Portrait collage of some of the people I have worked with.  To fit this format some of these images are seriously cropped. Click to see a larger version.

My first photo shoot with a professional mode was with Sarah. Before our shoot she had checked me out. And as for me, I had checked her references. I learned she was well known and highly respected. But I was more of an unknown quantity to her. She did not know anyone who knew me. She wanted to have an in-person meeting at a popular outdoor mall. She showed up with a male companion who hovered not too far away. She asked a lot of questions. Part way through our get acquainted meeting she nodded at him and he walked away. I knew I had passed some kind of test. She was doing her due diligence. Unhappy things have happened to models who do not thoroughly check out the photographers they plan on working with.  Photographers have had unhappy experiences too. Once Sarah was confident about me, we scheduled the shoot.

Sarah

After our first two photo shoots, Sarah began recommending models for me to work with. They were all first rate and I began to build up a better portfolio of work. And I learned from Sarah how to do my due diligence and check out models.

Sarah

For a variety of reasons, Columbus was a mecca for traveling models. I started getting  messages that would say something like, “Hi Jim! I will be in Columbus June 8-10. If you have 2-3 hours available for a photo shoot, I would like to work with you. I love your portfolio.”  The first thing I would do is call Sarah. She knew many of the traveling models. Sarah told me which ones to work with and which ones to avoid.  If Sarah didn’t know one of them, she usually knew someone who did. And I would also check references. Before I knew it, I had worked with models from New York to California and Minnesota to Texas.

Tiana

One day Sarah called me and said, “Tiana is going to be in Ohio. You HAVE to work with her. She is one of the best of the best.” So I did. She was every bit as good to work with as Sarah said she would be.

Tiana, San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge

When I was out in California, I contacted Tiana and we spent the morning shooting at a local wildlife refuge.  At the end of the shoot, Tiana suggested I contact Anoush in Ohio, and said she would be great to work with.

Anoush

Back home in Ohio, I contacted Anoush to set up a shoot.

Anoush

More shoots followed after that. She is great to work with.

Anoush, Point Betsie Lighthouse

Last summer Anoush and I were both going to be in Michigan at the same time, so we planned to shoot at various places in Western Michigan.

Anoush. Lake Michigan

All of this was possible because of people I trust recommending people they trust.

Whether you are a professional photographer or an amateur, a professional model or just someone who wants some nice portraits, it is important before you agree to a photo shoot that you do your due diligence and check out the person you are thinking about working with. The best way to do that is to talk to someone you know and trust who knows the person you are thinking about working with.  If there is someone I want to work with and I don’t know them well, I check them out before I even mention the possibility of a photo shoot.