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Cecelia Shaw | VIP Member | Verified Credits (62)

Where are you from? Where are you based now and do you travel for shoots?

I was born and raised in Minneapolis but I spent most of my adult life in Chicago. I’ve been traveling for the past five years and spent some time living in Maui, Melbourne, Australia, and most recently, India. I’m currently back in Minneapolis living at home while I transition from traveling to graduate school. I plan to move to Seattle if I get accepted to the school in the fall.

I do travel to model. I usually tour every two to three weeks all over the United States. However, since the pandemic began, I’ve transitioned to making art from home. Now I run virtual figure modeling sessions and take self-portraits (sign-up for updates on virtual drawing sessions). I release content daily on my Instagram account.

Who or what inspired you to become a model?

I am a university-trained dancer, choreographer, and experimental performance artist. I danced for local dance companies and I directed and choreographed for my own dance company, We Stand Sideways, for nine years. I began figure modeling for life drawing classes in college and eventually started posing for photographers.

How and when did you start modeling?

I did this casually until I moved to Melbourne, Australia, and met an established art nude model name, Cheyanne. She mentored me and eventually became my agent in Australia. This is when my career as a model took off. I built up my portfolio modeling part-time while I managed a bar. When I moved back home, I decided to try to model full-time and now it is my main source of income. I love modeling as it’s a great way to create art while traveling as I no longer make dances with an ensemble.

What type of modeling do you enjoy the most?

I prefer art nudes. I like experimenting with body shapes and playing with shadows and other lighting concepts. I particularly enjoy conceptual art nudes. I have a unique, movement-based posing style that produces dynamic, emotive images.

What do you look for when deciding to work with a photographer?

I will work with all levels of photographers, from beginners shooting on their phones to professionals. I’ll work with anyone willing to pay my rates who has a good reputation and/or conducts themselves professionally in their correspondence with me. I’m not usually interested in shooting mainstream, conventionally “sexy” concepts. So, if that is a photographer’s typical shooting style, as long as they are happy to let me be creative and push them out of their comfort zone, I’m happy to work with them!

Which models or other artists currently inspire you?

I’m a huge fan of Tiffany Helms and The Most Ghost, as well as Lior Allay. I love models who do self-portraits and are photographers themselves. I enjoy photographers who shoot all bodies and think outside the box. I get a lot of photographers that don’t shoot tattooed models and I find that very disappointing. There are so many different bodies out there and model photography is about capturing the subject’s essence as they are, and not about holding up archaic, patriarchal beauty standards about what a model “should” look like.

What would be your dream shoot?

My dream shoot includes working with a female or non-binary photographer. The dream begins at first contact. The photographer admires my work and is inspired to collaborate on a unique project. They come prepared with a mood board so that their ideas and intentions are clear to me right from the beginning. They are respectful of my rates and policies and I don’t have to argue or negotiate with them about fees or deposits. They set a time and place and they show up on time and ready to work. They appreciate my skills, talent, and credentials and treat me with respect from start to finish. The shoot is inspiring and we bounce ideas off one another. Egos are set aside and we are free to create art!

How important is social media in your success?

I find most of my collaborators through Instagram. It is the easiest place for me to post content daily, search for photographers in the areas that I’m touring and keep track of correspondence. I rely on Instagram for most of my advertising and reference checking. Aside from censorship, I think it is a great platform for artists.

What else do you like to do outside of modeling?

I have so many hobbies, it’s almost exhausting. I used to bartend but I’ve moved away from that thankfully and make most of my money creating art. I’m a dance maker, so I do short films and sometimes create works with ensembles. I’m always involved in professional development and I take dance classes, workshops, and practice yoga daily. I’m also a certified yoga teacher and I lead movement workshops for professional and non-professional movers. I’m currently applying to graduate school to get my master’s in clinical mental health counseling and dance movement therapy. I read a lot of books and I love rotating fiction and non-fiction works. I’m also a photographer myself. I shoot portraits of friends and self-portraits as well. I love to camp and hike and forage for mushrooms! Also, I’m constantly seeing live music! I follow a band called Phish around the country with my friends.

What’s the best career advice you can give to new models?

Modeling is one of the best things that ever happened to me. It is the only way I’ve ever been able to sustain myself with my art. It is fulfilling creatively. However, it can be exhausting. It’s a lot of travel and administration and, as a woman working with mostly men, you have to deal with a lot of mistreatment and disrespect. My best advice is to stand your ground and maintain integrity in your work. Do the work that you believe in and promote your ideals through your art. My personal mission is to desexualize the female form and promote body love. I believe that all bodies are beautiful bodies and photography is an excellent way to achieve that!

Check out Cecelia Shaw’s Model Mayhem portfolio to see more of her work. You can also follow Cecelia on Instagram. You can sign-up for virtual drawing session updates here.