Have you ever looked through magazines and wondered why so many models look so picture-perfect? For a day, I had the opportunity to get a feel for what a professional model goes through during a photo shoot — and it wasn’t as glamorous as I thought it’d be!
I wanted head shots (or black-and-white photos of my head) to include with my portfolio for the TV and Internet work I like to do. So my mom booked a day in the photo studio with a photographer and stylist. Here’s a rundown of the day’s events:
– What to wear: Picking an outfit was the easiest part. Because I was getting only head shots (my friend kept joking that it sounded as if I was getting a vaccination in my skull), my wardrobe choice was limited. Clothing with prints, pictures or words on them were out. I picked two outfits: a casual V-neck T-shirt and a dressy sweater set.
– Putting on a new face: Once at the studio, I hopped into a chair, and the stylist applied LOADS of foundation, blusher, lipstick and mascara. When I say LOADS, I mean it! Once I got home and took a shower, it was like my whole face disappeared down the drain.
– ‘Doing it up: Next was my favorite part . . . HAIR! Little did I know that this would be the next-to-the-hardest step. I know models have to have a lot of hair spray. But I had at least a can in my hair, possibly more. In fact, the stylist actually ran out of it. By now, 2 1/2 hours had passed, and I barely recognized myself! I have to admit, I looked fabulous.
The hardest part was still to come, though.
– Smile for the camera: During the photo shoot, I had to learn to be myself and relax. If you don’t, the photos will come back and you’ll notice you look stupid and fake. (OK, the first dozen photos of me DID look stupid and fake.) So, the best thing I did was to listen to the photographer and have fun!
Still, looking natural wasn’t exactly easy when I was posing. The photographer used four crates and a stool to get me ready. Two crates were for each leg, so they wouldn’t wobble. One crate was put behind my back, so I’d sit up straight. (I’m used to slouching.) I sat on another one to make me look taller.
The photographer kept telling me things like: “Move your neck.” “Tilt your head.” “Put your shoulders in the opposite direction of your neck.” Soon, my neck and shoulders ached. I kept thinking that I must LOOK like a doll or puppet. But in the photos, the poses ended up looking pretty natural.
Maybe models get used to it, but I had a hard time dealing with all the head motions. After an hour and a half, the shoot was over, and I was exhausted.
– Glamor shots: I got the pictures back a few weeks later. Surprisingly, out of 50 shots, my mom and I found only two shots that we really liked. There were a lot of bloopers — shots where I was blinking or looking goofy.
We ended up choosing one totally casual shot and one “anchor woman” shot, in which my hair is up and I’m in my dressy sweater.
Overall, the experience was a lot of fun. And I did learn something valuable from this: The people in magazines and on TV are everyday people like you and me. My photographer said that when professional models walk into his studio, they are dressed in T-shirts and stretch pants. They talk like we do, and they even look normal. Now, when I look through the latest teen ‘zine, instead of my face turning green with jealousy, I just think, “Hey, these people aren’t always posing for the camera.”
