Photo: Mario Calvo

How to do collaborative TFP photo shootings

Models, photographers, make-up artists and stylists often work together without a commercial purpose just to free their creativity. How to create a successful team for TFP while enjoying the ride and learn?

When photographers, videographers, models, make-up artists or stylists team up to work together in personal projects without any commercial purpose, we call it TFP.

TFPs are the best way to improve, test ideas and learn because all client specifications, limits and deadlines vanish, and everyone is free to push the limits of their creativity. Most probably, the best works of many artists come from TFP collaborations.

TFP are not only for beginners, not at all! TFPs are the perfect tool to build up an artistic identity and to create incredible artworks. Even the best professionals and top models are doing TFP to keep their ideas fresh and enjoy what they like doing the most without the pressures of a commercial project.

What you shouldn't forget when doing TFP

For your TFPs to work smoothly, keep in mind the following tips:

The rights agreements

When you do a TFP, signing a rights agreement document is essential, just like for any commercial job. Nobody in the team would be allowed to use the resulting photos otherwise.

We've prepared some example documents of that kind ready for you to download and use here: (We're sorry this documents are only available in spanish yet!)

Template documents for TFP shootings and commercial jobs

Be responsible

When you're part of a TFP collaboration, take it seriously, just as if it were a paid assignment. Be on time, work your best and do not cancel the day before without a good reason just because you woke up a little lazy.

Remember that all the members of the team have brought their time and effort for the TFP, maybe even they spent some money on equipment, make-up materials, stylism or studio rental.

Be professional

Model photography is always a team work on which many people is involved. If everyone commits and enjoys the experience, you'll be creating a wonferful team that will no doubt help you also in your professional career forever. Don't ever forget this extra tips:

  • Credit the entire team every time you post the photos.
  • If you ever need to use the photo somewhere else than your personal book or portfolio, make sure to ask the rest of the team for permission. You might need to sign an additional agreement to allow that.
  • If you're a photographer, try to deliver the resulting artworks on time. All the team has worked hard with you, and they too deserve their reward.

How to organize a TFP

  1. Start with an idea

    You can try new photography techniques, lighting tricks, posing ideas or go for something that's entirely new to you. Trying to copy artworks from other artists that inspired you is always a great way of learning.

    Find out the limit of what you already know and try to go further. TFPs are where most photographers and videographers developed their own style by experimentation, trying and failing along the way.

  2. Put your idea in words

    You'll need to write it down for the rest of the team. Describe what you're searching for, and create a moodboard for your idea: A collection of photos or videos that exemplify what you're trying to accomplish. Try and visualize your work as finished, with as much detail as you can.

  3. Find you what you'll need

    Models, of course, but which look? What kind of make-up? You might also need a stylist, a hairdresses, or maybe even a fashion brand could lend you some wardrobe. When a TFP is well organized, it can look like a superproduction!

    Do you know the location where you'll take the photos? Do you need some kind of permission to do that there? Will you need attrezzo, accessories, special lighting equipment? If your TFP idea is good enough, you might even be able to add some assistants to your team that would love to help while seeing how a production works from the inside, even if it is a TFP.

  4. Gather your team

    We might be a bit biased, but we really recommend you to use Litmind to create a model casting, and to post a collaboration to find make-up artists, stylists or whatever else you'll need. It really works!

    Be sure to communicate perfectly what you want to achieve, show the moodboard of your idea and try to make all your team in sync with that. Now is a great moment to send the right agreement documents to everyone to they'll be able to read and sign it before the production day.

  5. The production day

    Is everything ready? Plan the day ¿Todo listo? Plan the day in advance, charge up your batteries and empty your SD cards. Some snacks and something to drink will really help the team ease through the day. Allow for time in your plan for the make-up and stylism preparations, specially if you'll be using sunlight to shoot!

    Let's do it! Take it easy and don't let your idea dilute through the day. This is the fun part. Keep on reading to find out some of the most common problems you might find at this stage.

    Don't forget the right agreement documents, it's time to sign!

  6. The results

    Everyone will be keen to see the results, so try to deliver them within the agreed deadline, everyone deserves their reward!

    When publishing the resulting work, don't forget to credit the entire team. Getting credited in publbications is a big reward for everyone in a TFP, after all. Here's a great idea: Create a text with all the credits and send it to everyone so they can just copy and paste it into their social accounts.

    It's a great idea to scan the signed agreements and send them to all the team, so they'll be able to keep a copy.

The most common errors

These are some of the most common errors we all do when doing TFP:
  • Too ambicious ideas

    You might want to plan your TFP to get many different photos, framings and ideas at once, but the time is limited. This will most likely cause a sense of urgence the production day and you might lose attention to detail, making you drift away from your idea. It's much better to just plan a single scene, or maybe even just one photo, but being able to carefully execute it while keeping all the details of your idea under control.

  • Letting your idea vanish

    If you get nervous because things are not going as planned, you will most likely lose control of your idea and slowly dilute it into something different. Take your time to re-focus, checkout your moodboard and try it again.

  • Be satisfied with the result, even if you didn't quite got what you wanted

    When you plan something different and ambitious but something goes wrong, you keep going back to your confort zone and end up taking the kinds of photos you already know how to take. That's a bitter ending for your TFP because you'll find yourself with photos that are not that bad, but aren't what you planned for. The solution? Acknowledge the situation, identify the problem and plan another TFP!

You'll find some extra tips and ideas on how to plan a photo shoot here:

Tips for organizing a photo-shoot

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