Introductions are simple to do and effective at breaking the ice and setting up for a successful shoot day… but if an introduction is missed or delayed, it can cause a lasting sense of confusion and or belittlement for the model.
Before anything else, models are humans, and we respect all humans! The start of the first meeting should be more than a perfunctory handshake; both people need to feel seen and heard.
Of course, the Shoot Producer has “virtually” met the model in SMS messages, voice calls, emails – or possibly a video call in the weeks before the shoot, but the first in-person meeting is a significant step in the relationship (and is the first time a model has met a real person representing the company – a huge milestone!).
The first in-person meeting of a model should run like this;
- Meet the model at a place convenient to her
- For example, at the corner of two streets as arranged / at a certain place at the airport / at the east exit of subway stop
- This should be a face-to-face / in-person meeting “as soon as possible”. For example, if meeting the model in your car, get out of the car to meet her – don’t just wait for the model to get in; if meeting the model at a building, try to meet her at the front door to the building (not the apartment door – or waving from a window!).
- Deliver a warm hello, nice-to-meet-you-at-last sentiment
- A handshake is appropriate
- “I’m First name, said really s l o w l y, call me nickname”
- “What name do you prefer to be called by?”
- Make “small talk” (polite conversation about unimportant things)
- Small talk helps signal each others’ mood, accent, and pace. It reduces tension, makes the situation more normal-seeming
- Talk about the weather, travel so far, the current environment
- Move to more practical subjects
- What’s happening in the next 15 minutes
- A rough plan for the day
- Address what the models needs (eg, toilet, water, food, coffee, a seat, a nap)
- Move to more conceptual subjects
- Conversation about the SP themselves (their approach, their experience (within AW and outside of it)), and the model (her hopes for how the day will work, what she’s concerned about)