Professional

Yay, so you just landed your first big time gig shooting for xyz editorial/magazine! Congratulations! You worry, “Omg, what do I wear, bring, do, say? How should I act and pose?” Ok, these are all valid questions. I am going to answer all of them, PLUS SOME! Woohoo, right?

First off, what makes us credible? We shoot a lot of models. We help out small, local businesses showing off their clothes. We also shoot for BIG corporations who sometimes need models to show off their products. We shoot for Click Magazine. Used to shoot for 4Memphis Magazine. And we are constantly building a portfolio of fashion/editorial work. And, albeit biased, we shoot the best fashion/editorial in town. I wanted to create this post because 1. many have asked me to, and 2. there are little things here and there that are downright frustrating things some models do that drive photographers crazy!! So here we go.

First impressions. What if we saw your portfolio, thought it was good and are giving you a try, but we have no previous experience working with you? Here’s a few quick tips.

Honesty! This is Rup’s pet peeve. You better look like your description/portfolio. Be HONEST! If you say you are 5’10 110lbs, you enter the room and we see you are shorter than me and the same size (I’m 5’10…and not 110lbs), we are going to be ticked. We might even send you home, depending on how big of a lie it is. It’s ok to not be 5’10. A lot of our models range from 5’8-5’11. Perfect example, for the October fashion spread, the model was 5’3!! And if we don’t know your ACTUAL size because you’ve lied about it, the stylist pulls the wrong size clothes and nothing fits…aka more retouching for us. So just be honest with us because if you’ve ever met Rupert, he will be brutally honest with you. We are a no bull, no sugarcoating kinda team.

Nails! This is my pet peeve. Your nails should be REASONABLE. As in, I should look at the pictures and NOT notice them. No nail polish, unless it’s nude. And not too long. It’s not good for you and more retouching for us. Or it just ruins the mood. Like what if we are shooting for a senior care center or something, and you’re a nurse, and you’re nails are ridiculously long…? You have to fit the scene. Be versatile. That’s the job of a model and an actor/actress for that matter. So cut them!

Hair. No funky hair color, unless you were hired for funky hair color, or grunge attitude or whatever. No extensions. One girl came in with this really long weave. The hairstylist took it all out! We were 2 hours behind for the shoot, and well – that kinda sucks because time is money.

Tattoos. Be aware of your tattoos. Some photogs want that look. Others don’t. If you know that in this particular pose that your tattoo will be showing, and it’s large (as in bigger than a tennis ball in diameter) find a different pose or ask the photographer what he/she wants to do. Tattoos take time to retouch to make it look like it’s supposed to. And by being aware of it, it shows the photog that you care about the post work they will have to do to remove it. We thank you for that.

So those are quick tips. Now for the questions.

1. What do you wear? Unless the modeling agency, photographer, or art director states otherwise, it  doesn’t matter. Honestly. Wear sweats for all we care. You will be put in clothes to model. Ahhh, makes sense, right? Do NOT wear make-up (unless asked). No perfume – we don’t want to the clothes to smell when we return them to the store. Also, this sounds weird, but do not wear tight socks or any other pieces of clothing that will leave marks on your body, like lines from tight pants or whatever. I don’t want to retouch the lines after we shoot. I would rather them just not be there in the first place. You should be a blank canvas for hair and make-up and showing off the clothes.

2. What do I bring? Just because you sometimes need it, please bring nude and black pumps and flip flops or shoes to slide on or off. That is for you to wear when you are modeling designer shoes so you can slide on and off getting to and from the shooting spot. We do not want to scuff up the shoes. Also, bring a nude strapless bra.

3. What do you do, how do you act/pose? Really, just do whatever they tell you to do. No need to help carry or move things, unless asked. When stopping for lunch, change back into your clothes so you do not get food on the designer clothes. Practice your poses the night before, so you look prepared. Get rest so there are no baggies under your eyes. And also, this is important…after the photographer takes the picture, move! Do not just sit there and wait for him to take 10 shots of you doing the same pose! Make small, subtle, and noticeable movements after each click. If he/she wants you to go back to a pose before, they will tell you. **Here are some general guidelines, but we have SEEN THEM ALL, which is sad, but true. Do not be LATE! Do not STEAL. Do not do drugs before a shoot for obvious reasons. (That sounds stupid, but it has happened!!) Also, be NICE to your photographer because he/she has the final control on how you look!! Karma…

4. What do you say? Have a personality. Don’t be shy, but don’t be super loud and opinionated either. And if the photog/make-up artist/hairstylist are happy with what they created, but you don’t like it – DO NOT TELL THEM. You are not being hired to give your opinion; you are being hired because everyone thought YOU were the best fit for the look and style and design they were going for! I know this stinks. I would be the worst model ever because I have an opinion on everything! But I recognize that, so I don’t try to be a model.

Ok, so here was just a short list of what photographers REALLY want from their models! I wish you all the best of luck! And hey, if you are trying to get your name out there, apply to modeling agencies, ask to be critiqued, etc.

