Interview with New Face Sienna Hahn: Advice for New Photographers Working with New Faces!
Sienna Hahn and Melissa Rodwell at Park Street Studios, St. Louis, MO
I had the opportunity to sit down for a few minutes with new face model, Sienna Hahn, at our last workshop in St. Louis! Sienna is only 14 but she’s already working on modeling jobs! She is hopeful that she can take her modeling career as far as she can take it, and I believe she has the potential to do that! At already 5’9” (and again, at only 14), she has the height and the beauty already in place!
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In this interview, I asked Sienna what is helpful for her when she’s working with a new photographer. Playing the music she likes, talking to her before the shoot to get to know her a little bit, and communicating with her exactly what the photographer wants are the key takeaways from this video. And that makes a lot of sense. I have always let the models choose the kind of music they’d like to listen to and I take a little time when they’re in makeup to chat and ask them about their lives so they feel more comfortable with me when it’s time to go on set!
Early on in my own career, I learned a valuable lesson and that was this: the more confidence I exuded, the more confident the models felt with me. Makes sense, right? Whenever we encounter most any situation where we are interacting with others, the more confident the other person is towards us, the more we feel at ease and trusting. I think this “rule” applies even more so when two new-ish people in the industry start working together. Young models, for the most part, may come off as confident but really deep down, they’re young, timid, and unsure of themselves and the photography set. Making them feel more at ease by playing their music, talking to them and not avoiding them, and directing them by being very clear with your communication can really help create a warm, safe and fun environment for them to open and up and be creative with you!
If you have some good advice on working with new models or a story from your own experience you would like to share, comment below! We’d love to hear from you! Also, check out this interview we did a few years ago with one of my all-time favorite models Elena Kurnosova