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fetish model advice...
i was thinking about just posting at the end of this thread https://modelmayhem.com/posts.php?threa … 208&page=1 but i figured why the hell not, and started a new one at least this way i can say i started it. pftt i figured if someone decided to, they could use the search feature in here, and that way get all their information in one place. HAH so little by little, as things crop up, perhaps i (and others please!) can follow their urges to plant/post their advice in here. Mar 27 06 02:56 am Link this is from my LJ rant from around dec2004 actually, this had a bunch more dirty 4 letter words in it. i edited it for here and to make more sense ------ f*ck. if you want to (be a fetish) model, then treat it like any other job that's based off of a commodity. this commodity is based off a product: your looks. as a model, that product also means you. some people wont like the product you're pushing. granted there's a bit of personalitly included in the decision/hiring process, but if you're a good model, you can fake a good personality. especially if you're getting paid to. but in the end, it doesn't matter if you're nice or can make people laugh. it all hinges upon that outside superficial shell and the body attached (hopefully) below it. if you don't like it that people don't like your product, if you cant take the "insults" then get the f*ck out. sure you can think that maybe someone out there likes you, that's always the case. but the thing is, if you want to be successful, you need to be able to appeal to more than just the 'few'. not only that, you need to appeal to the people that run things. not just the fans on the intraweb. and there are a lot of fine ass chicks out there... some don't even use the internet all that much. oh, and if you're short, you're not doing runway fashion. and why the fuck would someone email me about that kind of stuff anyways? i dont do that shit. except for fetish parties once in a while. i know my limitations. do you? everyone says you can't make money at this. but they're wrong. you can make money. it's just that chances are, you wont. ---------------------- i just fell into this sort of. i didn't just start by deciding i wanted to be a 'fetish model' when i grow up. i met someone who knew someone who knew someone. we all had the same interests and at the time in the U.S., what we were doing was still somewhat new. Los Angeles hosted the LA fetishball, while smaller fetish events happened in San Francisco. Elsewhere in the US, newer designers, photographers, and related things started emerging and gaining noticed. In Europe it had already begun and magazines like skin two began to acknowledge our domestic exports. it's been about a shit load of years for me now. almost ten years since my first Marquis cover. i know that's a long time, but i always remember that there have been people at it much longer than i have. when i started it was much different than now and the internet wasn't the way to meet people. i met people through other people and attended events and gatherings in order to establish my own connections. later, i flew to places to meet people and have face to face meetings. i chase down and discover my own leads rather than having a majority of my potiential shoots coming from other models and I try not to work with people EVERYONE else has worked with before. i really find it funny when people's advice for new models consists of telling them to shoot with as many people as they can. what a load of crap. i'd rather shoot with a handful of great photographers than a bunch of blind twats. sure, the internet is great at facilitating meetings nowadays and i've used it too, but there are and will be limits. especially if and when i chose to deal with other professional photographers that may dabble in fetish and yet work in more commerical/fashion areas. business is still business and this is my job and i prefer meeting people face to face if at all possible. ----- more laters Mar 27 06 03:10 am Link Thanks, O Internet Goddess! Your advices are always very valuable. Mar 27 06 05:27 am Link *sits at the Kumi's feet to learn more* Mar 27 06 10:37 am Link I think this applies to ALL modeling so far. Mar 27 06 05:41 pm Link Great post Kumi. Now if only you posted stuff like this in your Live Journal (regularly.. and not from 2 years ago).. lol  Glad to see you still check up on this site. Mar 27 06 06:12 pm Link Thanks for comfirming my thoughts! Mar 27 06 07:03 pm Link works for me. great post! Hope to at least say hello at fetishcon! Best, Stu Mar 27 06 07:15 pm Link Thanks for the info, looking forward to more info. Mar 27 06 07:24 pm Link http://newmodels.com/modelintro.html i'd say attitude is more important than looks - some other model is as good looking or better looking than you are, but the girl who is easy to work with will get the job. Mar 27 06 07:32 pm Link theda wrote: That's the thing, people think fetish is