Also, check out our Facebook page later today for a Christmas special!! Facebook.com/yenstudios

xoxo

madison

So the November issue of Click Magazine has just come out, and we are so excited to show you what we came up with. We had a Thanksgiving-focused spread where we featured the AMAZING food from Felicia Suzanne Restaurant! And then we also had a fashion spread featuring transitional fall clothes on the beautiful grounds of Annesdale Mansion. Ahh, love it! Of course, we had our amazing team helping with the shoot. Jennifer and Maggie directing from Click Magazine, Alex styling and doing make-up from City Chic Living, and Marcie hair styling with Revolution Salon.

So here are snapshots from the magazine! 🙂

Felicia was featured on the cover! Her interview was excellent! Imagine chilling at home with Felicia. You see her amazing dishes cooked in her very own kitchen, just shootin’ the bull and learning more about her and her food inspiration. That pie was OMG to die for (and it’s served at her restaurant, peeps, just sayin’).

Here were a few food shots. Food photography is a relatively new thing for us, so I am really happy with how these came out. We shot the food shots with the Sinar, a medium format camera.

And then our fashion spread has an outdoor tea party feel mixed with a vintage travel themed-vibe to it.  Check it out, starting with the Table of contents. The girl opening the screen door happens to be my dad’s favorite. He just likes the feel. What do you guys think?

Anyways folks. That was our November Click Magazine! Hope you liked it, and I’ll catch ya later!

Hint, there may or may not be a Christmas special coming up…

xoxo

Madison

So Monday is long gone. Not gonna come back for another 6 days…Tuesday work day is done. That’s all that matters, right? What does that mean? Tomorrow is….HUMP DAY! (Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike – Guess what day it is??? LOL Anyone, anyone…?? Ok, I’ll just go back to my little corner over here.)

Anyways, when I was living in Paris, I called these very special days “Hump Day Pub Day!” which is day for celebration, if you will.

It’s halfway through the work week, and just two more days to Friday. (That’s when we at Yen Studios JAM to Rebecca Black’s “Friday” song). BUT before you start pubbin’ it up in your cubicle, you should channel your inner zen to wait for that 5 o’clock happy hour.

What’s that you say? You don’t know how to channel zen anything?? Well, my friend, I can help you here. I have some very legit pictures of some legit yoga teachers showing their skills. Not models; all of this is real! (Big shoutout to the Memphis Hot Yoga Plus and their AMAZING teachers.) So, let’s walk through these poses together.

Ok, Kathleen here is laying on a ball. Duh. Now, this is my kinda yoga. Laying on a ball and working out kinks and knots. 🙂

This one is a bit more intense. I’m not exactly sure how her hands get there without her arms detaching from her shoulder sockets. Personal opinion, moving on.

Ahh, Jamie here is in warrior 2. A fierce pose and a classic! Yeah, I can be fierce.

This one is a bit more difficult. Camel pose. If you start feeling nauseous here, that’s perfectly normal. SAID NO ONE EVER. Unless you’re a yoga teacher, and then you say it every time you make your students do camel pose.

Look here. Andy is doing a nice triangle pose. Great stretch. And he’s smiling, so he must enjoy it. 🙂

And now he seems to be doing crow pose. Gotta love those arm balances. Of course in Andy’s words, “The advanced variation here is to SMILE”…while you are balancing your entire body weight on your elbows. Yeah Andy, I’ll get right on that.

Michele is doing the good ol’ Eagle pose. The last part of the warm-up series for Hot26 or Bikram practice. Great all around stretch for the arms and legs. Sometimes my foot gets a little crampy wrapping around the calf, but ya know, I muscle through. 

I think this one is called the flying lizard. It’s very simple, you see. You just balance on your hands while your arms are bent at a perfect 90 degree angle while your legs are in splitzies, and one leg is balanced on your elbow. WTF???? I’m just gonna take a little water break and uhhh go back to the HUMP Day PUB day idea. I think that provides plenty of zen! And ya know, it’s 5 o’clock somewhere. 😉

-namaste peeps-till next week.

madison

Man, I can’t believe how time flies! Tomorrow is the first day of October! And what better way to start October than to have a brand spanking new issue of Click Magazine where our photography is slathered all over the magazine, including the: COVER, fashion spread, AND the real estate section?! 😀

We had a great time making this issue at the amazing Great River Lodge, located in Proctor, Arkansas. The guys at the Lodge were so friendly and we shot some great pictures featuring the Lodge for your next hunting adventure. They are also available for weddings, events, and conferences. 😉

The models for this shoot were Lillie Burrow and Ethan Glover. They were both really sweet and had a great dynamic for the shoot. Hair was done by Marcie Keech-Seccombe, and the make-up was done by Matt Gosset. (Their contacts are available upon request). They are both AMAZING!

Photography was of course done by us, Yen Studios (Rupert and Madison Yen)! 🙂 Duh.

See the photos from the shoot below!

Love this cover!

Just a peek-a-boo of the spread from the Table of Contents.

Check out the double spread here for the Fashion Spread, hunting themed! Or as they call it…Sporting Chic!

And here is the Great River Lodge! There is a warm and cozy feeling at the Lodge, and it makes for a really unique outing.

And here is our ad, which was featured right after the spread.

