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Heidi Van Horne
Photo: Danielle Bedics/White Rabbit Studio
Hair and Make Up: Jennifer Corona

June 2007

     Happy June everyone!  A couple Q&A’s and then I address a BIG question I get from the smart pinup gals--“How do I Choose a photographer?”



Hey Heidi,
My name's Amanda and I am a fan of your work. I first saw your pics on Shannon Brooke's web site a few months ago. I worked with Shannon when I was 15 years old (18 now) and I really loved the experience, I've always been a huge fan of American pin-ups like Marilyn and Bettie, because they are classy and sexy. I too would like to be a paid pin-up model while I go to MI (Musician's Institute) for college, but I don't know where to begin? All I know is that I have pin-up potential and would love help keep the cheesecake image alive. What should I do? 

Do you want to get paid gigs while you're attending school? Or to help keep the cheesecake image alive? Unfortunately, they are more often than not going to be separate. While there is some money to be made, it's minimal and the pin up pool for clients and photographers to pull from is huge, and ever-growing, so competition for the paid gigs is stiff. The best thing to do is to do it because you love it- to keep it alive and to get to try your hand at it. Then, if it is meant to be, the paid work will come. The best way to get it going is to do the free stuff. Shoot with a local photographer for a TFP shoot--get everything in writing and get a copy!--and build your book, your resume and your reputation. Approach local businesses that might use pin up models--a friends’ company, bands from school who are making a CD, local hot rod shop, etc. Let them know you are available and give them your website/email/myspace/online portfolio info. Build your experience with free/trade shoots, and then the paid clients will consider hiring you. They work the same way--get in touch and let them know you are there and then keep at what you are doing. When its time, the work will come back to you!  Good luck!!

**Wait--I just reread about you shooting with Shannon. Use those pics! Put her name high on your resume/credits and include that pic when you submit to people! She is a very sought-after photographer by models and clients alike, so that is a BIG plus to have on your side! USE it!! You might get a client who hires you to try and get to her! You'd be surprised how often that stuff happens!
 
 

Dear Heidi,
I have been building a pin up portfolio and I am only 17. I am very proud of my photos and have worked with a few photographers. My friend recently started a pro photography business and our photos are a big hit on a few websites we are wanting to get published and get more publicity. How do you get chosen for magazines and what are some other ways to get more recognized?

Sorry to tell you, but since you are under 18, chances are, any magazine using pin up photos won't be allowed to use your pics anyway! It's just the way things are. (At least here in the US.) You're only months away from being able to do pinup in print, though, so try to be patient. (I know, it's hard!!) In the meantime, try having your photos sent to magazines that feature younger girls to get some tearsheets and to add some range to your book. You are the prime age for mainstream modeling, so it would be wise to explore that a bit, even if its just to make extra $ to spend on your cool pin up shoots!! You'll gain experience and do work that people only shooting in the pin up scene won't have in their working “arsenal”--which just means you'll be that much further ahead!

Once you're “of age” you can submit yourself and actually have a chance!   The best way to find out about magazines is to ask! Check out their websites, search them online, or pick up an issue and look around at the masthead for contributor info. If there is nothing listed, write or email the editor or publisher and let them know you are interested in working with them. They might keep you on file or get in touch right away, or they may pass your info along to a staff photographer, or give you their photographer's information. Each entity is different. Some rely on a one or a couple trusted “staff” photographers to choose models, some are very hands on, and some use entirely contributor photos. All you can do is ask and find out. Don't be upset if you can't get in one door, work on the ones you can submit to or apply to their regular photographers and be patient. You never know. Somewhere that says no today might call you up to say yes a few months down the line.

Keep in mind that magazine work rarely pays, especially in niche markets like pin up/auto/lifestyle, etc. It's more about working with publications you like for the wide exposure and good tear sheets.  Submit to publications you actually like and you'll have better chances getting in being genuine than just writing every magazine on the newsstand. The more you do, the more will come to you. Companies and “endorsement”/”spokesmodel” work comes the same way. Contact the ones you like and keep putting yourself out there, and eventually the ones that are your style will find you.

