A friend of mine wants to get into modeling, he is going tanning and is actually starting to look orange.  I told him to stop, he won't listen........

What are your thoughts on tanned models?

Tan.  And make sure it's an all-over one.  Dark coloured skin helps show off definition, etc.  That's why bodybuilders are always dark orange.

There are some good fake tans around now, and the effects are usually quite good, provided you don't go too far.

It has to be an all-over tan, though.  I'm UK based, and finding a model with a good even tan is almost impossible.  The panda look isn't good!

Tanning makes you look orange in photos.  If he MUST tan, its best he does it 2 weeks before a shoot.  Otherwise he's going to look orange and that is not pretty in photos 

Tanning also makes your skin look leathery after a while.  Sucks for photographers who have to edit the photo.  I sometimes do my own photo retouching and retouching skin that looks like elephant skin is not fun and is VERY time consuming.

Orange is fine!  Purple might  be better!

don't tan within a week of the shoot.  Dark tans are fakey and ugly.  A nice soft glow to chase away the pastiness is fine, but I wouldn't shoot a model who described themselves as "tanned."  Darker skinned models of the appropriate ethnicity are fine, but white boys/girls with a fake bake....  ew....

i don't know why anyone would tan...
i really like white, pale.

in fact i wish i was paler. during the summer i try to stay away from the sun as much as i can and wear sun block a lot.
my friends always make fun of me when we go to the beach cuz i'm always making a fuzz of being under the big umbrella and not getting too much sun, and re-applying sunblock every half hour.... lol

sry, i guess that didn't answer your question... but yeah. tell ur friend not to tan. lol

Not!!

I don't really know the logistics of it. I went tanning a few times in the dead of winter just to feel the "sun" on my skin for ten minutes . A model should look reasonably healthy, unless you're going for that super pale look. Colour is nice but I would think that it would be really difficult to simulate a nice light summer tan. In really good FASHION work, the models tend to be paler, unless of course they're not pale to begin with. The fake tan look, and unless you have a backyard with a HIGH hedge or you live in capri, noone is going to have a real all over tan, looks tacky and downmarket. If you team that with fake blonde in any quantity and fake boobs, people will wonder why the model is even WEARING clothes because obviously she must be a stripper or a centerfold. Boy models, I have no idea, but I think that the rules apply. A photographer should want to shoot you basically as you are.

I would say NO

I am a really pale girl and i think that a little glow is one thing but orange skin is ugly. Think Magdnah  of "Somthing about Mary". If your skin starts to look like leather, your probably doing some dammage.
Is he spay tanning or tanning bad tanning??
I think tanning beds are nastly , my fiance and I used to go to a gym that had free tanning so we used them acouple of times them my fiance developed this weird skin rash, turned out it was from the tanning bed, not beign cleaned enough it took like 6 months for this skin rash to go away.
and spay tanning can rub off onto clothing and I know alot of Designers who would chopp off your head before letting you runin the clothing.
I would tell your model friend to stopp tanning especeially if he's turning orange.
but thats just my 2 cents   Mandy of Deadly Design Make-up Artistry

Tanning dries the skin. A good makeup artist can make nice soft healthy skin look tanned, only a good photoshopper can make hard rough scaling skin look nice and healthy.

I don't like the fake tan look.  I think different skin tones are beautiful.  Very pale skin can be beautiful and very dark skin can be beautiful, but only when it's natural.  I have never seen one of those spray on tans that looked natural on anybody.

I also don't like to work on models with fake tans because it's nearly impossible to match their skintone.  No foundation comes in orange.  I had one model that I had to mix a very pale foundation with different color bronzers and a mango liquid highlighter in order to closely match her skintone.  It was a challenge, which I love, but it wasn't fun.

Natural is better!

Mystic Tan is really neat. Its available at most tanning salons. You get into a private booth and are sprayed and there is no turning involved (remembering Ross in Friends). There are different levels and it sprays on clear and slowly "develops" throughout the day. I had it done for my senior prom. I went the morning of, and by the evening I was a terrific glowly golden tan. I chose the lightest level, because I'm so pale.

It didn't run or rub on my clothes and faded naturally and didn't get patchy or flakey.

There are a lot of spray on tans, so make sure it's MYSTIC TAN. Its worth trying out once, just to see for yourself.

xo
Siân Melton
http://www.alwaysmadeup.com

A fake tan is not bad as long as it does not end up like this http://www.darkelf19.bravepages.com/peach83.jpg (the girl on the right with the blonde hair)

tanning is effing gross.  All of your freckles come out and if you do it for too long you look like a freakin' snake or alligator!  Stick w/ the fake tans.  Please!

I always tell my models not to tan.  Fake tans only.  Skin cancer and premature wrinkling just isn't worth it.