Types of Modeling...
Promo or Promotional:
Live models that appear at an event to promote a clients product, for example, at a motor show, live models will be hired to appear on manufacturers stands.
Fashion:
Fashion modeling is promoting a designers clothes and usually require you to be at least 5’10” tall and very thin.
Within the Fashion group we have the following:
Runway:
Modeling clothes at a fashion show, walking down a raised platform or “runway”
Catalogue:
Modeling a companies clothes for a catalogue photo shoot for publication.
Editorial:
Modeling for high fashion magazines to advertise or illustrate articles.
Fit:
You need to have a perfect body size and shape and be able to maintain it to within quarter of an inch! Fit models are used by the fashion industry to pre wear designs so that the designer can check the garment to see how it looks when worn and how it moves. Fit models are some of the most highly paid models and never appear in published photos. Some fashion designers hire Fit models on a permanent or semi permanent basis, that’s why you have to be able to maintain your body shape and size, as you may wear a clothes that you modeled a few weeks ago and the designer has made changes. They want to see how the changes look and you need to be exactly the same size and shape.
Commercial Print:
Commercial print modeling is usually to advertise products. There is no set height and weight or “look”, it is what ever the client requires at the time. Within Commercial Print, we have the following:
Casual/Lifestyle:
Modeling life, from a family member on a picnic to someone waiting in a Doctors surgery. Lifestyle models are usually the attractive version of real life!
Corporate:
Usually modeling with a theme, usually for producing prints for a specific market for example, someone using a photocopier, or piece of equipment. It could be three of four people in a meeting, or someone in front of a blackboard in a class room. This is mainly used for brochures, adverts etc.
Swimwear:
Swimwear models usually have more curves than fashion models, allowing a greater scope for the arrangement of outfits on the body. For catalogue swimwear, there are a number of companies that produce outfits for the larger person and produce catalogues for this specific market. They have got to find the models somewhere!
Fitness:
Modeling for fitness shoots requires a well toned and defined body and usually a degree of athleticism. This is one area where age is not usually a factor and some fashion models have extended their careers by moving into this area as they mature.
Lingerie:
Ranges from catalogue modeling promoting a range or brand for publication in a magazine to a more mature style (see Glamour).
Glamour:
Modeling with a sexual overtone to it. It can include Swimsuit and Lingerie but tends towards the pin-up/poster style.
Alternative:
Any modeling that has a Punk, Gothic, Trash, Urban feel to it.
Nude:
Well, the one everyone wants to know about, because if you say you are a model, someone is going to ask you….” do you do nude?” There are 4 main types listed below, plus there is also fetish, which would take a whole page on its own as it is so diverse.
Glamour Nude:
Playboy and Pin-Up calendar stuff, usually topless.
Artistic Nude:
Posing nude for the purpose of creating artistic prints or drawings.
Erotic Nude:
Modeling that is sexually artistic, not pornographic.
Pornographic:
Well, its usually the highest paid form of modeling, but you don't have to do it. No matter what ANYONE tells you, you don’t need a set of “nude” or "porno" photos as a model! If you want to enter this market, please think long and hard. Once you start on this route, sometimes other modeling jobs will not be available to you.
And there is just one more…..
Body Parts:
If you have outstanding legs, hands, hair, teeth or feet, then there is a market for body part modeling. Hands are one of the most sought after by photographers shooting jewelry…. I know one model that has perfect ears and all she does is model her ears for some of the most expensive earrings in the world!!!
So now you know about the different types of modeling!
