Kelly Hockey

COCAO-NUTTY BITES

MAINTAINING YOUR APPEARANCE - BASIC EXPECTATIONS OF A MODEL

As a model your only job is to look good. Lets face it, your job is to make the product, item or message look great and/or sell it! So maintaining your appearance to the best of your ability is of utmost importance and will make everyones job much easier and leave a good impression. You need to be a blank canvas with great skin, hair and body… if you don’t have these it is advised you to make it your goal by maintaining a well balanced diet, hydration and exercise. It will show in your dry lips, skin, hair, nails and eyes if you are not. I’m not saying that everyone needs to go and have their teeth bleached (although you totally could if you wanted) but I’m hearing more and more horror stories of models arriving with patchy fake tans, tangled fake eyelashes and missing teeth :/ This quite frankly is just not appropriate, so lets discuss the very basic expectations…

NOTHING FAKE - Again you are a blank canvas so please please please do not have fake tan, fake nails, eyelash extensions, hair extensions… it is a nightmare for photographers to photoshop, makeup artists to work with and stylist to get out of their clothes! They can get the same effect of the aforementioned with makeup, styling and photoshop if it is what they are after.  (Please note this advice is specifically for fashion models, I understand that glamour and boudoir models may be required to have the aforementioned and as such should have it done a day or two before the shoot)

THE HAIR - In general I have been told that your hair is best if its your natural hair colour. This can include sun bleached sections, however if salon coloured it’s best to be a block colour with no foils and usually a natural shade of blonde, or brunette unless your agent specifies otherwise. Make sure you also keep that regrowth in check you never know when a casting or shoot will pop up and last minute appointments are difficult! Hair stylists may bring along clip in extensions, padding and bobby pins all within natural shades and can add foiled sections if required for the shoot, so again natural colouring is best. (This of course excludes hair comp photoshoots where you may be required to maintain a style/colour for a set period of time but this would have been discussed with you agent prior)

THE HAIRY - In saying that its best to be natural… we don’t want you to be al natural…. any unwanted hair should be removed!!!! SHAVE your armpits, legs and keep your bikini line in order! Again spontaneous shoots come up and you want to be prepared. DON’T touch those brows unless you’re a pro! Big bushy brows are in at the moment and I love them but in saying that you still don’t want that monobrow or the strays that are sitting practically on your eyelid! Your makeup artist will thank-you for some freshly groomed brows (the makeup sits so much better!) but will hate you if they have to work with little stringy excuses for an eyebrow. If you must get them done make sure you go to a GREAT brow expert. They frame your face and need to be even and plentiful. Method doesn’t matter its the way they shape… You give a toddler some pastels instead of crayons you don’t expect Picasso’s standard work. I feel the same about some lady with her “thread”!!! Do your research first and find the best in your area or travel 40mins like I do :P I find that the wax my lady uses makes makeup difficult to adhere to so I try get them done a week prior to any planned shoots and have heard makeup artists state they have had that issue with other models.

SHOOT PREP - When preparing for a shoot be freshly showed with dry clean hair, brushed teeth and groomed nails. Do not wear makeup to the shoot and do not touch those pimples - red, inflamed, oozing pimple is a lot harder to cover then the initial bump. Try to be well rested and arrive on time and above all do not arrive hungover, it will show! Always nude underwear and loose clothing so as not to have any markings on your skin. And it goes without saying to arrive with a great attitude and smile on your face. Baked goods/fruit platter optional ;)

WHAT IS A TEST SHOOT?

There seems to be two definitions and for ease of explanation I will call one “Model Portfolio Test” and the other “Creative Test”.

