Fashion Modelling
The Garment and Beauty product industries are large users of models. People want to see what clothes or beauty products look like on somebody. Your high fashion, designer-label garments, are designed for what fashion designers view as the "ideal woman." This is someone tall and slender, somewhat leggy, with a swan like neck. In major markets like Delhi and Mumbai, this is someone who is at least 5'5" tall. For men it is at least 5'10'' tall. You have to have that "look" to go with the clothes. In secondary markets we would like to have this but often work with fashion models that don't meet these measurements. It is more important you just have a look of being tall and slender and that sample clothes will fit you. The "look" calls for more of the classic beauty than the extreme looks you find in the fashion magazines.

If you are going to work in front of the camera you need to be photogenic, and this you won't know until you do a test shoot. Usually the face is oval shape, with symmetry to the facial features. The cheek bones should be strong and nose straight and proportioned. Lips should be full.

FASHION EDITORIAL Modelling - Femina, Elle, modelsguru.com, Fashion Bloom, Cosmo, etc. - these and many other magazines today that focus on fashion have lots of editorial pages they must fill each month. Many of these editorial pages feature models wearing what the magazine thinks will be the next trend in fashion. Editorial work does not pay as well as other types of high fashion modelling but it is great for building a model's reputation and getting tear sheets for one's portfolio. Also, because fashion magazines are not as constrained as advertising work, they can use more 'extreme' and 'special beauty' models in their pages.

FASHION RUNWAY Modelling - Clothing designers traditionally show their new collections twice a year (Fall and Spring) to perspective buyers. As an example, the Lakme India fashion week just finished with many designers presenting their collections. Designers present these collections to a gathering of buyers by sending models down a walkway or runway. How well a model brings the clothes to life and shows important features of the garments can determine how well they sell. So it is worth it to a designer to have the most ideal models show these collections. This leads to why models have to meet very strict requirements and why they get such high fees for this type of work. These young models tend to be very tall, slender and move very well in clothes.

FASHION CATALOG Modelling - There are a lot of clothing catalogs produced. These catalogs, whether business-to-business, store, or direct marketing, require models to pose in the clothes they are trying to sell. Generally, catalog models are picked for a project because they represent the ideal of the market segment for which that catalog is targeted. Often times this is the classic beauty - tall, slender, healthy, and beautiful. The marketing idea is for transference, i.e. if you buy these clothes you will look as nice as the person pictured in the catalog. Catalog modelling usually pays well because of the volume of photos that must be taken.

FASHION PRINT Modelling - This is fashion and beauty for print advertising. It can be display ads or collateral print materials. This is the most demanding work to get but pays the best because of usage and exclusives. These are the ads that can make or break a designer's reputation. With these ads it is very important that the concept, photo, and model work perfectly to convey the 'image' that is wanted.

FASHION LINGERIE Modelling - Because this type of Modelling may be more revealing it requires very good body tone and proportions.

FASHION BATHING SUIT Modelling - Again, more revealing requires excellent body tone and a healthy look.

FASHION FITNESS Modelling - As health and fitness has moved more into the public consciousness a greater demand has grown in this type of modelling. Where once everyone exercised in baggy gray sweats, fitness attire continues to evolve and become more everyday wear. Add to this all of the fitness, health, and outdoor lifestyle magazines that are on the newsstands and you have a fast growing category for modelling.

FASHION FIT Modelling - Fit models have the perfect proportions for a given clothing size. Garment manufactures and designers

FASHION SHOW ROOM Modelling - Modelling for buyers in the designer's show room

FURTHER DIVISIONS - These categories can have further sub-categories for size - petite and plus, and for age - children, preteen, and mature. Petite size models usually are 5'2" to 5'6". Plus size is the same height as standard size models but size 14 -16. Mainstream models usually start in around 14 years of age and go to their early twenties. Obviously pre-teen is before this age and mature is everything after it.

A category of modelling will only be found where there are clients to support it. Since almost all of the fashion magazines are based in Mumbai and Delhi, that is where you will find work in the fashion editorial modelling category.

