Modeling
Until now, most of this essay has been directed toward the person behind the camera, the photographer. This next section is also good for the photographer to know, but it's aimed specifically at the person on the other side of the lens, the person wearing the costume. For our purposes, we will call this person the model.
While the photographer needs a certain amount of technical knowledge, combined with a good eye, the model needs a different kind of knowledge. She (or he) needs a sense of what will look good, what looks natural, and, for our purposes, what will show the costume to its best advantage.
Before you go in front of the camera, both you and the photographer should have a clear idea what you're trying for. In most cases, the goal will be to produce natural-looking pictures that show the costume well. Understand that it can take quite a while to get the best pictures -- it's far easier to do one photo shoot that lasts two hours than to set up a second short photo shoot.
If you're doing the photo shoot at home, or a friend's house, getting prepared is easy. If you're going to a Renaissance Faire or public park, you'll need to consider how much you can prepare before leaving the house, and how much you can do on location. Can you drive wearing a hoop skirt? Can you have a friend drive?
The costume itself should look its best -- clean, with any wrinkles pressed out before you start. Starch your ruffs. Perform a thorough examination, looking for missing buttons, jewels or pearls that might have come off, or similar problems. Make sure you have aiglets on any ties that will show, such as on sleeves. Is there any loose trim? Have a needle and thread ready to baste it down.
Obviously, the next step is getting dressed, and with Elizabethan costumes you'll know by now that it's nice to have an assistant for this. If you're going to be showing off your exquisite work on the corset or smock, this is probably the best time to photograph the underpinnings. If you're not photographing the underpinnings, it's kind not to keep the photographer waiting -- try to be fully dressed when he (or she) arrives.
Makeup is important, especially for women. While shiny spots on your nose and forehead can be edited out of the final photos by hand, it's faster and easier to prevent them in the first place. Again, we're trying for a natural look here. Yes, Elizabeth sometimes wore a lot of makeup, but you're not the fifty-year-old Queen still trying to look like the young virgin. Don't overdo the makeup, and be careful to avoid current trends. (It's easy to fall into your daily routine, following current fashion -- but what looks normal on the street today will eventually date a photograph. Outlining lips, blue eye shadow, big fake eyelashes, etc., are all fashion trends that have passed -- or should have!) Of course, you'll want to be careful to avoid getting makeup on your white smock or ruffs. This is easy to prevent by tucking Kleenex or paper towels around the neckline while you apply makeup.
Hair is another point to consider. You may have long, beautiful tresses, but in Elizabethan times only young maidens wore their hair down and uncovered. In general, you should wear a hat of some sort (see Margo's Accessories pattern and book), and what hair does show should be styled in a period style. Look at paintings of the time if you're not sure.
Before you step in front of the camera, do a quick check for visible anachronisms. Take off your watch. Do you wear glasses? Unless they're period reproductions, take them off. Will your shoes be visible? If so, make sure they look right.
One more thing, but it's important:
It's become a costume cliche by now among Renaissance Faire participants: the costume, excellent, good, or poor, with half a hundred extra things attached. You've seen them, and they come and go in their own small fashion trends: Bells, favors, tokens, cups, pins, braided cloths, horns, animal tails, whips and SM gear, symbols of witchcraft, magic, or assorted religions, various accoutrements stuffed into the cleavage -- you know the kind. Many of these things would never show up on clothing worn by a respectable member of Elizabethan society; others might be, but only in moderation. Extreme moderation. So when you're getting ready for that photo shoot, look carefully at the things you're planning to add to your costume, and ask yourself if they make the costume look better, or do they actually clutter it up and get in the way? If you can't say they improve it, consider leaving them off.
In the nineteenth century, it was common for people to be photographed standing stiffly, face and body squarely aimed at the camera. We're not doing the nineteenth century.
In the sixteenth century, painters had already realized what the 19th century photographers often missed: people don't really look very good standing stiffly and unnaturally. Look at the portraits: the poses are more relaxed, usually more natural. That's more like what we want.
A stiff, centered picture is perfectly balanced, and perfectly boring. We want to create a bit of imbalance, an asymmetry that adds interest and dynamism to the picture. This can be accomplished in a large part by remembering two simple principles:
Did you catch the word "smile" above? That's important -- it's Rule Number Three, but it could also be Rule Number One. So --
3) Smile for the camera. It's simple -- a smile makes a more pleasant picture. People like to see smiles. This isn't a Nagel painting, and looking bitchy won't improve it. Maybe the fashion models don't smile on the runway, but you're not on a runway. Yes, we're photographing the costume, but we're also photographing you. You want to look good, don't you?
Take a look at the models in professional photos. Look closely at how they smile. It's not (usually) a wide grin, but a subtler, more subdued smile. Try to do that -- but if you can't, a big smile is far, far better than no smile.
4) Remember your posture -- it can make a huge difference. Keep your back straight, shoulders back (as if you could slump in a corset!), your neck up.
5) Cooperate with the photographer, take direction from him (or her). He's looking through the lens, and he can see what the picture will look like. Feel free to suggest things, but don't try to run the photo shoot.
"What do I do with my hands?" This is a common question from people posing for the camera for the first time. If you don't have anything to hold, this can take some imagination. If you have something, it's a lot easier. Here are some suggestions:
A cup, a goblet, a tankard. You can always hold a beverage in one hand (but you might want to actually keep it empty, to eliminate the chance of spillage). For an Elizabethan aristocrat, a gold or silver goblet might look good. For a middle-class or lower, you might use a leather jack (mug). And of course, there are pewter tankards and goblets available to suit just about any social level. (Avoid glass drinking vessels.)
For Elizabethan ladies, a feather fan is an excellent prop -- follow the instruction in Margo's Accessories pattern, if you haven't already.
A girdle, an expensive-looking chain belt, is a common part of an Elizabethan lady's costume, and you can hang the fan from that. Alternatively, you can hang some kind of pomander, and play with that -- this is common in period portraits. This girdle and pomander represented wealth and status, and they wanted to show it off.
A wicker basket is another excellent prop for women of lower to middle class. If you don't have any "period" objects to fill it with, throw in some wads of cloth for bulk. Cover that with another cloth -- voila! (Avoid Longaberger baskets and similar baskets with a modern weave.)
Most Elizabethan gentlemen wore some kind of weaponry on their belts -- usually a rapier, often with a matching main gauche (or left-hand parrying dagger). Of course, we can't sell patterns for them, but good examples are available at most Renaissance Faires, or many online sources. Many men would keep one hand on the swordhilt as a general habit -- not as a threat, but because it keeps the weapon from swinging as you walk.
If you don't have a tankard, and you don't have time to make a fan, there are always alternatives: get a flower and play with it (avoid modern-looking "cabbage" roses if you can, but a Tudor-style rose is excellent if you can find one). Maybe a handkerchief, if it's the right style, or a small, old-looking book. (Of course, if you borrow any genuine antiques as props, be sure you take meticulous care of them!) A pouch or needlebook would look good, or an embroidery frame with some needlework. Be creative, but remember the period.
And remember to smile!