March 2007
Its Springtime, folks! I hope you are all enjoying
the blossoming good weather and coming out of your winter reclusion. I
know I am! Last month’s column I cracked down and gave it to you straight
about being a pro pinup. This time I bring you a “PRO Pinup tip of the
month” to keep helping you make that shift from self-shooting amateur to
professional model, as well as a couple great questions from some newer
pin up gals and a teaser about next month’s column on what a Pro Pin Up
has that YOU don’t!
This silly, spooky new image is from my recent
“Haunted DollHouse” shoot with pinup model Kim
Falcon for
Funeral
Classics, hair & MU by Jennifer
Corona, photo by HVHphoto.com.
(Yeah, me, again!)
Pro Pin Up Tip of the Month
Never bring anything to a shoot that you
don’t really want to wear.
It sounds simple, but for lots of us who can’t
afford a new wardrobe for every shoot. You sometimes recycle pieces you’ve
shot in many times before and sometimes bring “back up” options to appear
like you have more for the photographer to choose from, even though we
secretly don’t want them to be the focus of a shot. Don’t do it. I guarantee
you that if you bring something you are on the fence about wearing (whether
you’ve worn it too many times for shoots or in another prominent shot,
if it is uncomfortable or doesn’t flatter you well), the photographer or
client will invariably put you in it. I learned this one doing extra work
in movies and TV when I first moved to LA. An older actor let me in on
that tip and I’ve found it holds true in pinup even more! You’d rather
have a few options you feel good and can be confident in than more options
that you won’t be happy with. Just leave it at home unless you are really
ready to rock it!
On to this month’s good Q’s:
Hi Heidi,
Following your article at Java's Bachelor Pad and I need
a little help here!!! I have started pin up modeling not long ago and I
have been offered my first pin up trade shoot. The shop I'll be shooting
for will lend me the clothing and I'll take all the pictures for them,
doing my own make up and hair and I'll also be retouching the pictures
so they are ready to be used on their website. My question to you is: I'll
not be getting paid for these -instead I will work for some clothing, so
how many pictures do you think a corset is worth? I don't know if you work
like that but if you heard of someone that does the same thing would you
please let me know.
Many thanks!
(name withheld)
First off, rock on that you are initiating
shoots and taking your own pics! That's my girl! Not many people can offer
the one stop pin up shop with model photographer/stylist-makeup artist/hair/and
retoucher all in one!
I've done lots of trade situations like you
are asking about, and they can be a very rewarding way to go. You get a
(hopefully) nice item you may not have been able to afford otherwise and
often its a new design, so you are the first girl to wear it for a shoot!
You get promotion on their website (make sure you discuss the details before
the shoot!) and hopefully a whole new audience gets exposed to your work
and your lovely face! Sometimes you can build really great relationships
with designers and companies this way. However, when you shoot, you need
to keep certain things in mind. You need to shoot the items you are wearing
well. Be sure to get detail shots of straps, buckles, and things like that.
Make sure your pics and poses show off the item in a realistic but flattering
way. I usually like to have between 3-10 shots of each item, with at least
one front and one back view. Those are the things that will set your work
apart from the other gals sending in their own photos. Make sure you discuss
all the terms before shooting so you can prepare and know what the designer/company
needs from you. They might expect more (or less) and you want to be prepared,
not disappointed later just because you didn't communicate.
Just be careful not to get stuck shooting
your own shots for a company over and over again if they don't take care
of you. You are putting a lot of work into it and they know that, even
if you don’t think of it that way. It's worth a one time shot to see if
you work well and get along with the client, if you like their product
and to get the exposure, but know that they are getting quite a deal with
a model who provides her own quality shots. So if they continue to ask
for more and more, make sure they give you product or some pay and treat
you nicely. Make sure they give proper credit and/or linking, as agreed
to in advance. Unless their web traffic is getting you tons of paid jobs,
it’s really only worth it if you like the items you get in trade or the
people are good to you and you're happy to promote them. Sometimes its
well worth it, and sometimes its not. You’ve got to weigh each offer to
see what your time and energies are worth to you!
What I really wanna know is if I have a chance at being a pinup,
being that the majority of the girls who are successful don't exactly look
like me in terms of skin color. I would honestly like to be the first successful
woman of color pin up model. I know its a far stretch but I really really
want to do this. Ever since I was a little girl I've loved images of pin
ups but I always noticed that none of them really looked like me. Do you
think the “business” will be welcoming?
