of them, I do know, went on to rich and rewarding lives in other professions. I know this because they came to me as clients and stayed on as family.

The photo of AJ holding onto the backdrop stand in front of the living room window at Two-A is one of my favourite photos. I love the colours, I love his youthful quality, I love the trust in his eyes.
This photo of Alberti was a bit of an accident. I was babysitting Molly (see the Pomeranian in his lap?) and while I was setting up and we were talking and picking outfits, she crawled up into his lap. I told him to pick up his phone and start talking and I backed way up to show all of what was happening in the photo shoot. I like the story it tells.

Alejandro came to me by way of a manager of some kind. He had an amazing face, perfect for some European clothing line. We did a lot of pictures of him around the house but what I really wanted was a relationship shot. So I called one of my favourite faces and great actresses and had her do this shot with him in Rockefeller Center. I hate to say it, Alejandro, but Kaitlin kind of stole your thunder in the shot; but, together, it makes a really steamy story.

Alison is a ravishing beauty who needs very little to look amazing on film. A good light and a good idea in her head to give her a good facial expression. Oh, and a slash of red lipstick.

Mike (below) is always a great model because his face is an open book. And his body a work of art. That's him, all over: a work of art.

I have a file, three inches thick, of negatives of Peter. One of the most stunning beauties you will ever see, he didn't always trust me, but he did (eventually) do what I told him to do; and most of the time the results were magic.

Chance was an out of town gig. The assistant of a close friend was dating a guy who wanted to model. He was certainly handsome but I wasn't sure if he could cut it as a model. So we made the photos as interesting as possible, trying to make them look like real tear sheets, real ad campaigns. This was one of my favourites.

Below you see a photo from what was an unhappy photo shoot for me. The lady and her husband treated me very badly and then stiffed me for payment on the shoot.

My only reward was this photo, which I always thought looked like a Maybeline ad.

Danielle was actually not in the modeling game... her ambition was to be a spokeswoman in television. I mean, really: look at this girl. She should already have been doing it when she met me!

Gabe is an actor and a dancer; he is an athlete and a philosopher. Gabe is everything - including one of my favourite photographic subjects and people.

I did a lot of photos of Patrick. This one of him with Spencer was always a favourite of mine. It's so honest, so real, so fun.

I loved working with Jamie. He is a gentleman and an artist. He knows what he wants and he asks for it; but he isn't afraid to go with someone else's ideas either. The dog in this photo is Peyton, Spencers' sister.

John was a bartender in Brooklyn. His friends all told him to model. He came to me. I put him in my turtleneck and styled his hair and he took this photo and got himself an agent.

This ravishing beauty is Kristen. I loved working with her. She made things fun and made great art with me. This is one of my favourites because it combines her love of fashion with my grandmother's clothing designs, as well as incorporating her younger adopted sister, Rachel... that's the little pink lady on the sofa behind Kristen, for those out of the loop.

I don't remember much about the little girl below. This was a shoot in Dallas in the 80s, an actual paying gig. The girl wanted to model, her mom brought her to me and that was that....


In the 80s I had two backdrops. A black one and a blue one.

I just didn't think a black backdrop on a little girl would work. The blue added whimsy to all her pics.

She looks like a grown up, doesn't she? I mean, look at that expression on her face.

There are times when people come for shoots and you know they are never going to make it as a model. But you do the shoot anyway. When I met Mark, I thought his face looked like a painting by one of the great masters. And while I thought he looked amazing, I wouldn't have expected him to go into modeling.

The photos we did together didn't yield anything that I would consider appropriate for a modeling portfolio.

But I did like the artistic nature of all of them.

This one, especially.

Paul moved to New York from somewhere out west, to model. One look at that face and I knew he could do it.

I wish you could see his body.

Have mercy.

This luscious creature actually did go into modeling. There are photos of him EVERYWHERE on the internet. He is one dreamboat of a guy and everyone wants to take his photo.

Those of us who know Paul in real life know he is much more than a pretty face.

But in the modeling world, nobody cares about that.




Sandra actually isn't a model. She's a dancer. Salsa. But when we did her photos, it felt like a portfolio session. In front of the camera, she is a diva.

Sean made it as a model. He truly did.

This should be no surprise to anyone.

Those lips, those eyes, those cheekbones.

They say it all.











This man is a Canadian model and stripper. At least, that is what he was doing when I met him and we did these photos.

The most telling part of the story of this shoot is that, right about at this point in our session, I said to him "Do me a favour and turn your head to your left."

"NO" he said.

"What's the matter?" I asked "Don't you like your profile?"

"No, I just like my straight on profile."





Here we see an improved photo from a shoot that happened around the holidays....
I was doing these photos of Leesa in the living room/studio; I had been baking holiday cookies in the kitchen and it was a WRECK. At one point, I bumped the kitchen table and a dozen eggs hit the floor.

In her heels and cocktail frock, Leesa threw on an apron and served up this look and we had a portfolio picture with a story.

Here's one for you... You may or may not believe this - and it is completely out of character for me - but I have no story to go with this photo. Not even a name. I don't remember the circumstance behind this shoot; I only know I have always loved this shot.











When I met Tom, I became obsessed with taking photos of him. It's one of the things an artist does, I guess. He was my muse for awhile (can a boy be a muse?), bringing me out of an artistic funk that had lasted way too long.

One of our many photo shoots was this marathon day in a ritzy hotel on the east side (it was arranged by a good friend who worked there). For fun, we took AJ and Jennifer so that we could really do pictures that looked like something.

Whenever I look at this photo it reminds me of those Benson and Hedges ads from the 90s...



I don't remember where we got the car that we used for this photo of Will. I only know it was gorgeous. He and the car were worthy of each other.

Yaniv was a nice man; I always had fun working with him. This picture pleased me because I always think that a model should have a photo that looks like Sunday morning. It makes the person looking at the photo feel like they know you. It makes them like you.

Admit it.

You like Yaniv, too.

Don't you?