easier...it's not. It's all the same. Work hard to get results and be realistic. Mar 27 06 08:20 pm Link lindamorena wrote: Lets have a nice conference on shooting fetish. Mar 27 06 08:31 pm Link Dave Wright Photo wrote: not always Mar 27 06 09:01 pm Link i also mentioned before how quite a few girls want to do fetish work, be sucessful at it, and make a bunch of money. oh, yea. and they want to do it with their clothes on. they want to create art, not jack off material. and they want to be really sucessful and popular and all that. shooting fetish, mind you. hah. not going to happen. wanna make a living? you're gonna have to at least show off your titties. sure you can have a few fetish images in your book, but in this day and age of the internet with its over-abundance of models, there's always someone just as good, whose limits go beyond yours. sites that once featured girls in tight latex bound in ropes have already begun to replace the latex with f*ckingmachines. oh and you think you're going to get a bunch of clothes for free too by writing to designers and offering them use of the images or some such thing? chances are they already have models they work with already. some of them are probably more local to them or can offer them something that an unknown can't, like better publicity and sales. not to say they never will send out their latex, but chances are they wont. oh, also, some models, actually have loose agreements with some design houses. they're not going to look too kindly on a newbie trying to step into their contracts. free-enterprise is one thing, but treading on established toes is another. you're gonna have to spend some money to get your wardrobe up for images, especially to compete with what's being created nowadays. good photography is good photography, but most fetish models want to wear clothes of some sort. so save up and get some. yea, i get free clothes, but i also design and purchase many of the unique pieces i own. it guarantees i'll have one of a kind outfits for the performances and appearances i do for work. it's not necessarily cheap, my last catsuit from HWdesign cost about 800euros. stockings can be up to 200 euros for a pair. Mar 27 06 09:14 pm Link Nerie wrote: actually, i've edited it by making it more understandable Mar 27 06 09:21 pm Link Naomi Jay wrote: wow I want to know who thinks fetish is easer..... Mar 27 06 09:27 pm Link Iona Lynn wrote: all the physical work aside, people do think it's easier in the sense that they're not looking to appeal to the normal mainstream market. Mar 27 06 09:36 pm Link Good point Kumi, I didn't think of the tattoed, scarred, purple haired aspect of it, I just see mainstream and alternitve as very seperate. You don't have to be 5 9 to be a fetish model but you can't be ugly either. Tip for newbies: when buying leather buy it all at the same time as to not have two differnt dye lots grrrrrrr Mar 27 06 09:43 pm Link Fetish modeling definitely has a less stringent standard for physical appearance than many other genres. You can be shorter, heavier or just generally funny looking and still be totally qualified. But it's just as much work and probably more expensive. There's just as much hustling and networking and ass-kissing required. AND, because you're not always working for designers and you rarely have a stylist on set, you have to bring your own wardrobe and that shit ain't cheap. kumi wrote: I was waiting for that part. While a lot of what's been said in this thread is true of all modeling, this is something specific to fetish modeling. I see quite a few women who want to be "fetish models", but don't want to admit that this genre is inherently sexual. It's not just about putting on a pretty latex dress. That's fashion. Fetish is about sex, just as much as pornography is about sex. Fetish is porn's freaky little cousin. It's jack-off material for weirdos. Mar 27 06 09:49 pm Link This is a fantastic thread. And I agree that Kumi is a goddess that I hope to be worthy of working with when/if I grow up. Mar 27 06 09:52 pm Link i wanted to be a pornographer when i grew up but i still haven't 2nd choice was teacher HAH Mar 28 06 12:09 am Link Oh Kumi, ya took the words right outta my mouth. ~D, Out of hiding! Mar 28 06 05:36 am Link I've known and worked with a few smart fetish models. They made their living at it. And all tell me they do things they never expected to do when they started. Nonetheless, the successful ones have a grip on their careers. They do all the stuff "normal" models do, plus they study trends in fetish. By keeping themselves aware of what's going on (through fetish balls, cons and other gatherings), networking with lots of producers and staying on the road, they make themselves into valuable commodities. Several years ago, I shot with Sasha Monet for her first bondage shoots. When I went back to California several years later, we got together and she regaled me with tales of her strange journey. Turns out she was on the covers of Skin Two and DDI