Studying Fashion Magazine Advertisements

Knowledge is power. Learning what works best does not mean copying and not being original. As long as the knowledge is applied along with one's own personality it is a great way to grow.

A Good Night's Sleep

One night or several good nights' sleep can do wonders. It is obvious but often ignored. Yes, there are ways to retouch the photos later but it is expensive, time consuming and not the right solution. Often lack of energy or bad mood can be side affects of not enough sleep as well. On the other hand there is a time and a place to break every rule. Moody, dramatic, edgy black and white photos can benefit from tired look even dark circles under the eyes, having a more "documentary" feel perhaps expressing the hardships of life. But not in the case of a beauty photo shoot.

Being Self Sufficient and Resourceful

Most of the time portfolio photo shoots do not have big budgets and it often shows on the photos. A little creativity can go a long way. Some agencies or photographers offer a more cookie-cutter approach, quick in-and-out. But I do not think one can produce high volume and high quality in the same time. Not having a fashion magazine, ad agency or record label financing the photo shoot does not mean all the pictures have to be boring with graffiti, brick wall or a parking lot in the background.
Finding new and unusual places makes the photo shoot more fun and the pictures more unique.

Something seemingly unimportant laying in the model's closet can make a great prop or accessory. Many models borrow clothes from their girlfriends or go out on an impulse shopping spree. Keeping the tags on the clothes is optional for a convenient return and refund.

Avoiding Last Minute Cancellations or The Unreliable Model Syndrome

Many beautiful model want to be’s will cancel the last minute before the photo shoot standing up the photographer, for any reason. (I won’t list some of the laughable excuses I’ve heard. But some of the common demoninators are (1) that the person, doesn’t respect or value the photographers time taken to prepare (2) nor that someone else was turned away for that time slot.