musings on modelling

i’ve been assisting with some photoshoots recently and after meeting the models i’ve been reflecting a lot on the nature of the job. when i was 12 i wanted nothing more than to be a model i thought it would be very glamorous and it meant i would be very beautiful. but after observing the photoshoots i realised how un-stimulating and intellectually boring it would be. they were good at their job but all i could think was how dull their job must be, i’m not trying to have a go at models i just think it’s interesting how many young girls want this as a career (and how i did too) and how glad i am that i went to university and feel intellectually challenged at work (i don’t normally assist with the photoshoots, this was quite easy work). the first girl i met had incredible social skills she knew how to talk to people and make them laugh and feel listened to. she was obviously very beautiful and told me she was dating a CEO (i later looked him up and as im sure you can guess he was not beautiful). she told me it takes weeks or longer for her pay to come through. she said she thought there was a lot of sentimentality in nostalgia. i asked what she did on her days off and she said read her book or go for a walk. she was sweet and kind. i later looked at her ig and it was just pictures of her photoshoots. i wondered a lot about her inner life. the next model i met was different, she spoke less but she was still kind i asked if she enjoyed modelling and she said it depended on the client/brief but usually she found it just okay, though she accepts every job she’s offered because she wants the work. she told me she didn’t read (i didn’t ask it just came up in conversation). she was very beautiful and good at her job.

i know models are often thought as clothes hangers and i don’t think they have much agency. i wonder how fulfilled they are by their jobs and if this is what they thought their lives would be like. i hope this doesn’t read as mean or holier than thou. i just find the reality of the life of a model interesting as someone who wanted to be one.