that month. She managed it by having a (very) open mind, lots of aggressive marketing and a ton of hard work. Everything Kumi has said is true, but it's pretty much an understatement of the dedication necessary. And the effort Kumi and other successful fetish models put into their craft is incredible. She mentioned that she knows designers, etc., to help make projects happen. All the really successful fetish models seem to be like that. It's a role that fashion and glamour models never have to think about. I have the utmost respect for these models. The good ones truly do define their own universe. The others? Well, they flake on you at any given opportunity. Mar 28 06 06:01 am Link Argh! I need exactly the same post, but on the other side of the camera!  Mar 28 06 06:29 am Link Michael McGowan wrote: I'm wondering if you know the same ones i do, because actually, the ones I know (as far as the US goes, I could count on my fingers). I'm talking about fetish. Not bondage. And when I think about the models that have even made the journey over to Europe to do work - not just attend an event, it makes the list easier to figure out. Mar 28 06 11:29 am Link Kumi! You forgot to tell them all about the absolutely HORRIBLE perverts that they'll be surrounded by in the fetish industry! Do you know your kinks and fetishes? Are you kinky yourself? Well you better be because if you want to be a fetish model you're moving into a whole new world, and it has to be more than an opportunistic attempt at success in a smaller industry. It's sexual and it's real and it has to be something you truly feel and enjoy or it'll come through in your pictures and you'll never get anywhere, no matter how pretty or driven. Just my two cents! Now Kumi, when are you coming back down to LA so you can grab my ass again? Mar 28 06 02:37 pm Link Ms Marina wrote: I'm on my way Mar 28 06 02:45 pm Link Ms Marina wrote: YOUR ass landed on my LAP which just happened to be where MY own hands happened to be - Resting INNOCENTLY and minding their own business! Mar 28 06 03:24 pm Link Kumi, good points all. Since bondage and fetish are intertwined, at least in the U.S., I included any of the bondage/fetish models I know. Most of them were active in both. Lots of latex, rubber, shoes, stockings, etc., etc. Bottom line: I have known a number of fashion models, and they have a very different experience in modeling from what the fetish ladies have experienced. Ironically, some of the fashion models seem to have encountered a lot more of the behavior people on her consider "unprofessional." Seems there are deviants in every area of society. Back to your points... The models I've known aren't all working now. In fact, all but two or three have quit. But every one of those who managed to make a living off of it had the factors in common that I mentioned. They didn't have an agency finding them jobs. They didn't have all the support system that a fashion model enjoys. They got out and created their own niches. Ultimately, you gotta respect gumption like that. Mar 28 06 03:39 pm Link Michael McGowan wrote: Very, VERY true! And actually, because people in the fetish world are usually more aware of and honest about their perversions, on the whole they don't need to "act out" as much. Mar 28 06 05:08 pm Link Sorry...I have nothing to add. It just looks like a cool party in here. Mar 28 06 05:11 pm Link Kumi, your rants are always insightful and fun to read Mar 28 06 05:19 pm Link Ms Marina wrote: pot Mar 28 06 05:51 pm Link Ken Mierzwa wrote: especially when i come across as an idiot! Mar 28 06 05:55 pm Link Iona Lynn wrote: And like whats so bad about that????? all in a day's (nights) work I say. Mar 28 06 05:56 pm Link kumi wrote: hmmmm sounds absolutely deliciously knotty. Perhaps they are all the better for biting. Mar 28 06 06:07 pm Link kumi wrote: *looks about hoping she wasn't caught doing just that* Mar 28 06 06:17 pm Link Good points everyone, I learn new things every time I do a shoot but I do get a good line of communication going with the photographer first & foremost. I mostly do it for my first passion which is Fashion & Costume Design. That was why I started modeling again in the first place, to show off all those backaches over the sewing machine. One of these days I hope to have my own line & would love to do Fetish wear. Still, I have met some great people & although you should realize that it is something that makes you happy but not necessarily wealthy. Thanks for starting this Kumi. Lots of good info here. Mar 28 06 07:15 pm Link ShadowCrafter wrote: unless of course, you're working everyday. or night. Mar 28 06 07:21 pm Link Ms Marina wrote: Thank you! I was hoping someone would mention the fact that this type of art/modelling has its roots firmly planted in sexuality. So does pretty much everything else that involves cameras and models, but those other people are far too deep in denial to ever admit something so tawdry [did somebody say "Mary"?]. Mar 28 06 09:20 pm Link |