You know when a grown-up says, “That's a good question!” before babbling away? Well, let me pretend I'm a grown up for a minute (“wait, what…  I am?”) and answer a smart question I get from the thinkin’ pin up girls… 

HOW do you choose a photographer?

There are lots of things I look at when deciding if I want to work with a photographer. First, I look at their work. I check to see if they do any of the things I HATE:

“Pin Up” shots where the model's feet are CUT OFF!! Biggest pet peeve I have! Either take a ¾ shot or shoot the whole damn model. Cropping her foot off makes her look shorter instead of elongating her, as standard pin up poses and angles do. Unless you are a freakishly tall and lanky giraffe, you do NOT want a photographer cropping your feet out of the photo! This drives me nuts!  Its such a clear sign that the photographer is not well versed in pin up photography. They have not studied the classics or taken in the composition of good photographs at all if they aren’t able to focus the shot around the model, not vice versa. 

I also look at the composition in general--not just the feet! Anyone can take a picture of a hot chick in retro clothes--it does not make it a good pinup. A good pin up photographer stretches the model out in the shot--making long, lean triangles and curvy S’s with her shape to flatter the figure. A bad “pin up” GWC (guy/girl w/ camera) might take photos at weird angles to be different, without caring how it makes the model’s face or figure look. A good ‘tog can use inventive angles while still making the model look good--it is, after all, about shooting the model, not just what position you can contort into and still see the model in your lens. 

The high-above angle seems to be popular these days, although it rarely is used in a flattering way. A photographer who shoots from a lower angle is going to flatter the model's legs and elongate her whereas the above-angle will make her look squat and squished--maybe cute or funny for a photo, but not usually pretty or flattering. If you want to look like you have a big head and small body with short legs, use photographers who shoot the high-angle above method. I don't like to, myself. 

Lighting! This is more important that the angle or the crop- those are just more basic things to learn than expert lighting. Since, as a photographer, I certainly claim no expertise in that area, I recognize that it isn't always an easy feat, and like anything else, you have bad days and good days. However, when you look at a photographer's portfolio and the models are consistently under- or over-lit, you might want to wait until they learn a bit more before working with them. Sure, certain shots look cool, or express a certain thing with extreme lighting, but for basic pinups, you want to know that they will be able to flatter you, not “fatter” you! As a model, you have to “find the light” (as Janice Dickinson would say!) and it is up to you to work it in a way that you are putting your angles into the light nicely. This only comes along with practice and experience--just like it does for the photographer. You can see the difference between most self-trained photographers and those who are well trained in a school, usually first by the lighting. (There are exceptions, of course, that's why I said "most.") Good lighting shows off the model well. Great lighting enriches the composition and focuses the attention of the shot--a backlight shining subtly on the model's curves, or a hair light behind the model's head, to set her apart from the background. Look for those slight details, and you will find yourself a photographer with a good eye. That's who you want to collaborate and work with!

So, I talked about the technical things I look at in their photos. What else? Well, I look to see their credits, of course. I am looking to see if they have been published, and where. If they have only worked with magazines I have already been in, its less likely I will be eager to shoot with them. They aren’t going to entice me to shoot with them for clients I shot for when I started 4 years ago. However, if they work with magazines I have not worked with or have relationships with publishers that could use me for other projects, than I am probably interested in seeing/hearing more. I look at their clients. If they work with people I'd like to work with but haven't yet, that is of more interest than if they've only worked with clients I already have a relationship with. I also know which of those clients and magazines pay, so I know whether they have just been submitting photos for inclusion (like ANYone can do) or actually are hired by the entity. Often a photographer will try to get me to shoot so they can submit them on spec--and then they end up asking me to get them “in” because they have no pull and no reputation as a shooter. If you need me to get you published, then we probably aren’t suited for each other professionally. At least not right now. Things can always change! 

I also look to see how long they've been shooting, and how much they've done in that time. If they've only worked with publications I have worked with, but got great shots published in many outlets in a brief period of time, I'll keep an eye on them. They just might be a go-getter enough that I will be wanting to work with them soon because they've gotten into so many new magazines quickly because they are hard-working and driven. I respect that, and those are the photographers who will get you published- they are constantly working on building relationships and getting their work out there and seen.

