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"I had a great night at the Melbourne Camera Club Portrait Group meeting,
was great to network with photographers and work in a relaxed casual
environment." - Chloe, model, May 2010
The
Portrait Group is made up of both professional and amateur
photographers who have a common interest in portrait photography. These
nights are a great way to further our skills, learn from each other and
provide an opportunity to shoot different faces each month.
For
new members to the Club it is a great opportunity to learn about
portraiture and observe and practise in a relaxed environment.
For
our models it is a great learning experience, a fun night and a very
inexpensive method of putting together a portfolio of images. Each
photographer obtains different results and in the past models have
received back numerous images, many that they are really pleased with.
Models
who are keen for further work (mostly trade for prints) often make
contacts on the night and seek followup individual shoots with some of
the photographers (but this is totally at your discretion).
You can view a selection of photos taken at the portrait group on our Flickr group.
"The session was fun and I think there will be good shots from it." -
Gina Morley, Actress, May 2010
Time:
Meeting on the first Monday of the month, the
portrait group starts photographing at 8pm and the nights can run anywhere from about
10pm to midnight! This of course is totally dependant on our portrait
model's time availability. Please let us know what time you can stay
until. We are grateful for any time you can spare.
If possible
please arrive between 7:00pm and 7:30pm so that we can familiarise you with the
clubrooms and answer any final questions you may have. We're at the
Club Rooms any time from 7:00pm setting up.
Venue:
Melbourne Camera Club
256 Ferrars St (corner Dorcas St) - the big grey building, entry in Dorcas St
Parking
is available in Ferrars Street. Please park on the opposite side of the
road as permit zones exist closer to the Clubrooms.
What to bring:
Outfits, props, makeup, accessories and ideas!
If you have a particular use for the
images or a concept in mind then please bring clothes and props that are appropriate. For example if
the images will be used in your resume then a business suit always
works best unless you work as a clown and then a different outfit might
be more suitable.
We like to have some variety during the year, with shoots in recent years including a band, singers, fashion shoots, musicians, business attire, jugglers, acrobats, formal wear and a pregnant model.
If you have any favourite
clothes you'd like to be photographed in then please feel free to bring
them along. We aim to normally shoot models in at least two outfits during the evening. More if time and setups allow.
Suggestions include:
* formal wear (eg. black tie, evening gown)
* corporate (eg. business suit)
* smart casual
* casual (eg. jeans, t-shirt)
* sports wear
* themed eg. clown, 1920's, gangster
Plain
colours usually work best - stripes, patterned materials tend to
detract from the face. Though a number of photographers prefer strong
colours like reds, blacks and blues, pastels can also come up quite
well. Bring a selection and then you can take your pick. If you are not
sure bring a selection and we will advise you what will work best.
Accessories:
* jewellery
* hats
* scarves
* gloves
* props - in the past we have used musical instruments, juggling balls/batons, hats, brightly coloured materials, mirrors
Makeup/hair:
*
You will be responsible for your own hair and makeup (unless you have a
friend coming along with you who's a makeup artist or hair stylist).
*
Some models have problems with their skin getting shiny under the
lights so if you have a powder that suits your complexion please bring
it.
* Bring a hairbrush! Clean freshly washed hair always
photographs best and it's handy having a brush to run through it
throughout the night.
What to expect:
We
usually have 2 studios set up. Varying from month to month we can have
anywhere from 5 to 30 photographers there on the night. Usually we
average about 20 people and they come and go throughout the evening.
We
try to divide the portrait model's time between the 2 studios to make
the most of photographer's preferences, different lighting effects and
varying backdrops.
During the course of the night photographers
will take turns in shooting you. They will give you directions on poses
they think will work well and will also listen to you on anything you
are after. Often you may find a few photographers shooting away at the
same time. Try to only give your attention to the individual who is
directing you at the time.
Feel free if you want to bring
someone along with you. It is important to us that our models feel
relaxed and comfortable in the studio environment.
If there are
any particular images you'd love of yourself be it for work, resume,
personal then let us know and we will do our best to achieve the look
you are after. Otherwise most of the photographers have fairly good
ideas and are pretty good at improvising.
Your images:
Each
photographer is expected to provide some images for you as a thankyou
for your time. This can be in the form of a cd, data dvd or printed photos
depending on the photographers preference. Most images/cd's are
returned to the club within 2 months but some do take longer.
If
you are happy to give your email or contact details to individual
photographers for further shoots or for emailing images that is your
choice.
As a general rule we don't give out portrait model's
contact details and merely have a single contact point at the Club who
collects all images/cds and passes them on.
Photographers in the club may use the photos in their portfolios, but not for commercial purposes without a signed release from the model. This is not normally the case, with most photographers in the group being beginners who are looking to develop their portraiture skills.
Confirming your availability
One thing we do ask is that if you do book in as a model, that you do commit to showing up on the night, and where possible if you can't make it, let us know as soon as you can so we can arrange with the standyby model to come along
We still need as much
notice as possible if plans suddenly need to change, so ideally a few days would be great, or if you're sick the day of the shoot, please call us as early as possible. If you're running late on the night, please call to let us know.
My mobile
is 0419669955. Feel free to call me if you have any questions about
any aspect of the evening. You can also contact John Van Hirsel (who's
the lighting and studio setup coordinator for the portrait group) on
0432 936 964.
Ask for myself or John when you arrive on Monday. We look forward to seeing you then!
Thanks,
David Purdue
0419669955
mcc-portrait@melbournephoto.org.au
"The six of us really had a great time last night, we look forward to
seeing some of the finished products." - Kristian, 501st Legion,
subjects for the March Portrait Group, March 2010
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