To Do or Not To Do Lingerie
It's a question that any and all aspiring models ask themselves at some point during their career. It doesn't matter if a model is in to it for simply the art of it, or just the money - at some juncture the question will arise as to whether or not he or she will ever model lingerie.
People have their different reasons and I've heard them all. Let's start with the "I will never model lingerie" group. The most common reasons given are as follows:
1. I do not wish to objectify myself or my body for the sell of any product.
2. I have too much respect for myself to parade around half naked for anyone else's benefit.
3. I don't have the appropriate body type for lingerie modeling.
4. My spouse would not approve of me modeling lingerie despite me considering it.
5. have a family with kids that would not respect me for showing that much of myself publicly.
6. I have a day job and I risk shaming my employers and potentially losing my job for anything that might reflect negatively on the company.
7. I'm not confident enough or brave enough to show that much of body.
8. I believe that lingerie is intimate and not morally fitting to be publicized to anyone but my spouse.
9. I don't trust anyone to behave respectfully toward me after I model lingerie.
10. There are too many perverted people and I'd hate to see or hear what they think of me.
11. People that dress this way for attention are little more than sexual solicitors. They do it for money or attention or both.
12. These people have no self respect.
The aforementioned are a few of the reasons we've heard and I'm sure there are many we've missed or simply forgot to write down. Modeling lingerie is an extremely personal choice. No one should convince you. No one should inhibit you and no one but the model themselves and their immediate family should be privy to even discussing the possibility of doing so. But even so it's deeply personal and the consequences and rewards of doing so is different for every single person.
What are some of the reasons for modeling lingerie? We've heard several of those as well and they are:
1. My body is my own and no one should have the authority to tell me what I can and cannot do with my own personage.
2. It is not a sexual issue unless you make it one. I do not do so for sake of anything sexual but more so to demonstrate that a person can be beautiful, tasteful and attractive without shame or objectifying themselves.
It is ultimately liberating and freeing and I am more marketable as a model and have had more paid assignments and jobs as a result of being more versatile.
3. My body type is more suited to modeling lingerie than it is for fashion or runway work.
4. have a very supportive family and they respect me, my decisions and they always strive to not just support me but also help me make informed and smart decisions. They participate in my work and there is zero shame in anything I do because I always consider what jobs I will take or not take based on how feel.
5. Lingerie modeling is as much or more so about articles of clothing as fashion modeling depending on what it is being used for. It simply depends on how well it's done and who is doing it. I prefer the fashion-lingerie modeling because of great styling.
6. I've seen swimwear modeling more trashy than any lingerie modeling I've ever done. So the idea that lingerie is bad or objectifying is a matter of taste, quality and perception. I only so high end work so I never have some problems I here about.
7. I work with great people and I know I can trust them and they always have my best interests at heart. They would never do anything to debase me or themselves for a quick buck. I'm also allowed to take part in the look and direction of what is being modeled so as not to be potentially embarrassed about what I see later.
8. There are swimwear lines I would never wear because they're overly revealing and yet there are several lingerie garments that I would wear. As long as it's styled well and suited to my body it works.
9. Society has far too many stipulations about what is and is not appropriate. I'm just gonna do what's good for me and the people that love and support my aspirations.
10. I only want to do high quality work no matter what it is. Quality is key. I've seen short shorts and dresses more inappropriate than some lingerie.
11. I don't want my kids growing up thinking the body is something to be feared or hidden away like some sort of object of ownership. That's part of the problem. We create our own stigmas and often times the more we try to project our own sense of morality onto others the more we negate the positives of being free, being beautiful and having a strong sense of self and authority over our own bodies. It's why their is so much body shaming. We hide ourselves behind these lies; behind veils and stereotypes.
12. It's just not a big deal. We don't live in the 50s anymore. I've seen some of these new dresses models wear and they look like street walkers. These dresses don't show an ounce of skin either but somehow they can still look indecent. Then I've seen lingerie that looked like a sculpted piece of art and when it's modeled and photographed well it's beautiful and I'd be proud to show anyone. I believe it's styling and posing.
Well there are several models that have made great careers never modeling a single thread of lingerie and they have their reasons for doing so. Yet, there are more models that cross style boundaries and delve into many types of modeling, maximizing their portfolio and seizing endless opportunities. Most Victoria Secret models tend to do high fashion, lingerie, casual and even some very very well placed artful nudes even as they got older. In fact, it could be argued that we have seen more VS models model implied nude or nude in the last yer than ever before. Many of these models have families and other sources of income but modeling remains their primary career.
Their situation isn't like everyone else's. Modeling is their life. It's all they do and their fortunes are built on it. For most people starting out, the lines aren't so clearly drawn. It's a tough business and some models feels that modeling in lingerie for nothing but the absolute best designers and for the best photographers simply isn't work the risk despite how much it pays or the potential uptick in marketability.