I also look at who the photographer shoots. Are they all unknown models? Or celebrities and unknowns mixed? This is a tricky one. I want to recognize at least one model in their port as a pinup regular or pro, and then I want to see how selective they are. Are they shooting every “hot” girl out there or any old girl they can find? I like people who have their own vision and work with a varied selection of models--from those I know to those out of the scene and foreign to me. Anyone who works with just the same models everyone else does comes across to me as someone who pulls from the bin instead of looking for their own unique models. I feel like if they are generic and uniform in their casting, they likely are in their creativity, too. 

Having pro models in your port doesn't mean that they were pro shoots, either. I shot with some idiots early on, just because I saw Dita or Masuimi in their portfolio, so it somehow legitimized them to me. Then I'd soon discover they were just tools who knew how to sucker a new model. Lots of shots that people have up in the ports of us psuedo-celebrities are taken at events--not at shoots and not with the model's consent to publish commercially. None of the models would know the photographer's name and not one would list them on their credits, yet the photographer is bragging about shooting that model/celebrity and even using it to solicit models. Pay attention. If you see the model wearing the same ensemble on several photographer's sites, chances are, that was either at a public event, or the model did a “Shoot Out” early in her career. (Shoot outs are group photo shoots where multiple models and photographers get together to build their books, often they pay to get in.  These are good if you need a portfolio to start, but otherwise they can be iffy. The photog pays someone else to shoot you and a gazillion peeps shoot on the same props, sets, etc. and the models shoot the same look with multiple shooters.) There are several photographers I would NEVER work with again that are on my website and in my book. A new model going through my photographers looking for someone to work with would likely think I have “approved” them and for the most part, I do, but you may never know who's on a model's resume that she dislikes. 

So how can someone try to tell which is which and pick out the good photographers to contact? Look for photographers who have relationships with models or performers--people who shoot someone multiple times over the years. It shows they treat their collaborators well enough for them to keep coming back. The only pinup people I haven't shot with more than once either: live too far, we haven't had good timing/both too busy, or I wouldn't come near them again with a 10’ pole. (Some non-pin up photographers I've worked with just once are great, but we don't do similar-enough work to get an excuse to shoot again.) 

You can also tell a lot from the text I use to describe the shoot on my site. If I do my happy-talk about everyone and everything BUT the photog, there might be a reason. I try to keep it positive, and I don't like to talk publicly about my feelings about a photographer because usually it just means we aren’t a good match together, not that they are a bad photographer or mean person. There is one photographer that I don't like and had nothing but bad experiences with, but they are well loved by many models and fans who are new to pinup. I would never shoot with them again myself, but the only people who hear my opinion on this person are friends who might work with them- when new models write and tell me they are working with this person- I congratulate them! Just because someone isn't my cup of tea doesn't mean someone else won't adore working with them. We just aren’t well suited for each other. Then again, if you have model friends, ask them to dish the dirt- they might shed some light on how people handle their business and you can save yourself some trouble. Don't be afraid to talk and share your experiences with other models, just be professional and not catty. Stick to the business details--how they handled the shoot, how they treated their models and crew, how well they stick to their promises. You will be able to help friends steer clear of creepy or unprofessional peeps and refer them to the quality folks! 

(I can literally only think of one person I'd publicly comment on--to warn models to be careful and stay away, but cannot right now due to pending litigation--which tells you how bad it has to get for me to voice my opinion publicly!)

That said, I'd like to take a moment to thank the amazing photographers I have been lucky to work with.  There are so many that I've learned from and worked with and played with. Your talent and vision have helped enrich my work and my life. You help make me a better model and more content human being, let alone adding beauty and humor to this world through your art! Thanks for playing photo with me over the years, ya’ll!  I loves’ ya!
 

Love and Pin-Ups! 
Heidi Van Horne 
www.HeidiVanHorne.com 

 Bonus Photo #1!
Heidi Van Horne
Photo: Danielle Bedics/White Rabbit Studio
Hair and Make Up: Jennifer Corona
 
 
 

Bonus Photo #2!
Heidi Van Horne
Photo: Danielle Bedics/White Rabbit Studio
Hair and Make Up: Jennifer Corona



 
 

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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