Im planning on making my own vids and photos. So I wanna ask how do you take photos while recording a video? And is it possible to do this with only the producer and model?

So I never worked as a WAM producer but have professional videography experience.

Many smaller operations don't take "photos" per se but actually use screen grabs. This means that instead of having a photographer present, they're exporting video frames as image files, so you're promoting/sharing the same angles that will appear in the videos (instead of supplemental angles that don't show up in your video product), and don't need to stop engaging with the shoot to snap a photo with a separate camera.

So, if I were to actually answer your question: Yes, this can be done in post-production. It adds extra time to the process but it's not so bad if it's a labor of love.

Make sure you have a camera that shoots at least 1080 HD, or better yet 4k (most smartphones can do this nowadays), then take frame grabs from the video. Pretty much any editing software can export still images, but the easier option (I've found) is to open the video in Media Player Classic (https://mpc-hc.org/), pause it on the frame you want to export and use the "Save Image" option from the file menu (alt+i on Windows). There are also apps which will export images from regular intervals in the video (i.e. every "x" seconds, or "x" images across the whole video)

Usually it's just me and the model. There's no alternative to just doing it and getting experience, practise and learning from your mistakes.

As someone who started out 'partner WAMming' my style is very hands on with the mess. Although I started out with a still camera that could take 1080 movie shots, taking stills always required interrupting what was going on to take them. I've settled on a set up of multiple 4K movie cameras on tripods and fixed brackets and going down the route of screen caps. You can capture some great image moments this way.

If your priority is HQ stills and you happen to be a photographer - this won't quite cut it for the kinds of image possible with a purpose made stills camera like a DSLR/bridge/mirrorless. It's not so much the image resolution, but the nuances possible with variable (and higher) shutter speeds, depth of field and not to mention the likely much larger sensor size and (certainly with cameras in the high end consumer/low end professional video camera price range) a probably superior or interchangeable lens.

Try to make it as simple as possible. I know Wild Thang https://umd.net/wildthang takes simultaneous DSLR shots from a tripod firing on automatic every few seconds.

How I used to do it:

1.2kW of halogen floodlamps, so no need for flash (never, ever, use flash while videoing).

Video camera held in right hand, at head height and with the screen right in front of me.

DSLR strap round my neck, camera at belly height, firing the shutter blind with my left hand, camera on full manual settings so all shots would match from a light and shutter POV.

Meant the stills had very similar viewpoint to the video, just a little lower, and I could pick exactly when to take them. But the downside was the constant camera clicking all over the soundtrack, and lots of the stills would end up being deleted because the camera was pointing slightly the wrong way or the shot was blurred from accidentally jerking the camera.

Eventually I came to realise no-one really cares about stills any more, people nowadays expect every image to move. So while sometimes I'll put the video on a tripod and then shoot stlls from the side, usually it's just some clean stills to show the girls and their outfits at the start, a few more mid-mess at a natural break point while the video is stopped, and then some more taken at the end after the video has stopped rolling.

They're on the expensive side, but you might try one of the high-end 8K video cameras which reportedly give excellent stills pulled from the video. For example Nikon's Z-9 or Canon's R5.

For example, see this review: https://petapixel.com/2020/08/05/forget-video-a-review-of-the-canon-eos-r5-for-stills-photographers/

If you want to work here on umd know you need to fill out the necessary paperwork.

1) You need to get your account verified to work here, it's the easiest step.

2) You need to fill out model release forms. These are found in the account settings.

3) You need to fill out the business paperwork which is also found in the account settings.

These are requirements to start selling here and I'd say are the most important steps to start.

Thanks for all the answers everyone will keep this in mind

Hi I Havent decided yet if Im gonna work on UMD. My initial plan is to use Patreon and post some pics here or on other social media like IG. Still thinking of how I wanna do things but will keep this in mind

For what it's worth, I have (on and off) used a 3D camera mounting bracket for taking stills and video simultaneously.

The attached photo (from 2006) shows a couple of the bars being used to accommodate a cautious transition from DV to HDV video. I can't readily find any shots of the setups I used that had a DLSR and Video camera mounted together.

The advantages of this is that the still camera is pointed in the same direction as the video. I originally thought I would use a remote shudder release. But in practice, it wasn't proficient. The disadvantage is that you may be tempted to divide your attention between the two. It's best to prioritize one over the other.

Anyways, the brackets are still around;

Budget - https://www.amazon.com/Neewer-20-3cm-Bracket-Stereoscopic-Photography/dp/B00PAG93ES/ref=sr_1_3?

Pricey - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/584944-REG/Slik_618_703_Twin_Camera_Plate_300.html

Having said all this, it's very true that 4k and higher video cameras can produce decent stills via frame captures. But I have been lucky enough to have enjoyed really good photographic support over the years. Even if it's just for promotional purposes, there's no substitute for real photographs IMO.