We believe that anything worth doing is worth doing well. In our humble opinion, lingerie does requires a higher sense of caution when compared to other types of modeling. I recall a model contacting me a few years ago about wanting to do a series lingerie photo shoots. According to her, she had been following our work for some time and she felt like it was time to try lingerie modeling. She knew we shot lingerie but mainly fashion and portraits. In her words, the ideal photographer was someone who could shoot lingerie but with the eye and style of a fashion photographer. "Perfect" we thought. But after sitting down with her a few weeks prior to shooting just to discuss what she had in mind I learned that what she wanted was considerably more risqué then I originally thought. I took it as a paid assignment and did the session in a manner befitting our shooting style and her want of daring looks. It turned our spectacular. We attribute that to taking the time to really establish beforehand what our expectations were and to get a sense of hers. You see, with lingerie you don't get any do overs to clean your act up. It only takes one bad picture to come across looking like trash forever. Therefore, that sitting down and talking about what is and what is not the goal and look is paramount to achieving stellar results.
In another instance we sat down with a totally different very experienced glamour model. She was very clear about her look. It wasn't about garments. It was about her, her posing and her body. Consequently, we photographed her accordingly and again with extraordinary results that went on to be multi-published in a variety of glamour magazines across the country. Another instance, involved a very demure almost timid mature model who physically had all the look of a fashion model but wanted to do lingerie. Sensing her initial anxiety, I sat down with her beforehand and had a frank conversation about the forthcoming shoot and what she can expect and how she can prepare. I even talked about choosing "not" to do the shoot to give her an out because no one needs be pressured into lingerie or feeling committed to doing it just because they'd feel guilty about backing out. Basically I was giving her a chance to back out without hard feelings because we abhor cancellations and no-shows; even the paying ones. Afterwards, I discussed sexy but extremely soft and stylish looks indicative of that same everyday VS style you see in everyday shopping mall storefront windows. With the shoot weeks behind us I later learned that even her mother was ecstatic with the results and if I can make mom smile without embarrassment then I've done my job well.
If you're still not sure if we think someone should do lingerie modeling then let me be clear. It's truly up to you. Naturally we support the decision either way and as a photographer, publisher and designer, my advice is that if you do choose to do lingerie modeling DO IT VERY WELL - just look like the supermodel that you are when you do. Get a perfect style. Choose a phenomenal photographer you can work with on the look to make certain it is extremely stylish, well suited for what you want to achieve and in a genre you want to be within. We would say the same on swimwear or any look for that matter. This is your reputation on the line so it's imperative to get it right. I read a model wrote on her Facebook Page recently that she doesn't want to do anything sexy anymore. I wasn't quite sure what that meant because what is sexy is very subjective. Later I learned she didn't want to do lingerie or swimwear any more but only fashion. Well given her past shoots, body type and height, stereotypically she was already in her best genre. Yet, rules can and have been broken before. Her problem wasn't sexy. It wasn't showing skin or lingerie or swimwear. I fear she still doesn't quite understand this but her main problem was styling and posing. If you don't want to look slutty then you can't dress or pose slutty. It's that simple. For example, to this very day I can't say that I've ever seen or even heard of a trashy or ill conceived La Perla lingerie ad in Vogue or elsewhere; none that offended me at least and I consider myself somewhat conservative. Yet, this aforementioned model kept working with the same people and expected a different results. Hire a wardrobe stylist. Hire a photographer and a different makeup artist and hair stylist. If you're not getting what you want from the people you have you have to change your people or change yourself. You can't shoot with the photographer that pays you in a pair of smokes and expect a La Perla quality photo shoot. It doesn't happen. You have to vet new people, study and learn about why you're not getting the look you want and adapt before making sweeping generalizations and say that it's because you're being too sexy and blame the lingerie. That's just weird when you sound that out. Try it. "I'm not successful as a model because I'm too sexy and I'm not doing lingerie anymore because I'm so hot I look slutty." Dumb right?
Still doubt me? Consider this; ever see a long full length gown, skirt or bodycon dress worn by a model somewhere and felt that it was the most indecent picture you've ever seen? Sure you have. Now consider, have you ever seen a huge billboard or sign with a lingerie model on it and thought it was sexy but not perverted. It was soft and approachable and yet not overtly sexual. You thought it was artful and well style and composed. Of course you have. It's not about what you're wearing or what you're not wearing it's about how well you're wearing it and context. In the right context, the right fitting, styling, pose and light absolutely anything can be modeled well and stylishly. How do I know this? I know because I've photographed and have seen fine art-nudes less sexually provocative than some fully clothed models I've observed online and elsewhere.
If you choose not to ever venture into lingerie modeling or swimwear modeling that's fine too as long as you're doing it for reasons comfortable for you and not because of someone else's reasons. In other words, be genuine and be honest with yourself because I don't know anyone that doesn't want to be or be photographed like a Victoria Secret's model at least one time in their life; if we're really being honest.
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