I'm a model AMA

[Wishicouldsleep]

I'm sick in bed and have read loads of AMA threads so thought I'd do my own. I'm not feeling so well, so please bare with me if I am slow in replying.

I have been a model for nearly 9 years. I'm no one famous, just a regular every day commercial model.

Ask me anything

How old are you?

Are you tall?

Are you really slim?

How much do you earn a year?

How is your job organised, as in how do you get work?

What do you model for (like catalogues, adverts etc.)?

Are eating disorders widespread among models you know?

How did you get into it?

I get the impression that the public adore models, but people within the industry photographers, fashion designers etc treat models just as an object with no feelings.

Are these extremes true in your opinion?

Do you have children? If so, how did this affect your career?

Were you scouted ?
What's a commercial model do, is there specific things you model e.g.jeans/bikinis ?
Is there pressure to do glamour modelling ?
Have you modelled out of the UK (I'm guessing your UK based but if not any exotic unusual travel ?

What's your opinion on celeb kids becoming models because of parents or YouTubers ?

@bubblesintgetub

I am 5foot 7 (I am definitely on the short side at castings. But there are girls around 5foot 6)
I don't do any catwalk, fitting or much editorial work in the UK.

I am 27 I am a UK size 8. I've recently had a baby so I'm a large size 8. When I was a size 6 they often had to pin clothes on me.

I only work part time (maybe 1-2 jobs per week). Earnings vary. On a few occasions I have earned £1000 for a day. On a occasions as low as £150 a day.

I'd say £500 is the standard day rate

As a commercial model I am with a few different agencies over the UK. Most work is in London. My agencies will email (or phone if I'm being slow replying to emails) with potential jobs. They tell me the date, say what the client is and the pay. I can pick and choose if I want the job or not. (Although to stay in agencys good books, you take the job!)

When I was younger I worked exclusively with London fashion agency and they dictated what I did every day! If I didn't want to attend a casting tomorrow they would get funny with me .

I do catalogue and e-commerce. E com is the type of model you see on online catalogue. Like ASOS Debenhams.

I have seen a little bit of eating disorders. Mainly when I was working on stay in Asia. But not so much in London.

@ThroughThickAndThin01

In my experience I've almost always been treated well. You are one of thousands of other faces though. So I'm not treated any more special than the rest of the team (makeup artists, stylists etc)

Sounds like a perfect job. Pick and choose jobs. Good pay. Nice surroundings (I’m assuming).
Is there anything you don’t like about your career ? The downsides ?

Thanks for answering all my questions

@BubblesInTheTub
Yes! I have just had my second baby. It has changed my career. I used to do lookbooks, lots of e-comm, lingerie and when working abroad I did fashion shows.
Instead of fashion, I'm starting to do more 'mummy' roles. Some of these have been with my boys and some I have been given model children to work with.

Examples would be. The mum on the TV advert for Dyson. Or a woman acting as a nurse in a stills advert for a private heath hospital. A woman with a group of friends.

I really enjoy this work. There's more 'acting' invoiced which is fun. (I am not a trained actress at all!)

I'm starting to do more 'mummy' roles.

I look forward to seeing you in the Boden catalogue very soon then

Which well-known model do you most admire?

If you had a daughter, would you let her model at 14 (if scouted) or would you make her wait a couple of years?

What do you (honestly) eat in a typical day when not pregnant/post partum

@forgivenminds
I wasn't scouted. I started doing 'extra' and 'background' work for extra money while at university. Then i transferred to a London university and started modelling on the side of my studies. I contacted an agency in London and went from there.

A commercial model sells a product. That could be clothing, a vacuum cleaner, baby milk, a child's lock, wedding dresses. As a commercial model I would say we look like every day attractive people so as to make products appeal to the general public. A high fashion model looks a bit quirky, very tall and thin, stunning but unusual looking. Not like your next door neighbour.

No pressure to do glamor modelling. My agency doesn't take on those type of jobs. I don't have a sexy look, so I wouldn't appeal to that audience. Before I have my babies I occasionally did lingerie. But it wasn't posing in a provocative way. More to sell the bra and knickers to women rather than being a body to look at.

I have worked in some exotic places. I did a TV commercial on a beach in Thailand. I've worked in the stunning countryside around Cape Town. I did. A TV commercial in Vietnam (but that was just in the studio! )

How long is a shoot? Say if you’re working on ASOS/similar are there loads of models all being flung into clothes at a high pace or is it fairly relaxed?

@YoYotheclown

It's a really nice part time job. I have modelled full time and it became 'work'. You get sick of being pulled around. Your hair being fried with heat. (I have such a sensitive head). Wearing heels for 8 hours is tough. Especially when the shoes don't fit and give you blisters. You are expected to work through the pain.