Model Portfolio Test

The initial meaning of a “test shoot” was when a photographer would “test” out new models. This is organised by the modelling agency and are shot by photographers they deemed to photograph at at an appropriate professional standard. This is almost always paid to the photographer and the process is vital to getting some good images to start a photographic portfolio, help the model familiarise themselves with the shooting environment and gain experience in front of the camera. Once the model has a good body of tests they can be put forward for jobs. If you are a freelance model you will have to organise this yourself. Do not ask a photographer to test for free as most will feel you are referring to a model portfolio test. As they are doing paid tests for the agencies along with other paid jobs they will have nothing to gain from working with a new model for the sake of images. This is of course unless they are testing out new techniques and would like to do a “Creative test”.

Creative Test

More recently the term “test” also refers to a creative team working collaboratively for time and photos. This can be an a photographer wanting to try out new lighting or style without wasting a clients time and money. This could also be the photographer testing out a model that they feel may be appropriate for another project but would like to test how they move in front of the camera. Some agencies will hold castings for tests where the models will meet local photographers, stylist and/or makeup artists for consideration of future creative test shoots. Both photographer and model benefit mutually gaining images for their portfolios, experience and building industry contacts.  If you are a freelance model than the social network scene is your best friend! Like the pages of your favourite creatives Facebook pages, twitter, tumblers and blogs as they may also put up test castings there. Most professional creatives are busy with new model tests or other paid work and as such you run the risk of working with amateur photographers if you put up castings of your own. However there are some great new photographers that need to gain experience also so just research their style and body of work before committing.

WHAT SHOULD I BRING TO A TEST?

Nude underwear is the most versatile and essential of undergarments, if you don’t own any I strongly suggest you invest in some ASAP. However I also suggest bringing a selection of black and nude including g-string and seamless if you own them. Also a nude and black strapless bra and a selection of nude and black shoes. If there is a stylist on board a “creative test” or is included in the package of a “model portfolio test” they will generally ask you to bring specific items if she/he feels they may be required, particularly shoes as the size can vary greatly. I personally like to also bring along a dark pair of jeans and a black and white singlet to help the stylist mix with other items and a change scarf so as not to put makeup on the clothing sourced (this can be any old scarf or piece of material) If you are doing a model test without a stylist remember you want to be the focus not your clothing! Try avoiding prints and patterns and go monochromatic to elongate the figure or dark jeans and a singlet to stay bare so as not to distract. Shoes should be a nice pump. No wedges or blocky shoes that will cut you off at the feet (A nude pointed toe is best when trying to elongate those legs further!) 

Bring lots of water and some healthy food to snack on. Some shoots can go longer than expected and you want to keep that brain functioning and that grumbly stomach settled. My personal favourites are almonds, spicy chickpeas, crackers and cheese or fruit. I also like to have some mints handy for afterwards. 

Most importantly bring along a great attitude! 

Happy Testing :)

OMBRE’ SPECKLED EGG NAILS

I love love love Illamasqua’s limited edition speckled nails. This Ombre’ look that I am sporting is super easy and striking, the hardest part will be picking which colours to use!

I used Fragile as the base and Speckle for the tips. I learnt the hard way that you can’t use a sponge to dab the second colour on as the black “spots” are actually like a glitter or sequin type of material and doing so will reveal the silver colour beneath it. Just brush the second colour on, then another coat to the very tip. 

I found that there was still a shine to the finish so I applied the Rimmel Matifying topcoat to give it a more egg like appearance :)

CHIA SEED PUDDING

Okay so my first blog posts aren’t exactly fashion/model related but I have had a lot of industry people ask me about my new favourite food… Chia Seed Pudding!!!!

I won’t go on to list all the benefits of this amazing superfood as I’m sure you will google it if you are interested. I will however share my two favourite recipes adapted from the basic formula of milk, chia seeds and whatever! :)

Basically you use 1cup of any milk of your choice with 1/4cup chia seeds and add whatever tickles your fancy :) Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate for at least 2hrs.

STRAWBERRY, PEACH, COCONUT and VANILLA CHIA SEED PUDDING

1cup Coconut Cream  

1/4cup chia seeds  

1 peach  

4 strawberries  

2tsp vanilla extract  

2tsp shredded coconut  

1/2tsp cinnamon