Hiring Child Models

Hiring Child Models

by William Lulow

As a bit of a follow-up to another, previous article about photographing children, I thought I’d say a few things about using child models. One of my big clients years ago was Allied Fibers and Plastics (Division of Allied Chemical). The art director called on me many times to photograph the various items that the company made and often it entailed using child models. Sometimes I was able to use the children of friends, other times I hired child models from the large agencies. In doing so, I had to conduct my fair share of casting calls. As a former teacher of younger children, I knew that when the client was in the studio, I didn’t want to have a child that couldn’t take direction, was cranky and generally refused to do what he or she was told. In addition, I knew that sometimes these shoots took a long time. Garments had to be pressed, stylists had to fuss about how they looked on-figure. Sometimes they had to be pinned to look like they fit right. So, I was always looking for child models with patience! That was almost the most important thing. Most young kids are certainly photogenic enough for most commercial uses, so the patience and attitude of the model was really paramount.

I can recall having to shoot a catalog page of a child in some outfit or other. This was back in the day when photographers had to shoot ad pages to size. This shot had to be made on an 11×14 view camera, and I had exactly one hour to get the shot. Well, the child that the agency booked just would not cooperate. He was cranky and refused to get on the set. The father tried all sorts of cajoling, but nothing seemed to work. With about five minutes left to the booking, the father promised to take the child to McDonalds right after the shoot and the kid finally cooperated. I took four 11×14 sheets of film! That was all I got. Now one of the secrets of getting really good pictures of any child, or of any person or thing in the studio, is to be totally prepared. Prior to doing any of my child shots, I did the complete lighting setup and exposure test. That way, once the child was on the set, you are totally ready to shoot and capture great expressions and movement at the same time:

Today, of course, it’s a much different thing. Everything is sized in post production, but, the lesson was not lost on me. Hire a child who will cooperate!