Behind the Scenes: the Real Photoshoot

In a series I'll be starting called "Behind the Scenes", I'll walk you through a day in the life of an international model. You'll learn about everything from runways to model apartments, castings and even traveling alone. Today's post, however, is all about photoshoots!

When you watch shows like "America's Next Top Model" or "Make Me a Supermodel" or flip through a magazine, you see beautiful photos of beautiful women in beautiful clothing. You may think that modeling looks glamorous and would be tons of fun. There's hours of pampering with hair and makeup and the wardrobes are immaculate (do I want to wear Chanel, if only for an hour? Yes!). But, what you may not realize is everything that goes on behind the scenes. For those of you who aren't aware, its a lot of work!

"How can it be called 'work'? You get your makeup and hair done for you, wear the top fashions, and pose. Sounds easy enough to me!"

Yes, and no. I'm gonna walk you through my hardest shoot thus far! Are you ready to be enlightened? Well, let's get started.



The day before I left Taiwan, I was planning on going out Friday night with my friends and saying goodbye, standard protocol. My boyfriend had come to visit me for a month there and once I left, I wouldn't be seeing him for a month or so, so this was an important night for us, too. I went into my agency that morning to tie up loose ends, aka get paid, when they informed me that I had a job that day. There had been some confusion with my ticket and what day I was leaving, and they had booked me for a job that was supposed to shoot days after I would be gone. Their solution: shoot the night before I leave.

That meant my Friday night/packing night was thrown out the window and I would be working from midnight to 8am. Wow. The only positive I could pull from this situation was the fact that my boyfriend was able to accompany me. So, at midnight, my boyfriend and I took a cab to the studio's address.

12:00 Begin hair and makeup.
I received a facial, full coverage makeup, false eyelashes, and a black wig.

2:00 Begin shooting.
After two hours in the chair, I was sent to the client for approval, and then we began shooting. This was a beauty shoot for Jenova, a Taiwanese makeup company. Beauty shoots are some of the most tiring because you simply stand there and move your head at slightly varying angles. In between shots, I was dosing off, but eventually they captured a good enough picture that we could move on.

2:30 Begin hair and makeup, again.
One would think that because they were only changing my eye makeup it would be faster, but apparently it takes just as long. They wiped my eyes and reapplied perfect eye makeup, false lashes, and a blond wig this time.

4:30 Begin shooting, again.
At this point my boyfriend had come around, though as a photographer, it was a grueling process seeing them struggle through lighting situations, and directional issues, without saying anything. He focused his energies on helping encourage me and keep me motivated.

5:00 Break time!
They went to 7-11 and got me a chicken and rice bowl, my favorite! I gobbled that up! At this point my boyfriend decided he would go home and nap so he could be awake to say goodbye. After a quick kiss and a hug, he was off and I was back to work!

5:15 Begin final hair and makeup.
Yay! My last look! This one was hilarious. I was given a brown wig that looked a bit like Princess Leia's hair.

7:15 Final shooting!
These shots were for the campaign and this is how they described the final product: a bunch of little me's sitting in or falling from a spider web. What? Even though my energy was nearly drained by this point, I was relieved that the last look involved more movement. I posed on a chair, sitting on a "suspended" rope (two gentlemen had the job of holding a rope up behind me, fancy), and acting as though I was falling (while laying on the floor propped up by styrofoam).

Even though the clients were great, and completely understanding, it was the most difficult shoot I have ever done! I drank 5 redbulls, ate a bowl of chicken stir fry, and was awake for a total of 36 hours (remember that I left Taiwan the next morning at 12 and travelled to Hong Kong and then LA). I will never forget how relieved or accomplished I felt when I was able to tell everyone there goodbye and head home. They were even so nice as to give me the dress pictured above (this also the dress I am planning on wearing to prom ;).

While not all shoots happen through the night like this, modeling is still difficult and takes a lot of time and energy. If you've ever had a family photo shoot that lasted more than an hour, you may be able to empathize a little (holding a smile for an hour isn't half as a hard as holding a smile, or a scowl, for 5).

I hope you enjoyed this insight into a model's world and have a great weekend!
Caleigh xx