I've been following this (thread on the forum) for a time and thought I should jump in with a completely different point of view and completely different solutions.

I was, for a time, a mediocre professional shooting bottom fashion. During that time I used makeup artists most of the time, and worked with professional models, such as there were in San Diego. My book looked pretty much like any other San Diego book, and like alot of the books I see now from other photographers trying to "break in," or working the agencies.

I'm now an amateur. My work is done for personal satisfaction only, but is far more interesting, and getting far better reviews than the old stuff ever did. The major difference is that I'm not trying to make a living at it, so I don't have to shoot like everyone else, and, my intent is to make beautiful pictures, not to sell either models or my photography to a client.

While I adore the makeup artists I've worked with, and respect their work, my photography isn't a good place to show their work. Nothing about what I do depends on perfect makeup. I'd rather show the woman.

Similarly for models. I've worked with a bunch of beautiful women. All of them. But not all would be recognized on the street as professional models, even if they are. Each shows that beauty in a unique way. (That would make them more editorial and less commercial by the vocabulary of this forum.) And I want to show the beauty of each in a unique way.

Awhile back I was sitting in on an audition for runway models. One of the biggest LA agencies sent several girls and boys over. They walked the same, moved the same, were the same height and if it weren't for about three variations in skin color, they looked the same. Each had the same perfect nose, straight hair, etc., etc. Boring...

So maybe because of my aesthetic choices, I'd rather not use cookie-cutter models or makeup artists. And if that results in more agencies prefering the books of photographers that shoot FOR the agencies, it doesn't do a thing to reduce the satisfaction I have of looking at my own book, or especially, showing it to someone who's expecting to see the same old thing.

-Don