Body Part Modelling

Body part Modelling is a special category that belongs in both fashion and commercial modelling. This is the use of just part of the body in a photograph. Often standard models that look great in full-length shots or headshots don't look so good close up. Their hands or feet may look horrible. This is where the body parts model comes in. We will set up a shoot using the standard model's face but the body part model's hands and it looks like it is just one person. Usually body part models will specialize in just one part of the body like hands, feet, legs, ears, or neck.

Hand models are one type of body part model that I have had more call for. With hand models we look for long slender graceful hand and fingers. We also look for smooth (no wrinkles, hair or large pours), clear (no blemishes or irregular color) skin, and very good nails. The ability to pose the hand in a relaxed graceful fashion is very important. Body parts model follow a similar path ad regular models with finding modelling agencies, building portfolios and having comp cards. They simply pursue a very special niche market.

Commercial Modelling

Commercial modelling is sort of the catch all for everything that isn't fashion and isn't glamour. It is vast and diverse. The physical requirements can vary greatly. The 'look' can be mom, business executive, scientist, glamorous beauty, etc. Again, the purpose is to sell something - a product, service, or idea.

Some Categories of Commercial Modelling are:

COMMERCIAL PRODUCT Modelling - Generally we are generating a photo to sell a product and the model is used to show how the product is used. Also, model may be used to convey an image about a product. An example would be a model dressed like a doctor holding a blood pressure device. This gives an image of medical authority being behind the product. There is also the old technique of selling a product by putting someone attractive by it. Although it may not be politically correct to do this, it still is done and it works. People stop to look at a pretty face, not at another vanilla computer box. The physical requirements and look for commercial product modelling can vary a great deal. It all depends on the image or story you are trying to tell. This is where character models are used.

COMMERCIAL LIFESTYLE Modelling - Models are used in photos showing a period of life or doing something in life. The photo might be an older couple walking on the beach and the photo is used in the advertising materials for a new retirement resort. Or a photo of a young couple playing in a park with their children and the photo is used in an ad for a life insurance company. The models are used to act out some concept or idea of life. The physical requirements, age, size, etc. can vary greatly. But they always use the "beautiful people" in these photos.

COMMERCIAL CORPORATE Modelling - Corporate modelling is like Lifestyle but it always has a business theme. Again physical requirements can vary greatly, but usually attractive people are used - although sometimes character models are used.

PRODUCT DEMO - In smaller markets this seems to be a favorite area to start models. Models stand in front of, or in a store or mall, and hand out free samples of something. The idea is they want someone attractive that people will be drawn to and will work for just a few hours or a few days. When you are young and starting out this pays better then any regular job and it can really build your confidence around people.

TRADE SHOW Modelling - Once again attractive people are attention getters. When a trade show comes to town some exhibitors may hire models to hand out literature at their booths. One of the classics examples of this is the auto show. Again, it gives some income when you are starting out and gets you in front of the public.

Glamour Modelling

I am getting a lot of young visitors to this site so I won't go into this too deeply. Glamour modelling is modelling for photos with a sexual theme. These could be simple cheesecake or beefcake photos. They can include bikini, sexy outfits and lingerie modelling. On the cheesecake level, photos can be used for calendars, posters, and other pin-up girl products. You can't pick up a car magazine without seeing a babe by the car or truck. As one moves to greater states of undress you move to the adult entertainment industry with high-end men's magazines like Playboy and then on down to the low-end back-ally magazines. And let's not forget the Internet that is now loaded with all levels of sexual photos. When considering all parts of this side of modelling it is a very big industry and top glamour models can make as much as top fashion models. There are no height or size requirements as in fashion modelling. Where fashion modelling wants you to look like a beanstalk, glamour modelling wants you to have curves like Pamela Anderson. Where fashion may want a 'special beauty look', glamour modelling wants traditional drop dead gorgeous; where fashion really only happens in Delhi or Mumbai, glamour can happen anywhere.

As far as I am concerned you need to be over 18 to do glamour modelling even cheesecake. With the way the laws are today a photographer runs a real risk doing any kind of sexy photo with someone under 18. If mothers are being thrown in jail for photographing their own children taking a bath and putting the photo in a family album, I think the risk is too great and the return too small to do any glamour work with someone under 18. But this certainly opens up the field for women in their 20's, 30's, 40's and we may even begin seeing more good looking grandmothers in their 50's showing up.