Back in July of 2009, when I was just getting going and hadn’t had any weird experiences yet, little did I know that one day it was all going to change…

I set up a lingerie shoot in Vancouver with an amateur photographer off of an Internet website. Since I had to travel outside of my city of residence and meet this guy (“photographer”) off the net, I decided that it was a good idea to bring my best friend/assistant with me.

The moment we got there, the guy was acting super weird. First, he looked at my friend like he was a space alien. His face sunk upon the first glance at my friend, because I honestly believe he expected me to show up alone (even though in our emails I stated that I was bringing a friend with me, so it shouldn’t have been a big shock to him). Then, he started having a difficult time speaking and it turns out that English is his second language, which created a barrier in our communications.

When we entered his home studio, it was apparent that he’d already downed a quite a few beers. He offered my friend a beer as well.

While we were shooting, he was slurring his words as a result of being drunk. He tried to direct me, but it was clear that he could not say exactly what he wanted to say. He’d stop mid-sentence and angrily sigh as loud as he could.

Then, he got angry at his lights for “not doing what they were supposed to do”. He looked at the screen on camera, and sighed after every photo because he didn’t get the lighting right, and he couldn’t explain to me the poses that he wanted me to do. A couple of times, he tripped over the power cords of his lights. One time resulted in a light falling down and nearly hitting me, but luckily I moved out of the way very quickly.

Additionally, he was talking about how wonderful he was at photoshop and how much money he spent on his equipment. He also stated that photoshop is a very easy program and that he could do anything he likes in photoshop.

Then, he started telling me stories about how whenever he puts out an ad on the Internet site, he always gets junkies and hookers replying to the ad, and how happy he was that I was not one. LOL

At the end of the shoot…he picked up two open beers and said “Hey, guys, look! I got two going at once!!” That was hilarious…I mean he was WASTED by the time we finished. For all I knew, he probably wouldn’t even remember shooting with me or that we were there.

I sure was excited to see what the photos turned out like…Well, curiosity killed the cat. When I saw one of the pictures…I couldn’t recognize myself. Although, I have to admit, if I’d sent in that pic while I was applying to be a cast member of a horror movie, I’d get the part. 😀

All’s well that ends well…I guess. He paid me for the shoot. So it wasn’t a waste of time. And the experience, as weird as it was, was worth it, since now I can talk about it.

Hasta Luego, amigos,
Aviva

I’ve been modeling now for about a year and a half, and I’ve dealt with quite a large number of photographers, models, hairstylists, MUA’s, and several HIGHLY successful photographers who are well published. In this time, I’ve made around $3500,been on a number of websites, and I’m about to be published in two magazines. In addition, the most successful of all the people I’ve ever dealt with, whose images inspire me, contacted me to discuss my modeling career. The modeling industry in Victoria is very small, and the majority of modeling gigs are TFP shoots and volunteer fashion shows at the mall. Threfore, I feel blessed to be able to make as much money as I’ve made in my city. I only say this to show you what level I am at and by no means do I claim to be an expert, but I can share my experiences.

In the past, I’ve had a few questions about my modeling, especially how I started.
Quite often, I get asked if Craigslist is a good place to find photographers, or if Model Mayhem can get you noticed by serious industry professionals.

I heard about Craigslist when I first moved to Victoria. I was told that it was a site where people can place ads for free, which I thought was awesome =) With that in mind, I decided to give it a try, and see if any photographer would be interested in doing a photoshoot with me.
It all started when I posted an ad on craigslist…
The ad read something like this:

Photographer Needed
I am an 18 year old girl who is looking for a photographer to trade portfolio images with. I am 5’6″ and 118 lbs. I would like to do some fitness & bikini shots. Please let me know if this is of interest to you. If so, please email me with samples of your work and your availability and I send you some photos of myself. Looking forward to hearing from you.

When I wrote this ad, simplicity and honesty were key. I knew that when I was a first year university student I could not really afford to be spending $300+ on a photoshoot so I thought that if a photographer saw potential, he/she would work with me on the basis that he/she too would be able to use the photos.

I got quite a few replies, about 20-25 in total. The majority of photographers were hobbyists, amateurs, or stated that they were “just starting out”. I did not have a problem with those people, since they were honest, and hey, I was starting out too, so I couldn’t be too picky and I was fully aware of it.

I replied to everyone, because I think that it’s the proper way to conduct yourself when you do business. If I knew then, what I know now, I probably would not have responded to many of the amateurs or anyone “just starting out”, except to say “Thank you, but I’ve found who I’m looking for”, just to be polite & professional.

However, I also got a few perverts who knew nothing about photography, and sent me photos which they obviously did not take. For example, one guy sent me photos that were taken by Richard Simonsen, a well-known photographer.

Another guy offered me to take some nude photos, but I wasn’t comfortable doing that as a first shoot. I’ve also had a few creepy messages from guys who were obviously not looking for models, but they were looking for sex providers. Thanks, but “no thanks”. I’ve dealt with a lot of sleezebags through craigslist…

However, there was one AMAZING local photographer whose images were outstanding. They were properly lit, well-composed, and colour balanced. In addition, he shot the style that I was interested in. To this day, I shoot with him on a regular basis because he is professional, knows how to properly use the equipment, and is fast at getting the images finished. Additionally, he is an incredible retoucher and is very creative. He studied art, photography, and photoshop for many years. His name is Ian and he owns IMS FotoGrafix. You can see his work here
He is the person who got me a great portfolio at the very beginning of my career. As a result of his photos, I was able to apply to several modeling jobs and book some paid work.
I’ll definitely do an more detailed article/interview on IMS FotoGrafix.

If you would like to book a shoot with him, please let me know (you can message me through my website) and I will get in touch with him for you or give you his contact info. His rates are very reasonable and shooting with him will save you a lot of time and trouble.

As far as Model Mayhem goes, the forums are interesting, and you can definitely meet some very good people there, as well as book some paid work. At the same time, there are several people that you wouldn’t want to meet. Just like with any other tool, you have to use Model Mayhem in order to yield any results from it. So, seek out your connections and pursue them. I’ll leave it at that for now.

Have a great day and good luck with everything =)

~Aviva

So far, I’ve worked with several great people, including MUA’s, Hair stylists, Wardrobe Stylists, and photographers. 🙂

When I first started modeling, I used Anat Khempler as my stage name because I thought that was a way to protect my identity and I liked the sound of it.

However, I soon realized that stage names are very important and many girls choose to use a stage name in order to separate their modeling career from their real life.

Benefits of a stage name:
*People in your real life don’t know that you model (which could be good with all the myths about modeling that are out there)
*An internet stalker won’t know your real name, so they can’t track down
*It it’s catchy/easy to promounce/unique enough, then it might help your career
*Allows for privacy and anonymity

My problem with Anat Khempler is that it was too difficult to pronounce, and too long.
Therefore, I thought Aviva is a better choice because it’s shorter & sweeter, and it’s also my middle name.
From now on, all my online profiles will be under Aviva, just like Facebook