One of the hardest things, I've found, is to find suitable models for practicing your portraiture skills. Where do you go? Who do you ask? Will they think you're dodgy if you contact them directly? These and other questions have plagued my early development in portraiture. For a while I tagged along with another photographer, until he got bored. Thought about Model Mayhem but you really need to put together a decent portfolio before you sign up there or you won't get many calls. Friends and family? They get tired of being the guinea pig, or you get scared to ask them ... again!

If you live in the Greater Hunter region, or the mid North Coast, or even Sydney, there is a new way to go! It's called Hunter Creative and it's a site for putting together photographers, make-up artists and models for TFP (Trade for Photos) shoots in these regions. Hunter Creative accepts ideas/storyboards/requests from artists and attempts to cast suitable photographers, HMUA and models depending on what's required. No charge. All you need is the will to have a go and enough equipment to complete any project for which you nominate.

Did I mention that this service is FREE? Yes, FREE as in beer! How do I know? Because I'm using the service and they've just asked me to find them some more photographers for the group. You can check out Hunter Creative for yourself on Facebook (no obligation): https://www.facebook.com/huntercreative?ref=br_tf. If you like what you see, and can accept the group conditions, simply like the HC page and indicate your interest in a project and state your location. A word of caution: all photographers are carefully vetted for suitability for the group. Sleazy is NOT ok, okay? Of course that hardly applies to AP members, does it?