I'm not one to cast doom and gloom on the idea of modelling and, in general, a photoshoot should be exciting and fun. However it's one of those things that is probably in the back of a lot of models' minds and if it's not, perhaps it should be. These are just a few things to think about before and during a shoot to make sure that you have a positive experience and come back for more.

Over the past few months there has been a tremendous number of new members signing up which is great for the site. What’s been even better is the number of models that have come here to do shoots. We take pride in helping people on those first steps of model shoots - giving guidance and offering advice to models, photographers, make up artists and stylists. This has been primarily written for those of you who are models, but we can all learn something about communication and some 'do's and 'don'ts' of a shoot.

Looking through the profiles it’s clear that many are either completely new to modelling or have only done one or two shoots, possibly one of those makeover studio shoots you often get as a birthday present. Modelling is great, over time you’ll meet some talented photographers and make some good friends, but there is a darker side that you may not be aware of. This post hopefully gives you a few tips that will help you enjoy the experience and more importantly to stay safe.

The most important thing to remember is that not everyone is who they seem to be. 99.9% of those you meet are genuine, kind and considerate people but once every so often you’ll come across someone who says all the right things in the emails but has somewhat dodgy motives. It may not happen to you, and I’m not suggesting that you live your life suspicious of every photographer that contacts you, just be thoughtful about who you give your contact details to. Use the site PM system rather than email or phone until you’re sure. If things get weird the PM mail trail can be useful.

Never under any circumstances put personal info like phone numbers or email addresses on your profile or in replies to threads. Remember that your profile and the forum can be read by anyone, even non members and you may find you start receiving disturbing calls and mails from some weirdo in Singapore. I would recommend you open up a hotmail, yahoo or similar email account that you use exclusively for modelling under a modelling name such as This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . That way if you get problem mail you can close it down. Never link to your facebook or myspace accounts, you might suddenly get a load of new friends that cause no end of trouble. In general keep your modelling life separate from your ‘real life’ and don't use your full name, it is surprisingly easy to get all kinds of info with just your name and the town where you live.

The point of being here is to make images and for that you need a photographer so you’re in luck because there are plenty here. Don’t feel obliged to shoot with the first person that asks though and it’s imperative that you see some of their work first. No matter how desperate you are to do a shoot there will always be other offers. You should also look for references from models they’ve worked with to get an idea of the togs personality and interests. For new photographers this is a chicken and egg situation, until you have references it can be hard to get a shoot and without a shoot you can’t get references. We all go through it and it’s annoying at times but it’s the way it works, it took me ages. Just because a photographer doesn’t have references doesn’t mean they’re in any way strange and the chances are you’ll get some great images but just go careful. Ideally do a pre-meet in a cafe or somewhere public to see what you think of them before you commit to a shoot. I do it with models all the time and sometimes you just know that you need to say thanks and then walk away quite quickly!

Once you get a shoot, let friends know who it’s with (their proper name and not a screen name) and where it is. This is quite normal and if the photographer is reluctant to provide this, well make your own conclusions. Agree in advance what you’re going to shoot and don’t be talked into higher levels during the shoot. The easy way to keep within the agreed levels is just to say we haven’t discussed it but we could do that on the next shoot. It’s up to you to decide if you actually want to do another shoot.

The last thing is about who owns the images. In the UK the law states that the copyright is owned by the creator which is the photographer. Any images taken are therefore the property of the photographer who can do almost anything he wants with them as long as they do not misrepresent you. What this means is that if you decided to do a nude session the pictures could be sold to a magazine and you may find you’re in the next edition of ‘Smut monger’ or on a dodgy internet porn site. Once the image is taken there is the potential for anyone and everyone to see it. This includes your parents, your friends, that creepy bloke that works in the store room or that complete cow that works on telesales that is always trying to upset you. Would you be happy to go into work on Monday to find someone has printed off 100 copies and put them all around your office or handed them out to everyone at uni? Nothing wrong with nude or higher, just as long as you recognise that you have no control over the images. If they appear somewhere you’re not happy with unfortunately it’s tough luck.

Anyway, enough scaremongering. You’ll have a great time, but just be a little thoughtful and you’ll be far less likely to come across the very small minority of photographers that give the rest of us a bad name.