Amateur Models, what kind of photo equipment do you use?

[Shannon SteelSlave]

For my amateur status as a model, and given the nature of my modeling, I have elected to be my own photographer. I have a DSLR camera with a remote shutter release remote. Sometimes, I use a mirror. What I would really like to use to catch that perfect shot, is a monitor connected to my camera that will show what the camera sees. Is there a name for this type of set up?
Do you often get frustrated enough to just ask someone to hold the camera and shoot? I used to think it was that easy, until I tried it myself. What do you think?
Share with me, the equipment you use for your modeling, as well as experiences.

[ponylady]

Okay, i'm no digital photography expert, but i know there are wlan-extenders
Avaiable for older EOS or nikon SLR's.
Those should make the desired functions avaiable.
(Just ask your friendly neighbourhood photography store)
And if not, especially for canon there are unofficial bios-upgrades
Floating around the net, that add or "release" functions canon
Didn't seem necessary.
WARNING: USE AT YOUR OWN RISK

So better read more than one review, before applying them to
Your 1K-SLR

[Gregovic]

Okay, i'm no digital photography expert, but i know there are wlan-extenders
Avaiable for older EOS or nikon SLR's.
Those should make the desired functions avaiable.
(Just ask your friendly neighbourhood photography store)
And if not, especially for canon there are unofficial bios-upgrades
Floating around the net, that add or "release" functions canon
Didn't seem necessary.
WARNING: USE AT YOUR OWN RISK

So better read more than one review, before applying them to
Your 1K-SLR

For Canon camera's specifically there is the Canon Hack Development Kit (usually abbreviated to CHDK). This works very well for the lower end camera's but I don't think it does too much for the DSLRs as what CHDK does is mostly add the features from the DSLR range to the compact camera range. It does provide more flexibility in allowing things like highly customizable timelapse / selfie photography by being able to load scripts that do all sorts of things (like take 3 bracketed exposure shots every 10 seconds 99 times).

I'm not sure if all cameras allow screen mirroring to other devices. I'm sure there is probably an (expensive) extension module for the DSLR ranges from most manufacturers. To see what options are out there for your particular camera, do a search in your favourite internet search provider for *your camera model* remote screen or *your camera model* external monitor. You should probably get some hits explaining what is possible with your particular camera.