Last summer I tried to do something that I'd never actually heard of anyone doing and I tried to do it all on my own.
Sure, embarking on a project that you've come up with, mostly, on your own is certainly creative;
however, organizing it
almost entirely alone
(in the beginning, at least) is actually Hell
(especially when you're struggling with other photography related things). But, I survived,
we survived, and this year
we're doing it again. But this time, we're doing it
right.
Last year I called it
Top Model Project, but this year we're calling it
So You Think You Can Smile. Last year I was dodging around in a post-365 slump while this year,
after a break, I have ideas shooting like Roman candles out of every orifice (
you can imagine how that feels). And better
yet, last year I did it, basically,
on my own. It wasn't a
train-wreck, but it certainly didn't go the way that it could've.
This year things are different. We have a team, a
board of
four of us. We're all good friends after last year and all of us bring different ideas to the table. And the best part about this alliance? We've been planning since
November.
So, bring it on.
Now,
what is it? That's easy, it's a modeling competition (
think, ANTM) with people in our area who are interested in modeling casually (
No matter how hard we try this isn't professional). Auditions take place in March, April, and May
(before summer hits) and because we can only take ten.
SYTYCS will last for
eleven weeks, closing sometime in the second week of August when we pick the winner. On a weekly basis, we'll meet up at least twice during the week; once for shooting and again, later that week, for elimination. Yes, e
limination. Last year, we ended up not eliminating anyone because we all became too good of friends and I have weaknesses (
but this year the Board won't let that happen).
So, why do we do this? What's in it for us
aside from a lot of stress?
Simple, it's a fun way to build our portfolios (
possibly theirs) and create the diversity that you can't get when you're only using yourself and close friends for photos and make-up. But how many portfolios can there possibly be to build? You'd be
surprised, we have Pam who's our make-up artist and trying to build hers, we may get at least one girl who's interested in modeling to that extent, and, of course, for the photographers (
Yes, there is more than one, there's plenty). Another reason we do this is because,
this year, we're trying to find a way to
give back to the community. We're still brainstorming how, but we've narrowed it down and we're not saying anything yet.
Finally, why should
anyone participate? To have
fun, to
try something new, and to meet new people (
this one's our favorite). We welcome
anyone interested in helping in
anyway, whether they want to come and shoot a few pictures, hang out and help us set up, put together outfits, brainstorm, do hair, design clothes, anything. We love people.
Love them. And we always need help in some form or another.
That's why we do it.
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