Rachel, your description of the photographer makes me a little nervous (as I gather you are too) about the shoot.

A photographer who has not done "fashion" before is likely to hit some pretty tough sledding in his first attempt. If you do your job perfectly, you are still dealing with a brand new model who doesn't know what is expected of her, and a "new" photographer who doesn't know what is expected either. Quite honestly, under those circumstances you will be very lucky to get any credible "fashion" for your book.

Let me offer some advice:

1. Treat this as a learning experience for everyone. Relax, have a good time experimenting (playing) with it. Understand and accept that the outcome probably isn't going to be fully successful, and don't worry about it. The process is more important than the outcome at this point. If you get useful pictures that's great, but don't make it a central point of what you are doing.

2. Have no more than 2 models, and better just one. You and the photographer should be working together on all facets of the production (you will likely need mutual support). That's not true with a more experienced fashion photographer, but it probably will be in this case. Don't dilute your experience by having to work on a second model and miss what happens in the shoot.

3. Let the model know this is an experiment. If you like her, and if she is willing, try to get her to come back a couple more times for further experiments. This one will teach everyone involved a lot . . . the next one, or the one after, is much more likely to be productive.

4. Get into it step by step. I would try doing "catalog" or "commercial" style "fashion" first, learning the norms of that kind of photography before jumping off the cliff into "editorial". In all probability, heavy "editorial" isn't going to do anybody in your area a lot of good anyway. Wade into the pool from the shallow end until you find the right depth.

5. Cheat. We all do. Get some pictures in magazines that you like and that the photographer thinks he can do. Make him pay close attention to how the lighting was done, what the background looked like, how the model was posed, what kinds of expression she has. You look at the makeup, and see how it is tuned to the styling and lighting. Then try doing the same things.

6. Remember on this shoot you are, in part, the client. You get to play a larger role than you would in a professional shoot that has a real client, or even in a test set up by the photographer and model, in which you are a supporting member. Take an active role in decision-making, and keep what you do to what is reasonably achievable given the experience of each of you.