-Chanell
Oh honey! What a great, and at the same time
horrible, question! How freakin' weird is it in 2007 to even have to think
about that? And yet I understand why you ask!
First off, let me say that you are gorgeous!
You definitely have a beautiful face & figure for pinup- and you look
like you're much better at doing your own hair that way than most of us,
too! I think you would make a wonderful pinup. Great eyes! I am just starting
to shoot some friends myself (me behind the lens) and have been really
wanting to shoot a beautiful black pinup. There just aren't enough photos
of them in the scene! (My favorite gals that come to mind are Arekah
C, Miss
Doe, and MoniquiTiki!)
Every person's coloring goes with certain tones better, and I can just
imagine some beautiful shots that a pale pinup girl just couldn't work
the same. And it wouldn't end up being the same cookie-cutter shot that
everyone else does, either! I already know how I want to shoot Miss
Doe--though I’m not telling anyone until we can make it happen!
You're right, there aren't enough women in
color in pinups, past or present! I think I can count on one hand the African
American Pinups I've met or seen over the past few years doing this! Being
unique and looking different than the rest of the crowd might be difficult
and I imagine you will get shot down by some people. I have! I barely made
it into a certain mainstream magazine and was told flat out I'd never be
on the cover because I'm not Hispanic looking. Some projects or companies
cater to one scene, look or culture more than others.You just have to try
and see where you fit--where they like you AND vice versa! There will always
be some jerk who thinks it’s supposed to be one look or one way. My girl
Sabina
was told by several folks that she would have no future in pinup because
she kept getting more tattoos. Now she is at the top of the pinup game!
Being different from the rest of the girls
makes you stand out. If you can stand proud and let people know you are
out there, some smart photographer will realize you have a unique look
and style that others can't pull off. Real artists love variety, true pinup
fans know its about a beautiful woman. We both know beautiful women come
in every color, shape, size, religion and nationality.
Don't sweat the suckers who don't get it or
have a limited view of what pinup should be. Vintage pinups also didn't
have heavily tattooed girls, and those are half of the scene now! You don't
have as many examples to refer to, but don't let yourself get stuck into
that narrow thinking, either! Look at photos of women from that era that
do exist: Hollywood portraits of people, like Dorothy Dandridge, of course;
I'm sure there was at least one famous burlesque dancer of color (though
I'm not well versed in Burlesque history myself to know names, you'd have
to research). The one resource you have that others don't; look to old
family photos. Some of my favorite influences are from some of the very
few photos I have of the grandparents I never met. Keep an eye on the family
images you might take for granted and see how they looked dressed up, or
what they did to their hair or makeup that is different from modern looks.
It’s up to you to bring the old and new together in a way that suits your
own style. I think that while you may have a couple closed doors ahead,
you're likely to bust through MANY more and, without even meaning to, leave
a few open for the next girl.
So stay at it, gorgeous. Don't let the morons
get ya down!! Good luck to you with it! And keep me posted!
And here’s something to think about for next month’s column:
What’s a PRO model got that YOU don’t? A paying client. That’s what.
Next month we’ll look at: Who are the clients and how do you get them
to want you?
Love and Pin-Ups!
Heidi Van Horne
www.HeidiVanHorne.com
(click photo to enlarge)
A little about Heidi: "I starting acting
in Texas at age 13, I have worked and trained as an actress in film, TV
& commercials for most of my life, as well as working behind the lens
on various projects. I have been shooting my own retro pinups since late
2003, when I started doing self-shot photos (just like Bunny
Yeager did!) with a self timer and a tripod in my home. Since
then, I've been on the cover of 3 books ("Hot Rod Pin Ups" by David
Perry and MBI Publishing, "How to Be a Dominant Diva" by Avalon
Press, and the new "Modern Vixens: World of Winytiki" by Octavio
Arizala and Goliath Press) as well as being featured on the
cover of 3 (and inside 2 other) Pin Up Calendars for 2007, magazine covers
and countless layouts, features and interviews in counter-culture publications,
as well as a few mainstream mags. I've gotten to work with tons of amazing
companies and photographers, including original pinup, pinup photographer
& living legend, Bunny Yeager--shooting on the same beach
where she and Bettie Page made
Pin Up history! Living in LA pursuing my acting, I've kept myself busy
on the side shooting the genre I love the most- and I'm thrilled to see
how the niche has grown and grown worldwide!" |
Have a question for Heidi? E-mail
us and we'll send it along to her!
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