I'm (28F) a photographer in need of volunteers for shoots. I keep having to turn a friend (31M) down because he doesn't have the right "look," and I feel awful. What can I do?

I'm a photographer that deals with editorial shoots and fashion shoots. I do a lot with various clients to promote local clothing stores, coffee shops, restaurants and such.

When doing this, I often need local people to act as models. Neither me or my clients can afford "real" models, so I often put a call out on social media for friends and others to come shoot with. Usually they're just paid in gift cards and such because it only takes around a half hour at most.

I often need men to be in my photoshoots, and I'm usually needing to put out a call for young men in their 20's and 30's to be a make-shift model. I have one good friend that always volunteers to do this, but I sadly just can't use him. I don't know how else to explain this adequately, but he just doesn't have the "look" that would work for promotional shoots. He doesn't photograph well and has a haircut that makes it hard to get a good angle to see his face for a photo.

I know he has some issues with body image and insecurity. I feel awful that having to always tell him no and turn him down probably contributes to it. He's not a bad looking guy by any stretch, but I don't know how to tell him that he just doesn't have the model look that my colleagues and I need.

What can I do about this? I don't want to make this personal for my good friend but I know that having to keep turning him down will make it feel that way. I hate that I know I'm making him feel worse about himself, and I know he's just trying to help me. How can I get around this problem?

TLDR - I'm a photographer in need of young men for photo shoots, and am always putting out a call for non-professional models to help. I have a very good friend that always volunteers and wants to help, but I can't use him because he just doesn't have the look I need. How can I get around this problem of always making him feel bad about himself?

Submitted November 24, 2019 at 12:45PM by No-Day https://ift.tt/33eKwgb