We love coordinating with local magazines to show our work, broaden our style, and have great opportunities to be published!

Till next week, y’all!

Madison

Today marks the beginning of fall. It’s that time of year for cooler weather, pumpkin spice lattes, and colorful leaves.

It’s sad, right? I love the summer time. All the country songs of young love in the summer, swimming in a creek, going to fairs…ya know – the good stuff. **Cough Kenny cough Chesney**. That feeling of warmth, the summer haze, and greenery everywhere.

So here’s an homage to you, dear ole summertime. I’ll miss you and the hot July moon, but I will look forward to long tan legs, strawberry wine, and pontooning next year. 😉

Can you feel it? The heat just from the pictures? Well, I guess that’s enough of that. Now, on to fall.

🙂

Madison

I want to talk about something that has nothing to do with photography or even Yen Studios for that matter. I want to talk about Memphis. My home.

I heard this speech yesterday from the Memphis Chamber President, Phil Trenary, talk about needing to “sell Memphis” to people. Easy – just sell the positive attributes of Memphis! But how can you sell Memphis when Memphians don’t even recognize what those are?? We all hear about the crime, weird weather, poverty, etc. Do people even talk about the good things?

All of these are questions roaming through my head, and luckily, they gave us a flyer of 15 great things to know about Memphis. I was surprised. I didn’t know that many, which is embarrassing because ya know – I’ve lived here my whole life and am a relatively active citizen in Memphis. Sad. 🙁 And then the same day, my sister, Morgan, posts this on Facebook…and I got an idea.

She continues to be a great source of inspiration for me, and I thought this idea was absolutely brilliant. Just a little background info on her. She and her husband lived in Memphis and then moved to Nashville because they wanted a change! After a couple of years, they decided to make the move back to the 901. Why?? Isn’t Nashville supposed the be the greatest city on earth since sliced bread? Yeah, let that sink in. (Slow nod.) Well, here’s a few reasons they moved back: Straight up, they missed it; it’s home for them. And it took leaving to realize that. The food is A-MAZING! Living is cheaper out here. (You roll your eyes, but Memphis is cheap according to this link and so many more! Just Google it, and you’ll see just how many lists Memphis makes.) And I’m sure they have more reasons for moving back, but I don’t want to put words in her mouth.

She posted this on Facebook because it was something she was thinking and wanted to make a point about Memphians’ behavior. I’M posting about this today because I am asking YOU TO MAKE A STAND. Be a #bettermemphian. Make a better Memphis. Create a list for yourself, hold yourself accountable for what you are recommending, and help make our city a better place. Toxic attitudes can go to a different city or just evaporate (I’m ok with that). We don’t need them here. We need people to talk about the GOOD in Memphis. The #lovemobs, free concert series, and pop-up breweries – things that make Memphis unique! Memphis has its problems. I think we are all aware of that. But nothing will be fixed if we only focus on why people would hate it. And let me preface this by saying…if you DON’T have anything nice to say about my post then keep steppin’. Don’t need your negativity here today.

I propose we make a list of 5 things we can realistically do to be #bettermemphians! (using the hashtag is a must. lol) Share said list on every social media you have access to, and when you see people face to face – bring this up. Re-use what people have said before if you agree with it or make new rules and live by them. Help me help Memphis!

Here’s my list to becoming a better Memphian:

1. No public bashing of Memphis. The last thing we need as a city is to have everyone publicly hating all over it. I’ve done it, but I’m going to change. What about you?

2. When people are hating all over Memphis, say 1 nice thing about our city. For me, this will be easy because I honestly do believe Memphis has the best water in the country! Hazah, I now and forever will have a rebuttal to public Memphis bashing. Don’t like this amazingly refreshing water (huh?), here is a list of other great things Memphis has to offer.

3. Give. Give what? Money! To who?? Memphis organizations you believe in!! Don’t have money? Give your time, some effort, or maybe even skills. Don’t have time, effort or skills to give? Well, first of all – that’s sad. Second of all – something as simple as “Liking” them on Facebook can help. There is something that you can do to show your support for whatever, so don’t play that game with me.

4. Cheer on/support a school in Memphis! I went to the U of M! I am a PROUD alumna. I met my husband there, and we have participated in events both during and after our graduation. The U of M is what you make of it, and if that isn’t your bag, baby, then what about an elementary or high school? Or a trade school? Education is important…at any level! Cheer them on. Answer their surveys, attend their functions, and read their newsletters. Be active.

5.  Stay up to date. Keep up with the news and see what’s going on in your city. Be informed. Here are two good sources to stay up to date with Memphis trends: ilovememphis and choose901. You wouldn’t want to miss out! Because when things happen in Memphis, it’s a sight to see! I went to the Lucero concert at the Levitt Shell. Good thing I follow them on twitter and subscribe to their email list 😉 because I would have missed it!! It was awesome! And free! And so much of Memphis was huddled on the lawn at the Shell, dancing to local music! I couldn’t believe the support…to see that Memphians care! And that feeling of being a part of a community, like we are all in this together…THAT is what we can sell when we “sell Memphis.”

Peace out! *Drop microphone*

Madison