TIME FOR PRINTS
The internet has democratized media in almost every arena. Cheap technology and free distribution has lowered the barrier of entry to zero on the fringes of industries which less than a decade ago were elite and exclusive. From publishing to advertising to the recording industry, the new standard is no standard.
The modeling industry has been wildly transformed by the digital age. Inexpensive camera and computer equipment has created an amateur photography boom that floods the internet with hundreds of millions of images a year.
Whereas traditionally a professional photographer would approach a modeling agency looking for new faces to "test shoot" on a "time for prints" basis, now in almost every city Craigslist is filled with ads by amateur photographers looking for amateur models for TFP or TFCD. Websites like Model Mayhem and One Model Place allow aspiring models, photographers, and anyone with access to the internet to sign up for an account, upload a couple of snapshots, and instantly start networking with other people on the site to set up shoots.
The result is a bewildering mix of amateur porn, trial-and-error photoshoots, tattooed pinups, and more than a few breathtaking images from hobbyists and professionals alike, all shot at the expense of the models and photographers themselves.
Welcome to the new world of modeling, where import tuner girls have replaced Playboy Bunnies, fitness models frolic in the Caribbean sea for photographers on weekend "workshops", lipgloss has given way to gasmasks, "glamour" means "nude", and it's not porn if it's artistic.
ABOUT THE FILM
Time For Prints is an in-production, feature-length documentary by Toronto editorial photographer and filmmaker Chris Frampton. Time for prints follows models with diverse backgrounds, experience levels and interests over the course of a summer as they pursue their goals and try to improve their portfolios in the internet-driven community of TFP/CD photography in Toronto.
Visit the website at http://www.chrisframpton.net/timeforprints
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