Part time is wonderful. It's refreshing to have a change of scenery everyday. You choose the days you want to work. Take holiday when you want. If I am tired i will only take a job if its paid really well. When im feeling motivated i will work for lower paid jobs. I work with new people all the time, new studios e.t.c. so it's not great for building work relationships as you rarely work with people regularly.

I don't live in London anymore. So I have a fairly long journey into town for work and castings.

Castings are a bore. You wait for sometimes hours with lots of other girls waiting your turn. You walk into the room and you spend maybe 30 seconds with the casting director. Most often you don't book the job.

Direct bookings are the dream.

@BubblesInTheTub

Boden are a client I would really like to work for! I have worked for Aptamil, Tesco baby club, Boots parenting club e.t.c

@SuperSuperSuper
I don't follow the celeb models too much.

At 14 I would say it is good for fun but don't take it too seriously or expect a career out of it. A 14 year old would need a chaperone.

When I worked in Asia I lived with a 15 year old Russian girl. She was really pressured into loosing weight, it was so sad to see her easily influenced. Slightly different to child models in the UK though as I believe she had a rubbish life back home and modelling was the way out.

@PamsterWheel

Honestly when I was more focussed on fashion (commercial fashion rather than high fashion). I would eat anything I liked but just smaller portions.

Always cereal for breakfast,
Fruit, cereal snack bars or a carrot as a snack
Lunch salad or sandwich with something sweet after.
Dinner regular meals like chicken or pasta but I wouldn't prepare much so it wasn't tempting to eat more.

@UnderMajorDomoMinor

It totally depends on what you are shooting. For ecom like ASOS, usually 9-5

Hair and makeup takes about 1 hour to 90mins

Theb you get given a rail of clothing at the start of the day. Usually the aim is around 40 outfits. Sometimes if you finish early you can go home early.... More often they bring out another rail of clothes
That's always really disheartening when you have worked really hard all day and think you are on your last outfit!

Other cheaper brands I have worked for have expected upto 70 outfits. And once 90! That was a case of throwing in the clothes taking a couple of pictures then changing.

Stylists are there to help you into and out of clothes to increase the amount of outfits you can do in one day.

For a TV commercial it is totally different. For the model it's much more relaxed pace. It's a case of sitting around all day waiting for your turn to shoot your part. However once you get onto the set of a TV commercial it's high pressure. You need to do it in as little 'takes' as possible. If you mess up a few times the crew tend to get cross! As they have other scenes to film or maybe it's 10pm at night and everyone wants to go home!

@Wishicouldsleep can you do this?

How do you learn to pose without standing like a gangly multi-limbed idiot (

@ShotsFired
Ha ha that's hilarious I saw that last year!

As I have done a lot of e-commerce in the past I'm very quick with poses. I tend to get stuck with the same routine of poses though! Not as fast as that model though!

When I worked in China they do expect you to work hard and quickly too! Breaks were not a given! I once asked to stop for lunch as I was so hungry! And I was given a very suprised response

@ShotsFired
Sorry I didn't answer properly.
Re learning to pose... It's just something that develops with time. I don't think I was a good model until I had about 3 years experience! Now I know what I'm doing it's easy.
You just learn from looking at old pictures what works best and use that pose again.

Are you very beautiful? If you walk down the street do people look at you a lot? Can you go to a bar without being constantly harassed by men? Are other women jealous of you?

Also, are your photos digitally manipulated very much? Do you ever meet people on a shoot and they end up looking totally different after some editing?

Thank you! Very interesting thread.

@Iwasjustabouttosaythat

I wouldn't say I am very beautiful! I'd say I'm pretty but nothing stunning. I have nice hair I think that makes me seem prettier than I really am.

I feel like the ugly duckling among most other models. Especially now at 3 months postpartum. I've started work again and feel a bit out of place. I've turned down some jobs as I feel it wouldn't be fair on the client to book me looking how I currently do.

(Obviously it shouldn't be expected to look stunning and to have a great body so soon after having a baby. But the client obviously isn't told I've just had a baby. It's my agencies job to filter the jobs appropriately for me and sometimes they don't always do that)

Skin smoothing is a very standard thing done in post production. On commercial jobs they aren't changed much at all as the customer wants to see 'real-ness'.

But I have done jobs and not recognised me! Very rarely though.

Yes I met one model once who appeared to have a lot of work done (surgery). She didn't look like her photos. I don't think she will get many future bookings as she just didn't look real. Very odd.

How common are eating disorders in the industry?