Sweet Sixteen (2006)

 

Sweet Sixteen
Front Royal, Virginia
June 8, 2006

I generally have a rule with models these days: no one under 18, with the only exceptions being minors whose parent(s) I know. Why? Because I won't shoot a model under 18 without a parent being there. And parents can be really, really annoying.

A good example was when I shot S---, who was sixteen at the time. She had responded to an ad I had placed along with a picture of herself which showed her (for lack of a better term) goth style. I've always thought fire-engine red hair was awesome, so I immediately started working on ideas for her shoot.

Unused test shot for Sweet Sixteen.

We set a date. Her mother came along and I immediately got the sense that I was going to be under scrutiny. A certain amount of scrutiny is fine, even encouraged, but this lady was a bit too pushy. She asked to see the shooting list, which I gave
her, then started to freak out when she saw the
word "nude"... telling me her daughter was in no
way, shape or form going to be doing anything
nude, she's only sixteen so that would be illegal.... until I pointed out that the shooting list said
"nude hose," as in pantyhose - part of that shot's wardrobe needs. Sheesh.

While there were another annoyances that day,
the one that sticks out in my mind was when we
were shooting Sweet Sixteen. I had set up a party backdrop for the model to sit in. The scene was a somewhat desolate looking birthday party with the character not at all happy to be engaged in an
event so cliche and sickingly, well, sweet. In frustration, she pounds her fist through the birthday cake and let's everyone know with her expression that she's had enough of the BS.

The "wasted cake" after the shot was completed.

S--- liked the idea and found that a
nice punch into a cake could be fun. Her mother, on the other hand, spent what seemed like forever lamenting over the wasted cake. The four dollar store-bought cake. Again... SHEESH.

While it's funny in retrospect, at the
time, these things tend to distract
from the focus of shooting, and many times (especially in the case of overbearing boyfriends coming to the shoot), distract the model from
getting into the mindset of the shot. But... it's also a necessary evil when
it comes to working with models who are under 18!