Girl in a red dress.

Modelling isn’t as easy as it looks and, let’s face it, it does look pretty easy doesn’t it?

Having spent a brief period in football as an admin. person, I find the analogies between football and modelling are just such a ‘spoonishly’ good fit for each other. And, on the subject of ‘easy’, well, again, let’s face it, football does look pretty easy doesn’t it? Almost as easy as modelling!

The difference – and that difference can be either overwhelmingly incongruous, or subtly obscure – is that the majority of observers will never have partaken in either discipline. So, while they may be able to appreciate the application and the outcomes, they will have little experience with which to realise the intricacies of the profession.

Now, being a photographer of models I do get a few more insights into the art of modelling that the average magazine reader, and I can see that it is hard. As in football, becoming good at it – let alone great – takes lots of commitment and practice, and even then there is no saying that you’re going to find any success at it. Real success requires that you enjoy a good measure of that ‘other-worldly’ ingredient which can’t be assimilated through hard work, dedication or practice. That ingredient is talent.

Talent is the most complex of components: it can’t be bought, won’t be found and has no preferences. And there’s just not enough room in this piece to go into the why’s & wherefores of what it is – if it can even be said to be an ‘is’ in any case.
However, while it may not be acquired by any known prescription nor defined by description, when you do happen to come upon it, it’s almost instantly recognisable.

So, allow me to introduce you to Teri: Teri is a very charming, unassuming, 17 year old model who hails from Bathgate in West Lothian. As well as being drop dead gorgeous, she also boasts a lovely figure, eyes you could drown in, and the most finely textured, olive-coloured skin - which the camera loves.

On top of all that, she can also model! Teri has a real ‘sense’ of where the light is, and of what the lens is looking for. And that makes it so much easier for any photographer looking to do fashion / modelling work; frankly, there’s nothing as frustrating as having to direct everything from the rear of the camera, so a girl who can actually model just makes everything so much easier. And, if they also happen to be as creative as Teri, then any project you’re involved in can quickly turn from being a rudimentary job of work, to a VERY satisfying collaboration in creative art.

And that pretty much sums up what that much sought-after and ever elusive ingredient called ‘talent’ is all about; it’s having the ability to visualise the next move, perceive the opportunities and develop the startegy. I’m sure if you were to ask a top-class football player or a top-class model to explain what it is that makes naturally good at what they do, then they’d be lost – it’s just part of what they have. It is, therefore, for the rest of us to capture, cultivate and wonder at.

Teri is represented by First Step Model Agency.

Vamping it up

I was fortunate to be invited to work with up & coming Model / MUA, Teri, recently when she suggested that we turn one of her friends into a vampire!

Now, those of you who know me well will realise that those rumours you hear of my being able to metamorphose –at will - into a bat or wolf are simply not true; and, having explained to Teri that there was no way a bite from me was going to send her friend out in search of fresh blood, she decided to opt for a make-up induced reinvention of her friend – rather than the more permanent, vampiric sort.

Terri’s friend and Model, Cara, agreed to take part in the shoot – though she did ask to bring a couple of crosses, a sharpened stake and a mallet along with her (models can be a strange breed – they usually bring water and a fruit salad?) – and Teri duly set about remodelling her cheek-bones, eyes and lips to effect the ghoulish look she was after. I thought the results were quite stunning.

The entire exercise was set up so that Teri could add a few prints to a portfolio that is to be presented to her college tutors as part of her attempt to secure a place in the next stage of her education; leading, eventually, to what she hopes will be a career in theatrical make-up artistry. By the looks of this transformation, she shouldn’t have much trouble convincing the academia. Of course, if they don’t agree with her, she can always send Cara along to bite them. Mwahaaaaaahaaaa.

Countess Cara :-)

….. and then there’s Teri.

I met Teri for the very first time at a Miss West Lothian photo opportunity being staged at the, then, relatively new Debenhams store in Livingston. She couldn’t have been more than 15 years old at that time but, with strong features, fathomless eyes and a natural, olive–oil skin which she inherited from her Italian forebears, she was already a strikingly good looking girl. Add to that heady mix a slightly shy but respectful temperament, and an obvious attentiveness to the job in hand (modelling & catwalking a series of new ranges from Debenhams affiliated designer) and the promise was clearly present.

Fast forward a year, and that slight girl has blossomed; her face has matured from ‘cute’ to ‘handsome’ and her figure has realised the classic lines of a healthy, well proportioned young woman.

We seemed to happen upon each other at yet another Miss West Lothian event: the competition final held in December last year, though on this occasion Teri wasn’t competing, but was there to support the aspirations of a friend. She told me that she’d only just heard that Nicola and I had launched our First Step Models project, and she wanted to join us.

So, skipping forward a month, Teri and her chaperone came along to the studio where Nicola did her usual – transformational – make-up, before we did the shoot.
A few examples from the shoot are appended to this post, but they do little to illustrate just how comfortable Teri now was in front of the lens. On our first meeting, last year, I was presented with a giggly, unsure and somewhat uncoordinated girl who obviously wanted to model, but wasn’t really au fait with what the camera was looking for. On this occasion I was presented with a young woman who – though she struggled a little at first – soon found her confidence and was willing to push the envelope a little.

For me, a mark of how well (or not) a shoot turns out, can be measured by the parents remarks and, on this occasion, Teri’s Mum PM’d me to thank me for having given her daughter a good experience of modelling and, as a bonus, a few good snaps to publish on her Facebook page.

I just hope that First Step Models will provide Teri and the other young girls we have in our group with a little lift into the world of modelling. If you’re a photographer and you’d like to shoot with Teri, or if you think this pretty young lady she has the ‘look’ you think could best showcase your products, the please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Teri: