Handsome Girl Modeling School

Late last year I was asked to model for my company's catalog. This is not something I tried to let get to my head, as they generally do ask whoever in the office happens to be reasonably thin, tall and who has a pair of shoulders to hang a garment on. I'm not in the extreme department of these features that allows me to go out in the real world of modeling, but it was fun for a day to pretend.

One of the best parts was just showing up at the loft space of the photographer before the shoot started to have my hair and makeup done. Walking through the loft building, it did feel like I was part of this other world for the day. It certainly wasn't the corporate environment I usually schlep through to get to my cube and Aeron chair each day. What I found out was that modeling - it's harder than you'd imagine.

Even getting my makeup done was an experience. I've had my makeup done a time or two before, once as a secret shopper at Henry Bendel (fun + free stuff!), but those times it was for my enjoyment. This time, I could tell that when you have it done enough, you learn what to do. The makeup artist was clearly having to slow down to my pace as I didn't know that after she smears something here and sprinkles something there I'm supposed to look straight up so she can get right in there under my eye or pull at my lashes. There were many little things like that. And then she painted my lips. She really painted them. Now that the catalog is out, that's all anyone can say - "Wow, those lips!" I've also never had anyone put eyedrops on a qtip and jab into the corners of my eye. Good trick, though! Gets any last sleepy stuff that the finger or face washing won't get out of there and makeup looks flawless.

Posing was another challenge. One that I wanted to take on with gusto, a la ANTM, but once up there... it's easy to become deflated. What, no mirror so I can see what I'm doing? If you're in profile, you find that the photographer loses your far shoulder. So while it would have been nice to act all natural like, moving from one look to the next with ease, what I thought looked good sometimes didn't show off the garment I was supposed to be displaying in a way that made sense to the viewer. So I learned all kinds of tricks about "cheating" your far shoulder forward.

In the end, what felt like a very contorted, strange pose, looks normal - I think. I've looked at these soo many times (is that me?), I've lost my sense of what it looks like.

Enjoy!!