Wham! Pop! Boom!

Here's another photoshoot I did in Dubai for Sephora for MBC Haya Magazine.  The photographer is Tina Patni.

U Magazine

These are from a shoot I did last month in Amman, Jordan.  I'm sort of so-so about them, but thought I'd share them with you.  The hair, by the way, because you probably can't tell from the photos, was styled into fun 1940's-era victory rolls.

Shooting

Two snapshots from a shoot I did on Tuesday for Ahlan! magazine... I honestly want to post more frequently... It just doesn't seem to take high priority in my day.

I'm in Vogue!

I've been meaning to post this for a while, but time seems to have gotten away from me.

If you happened to pick up the March issue of American Vogue, you might have seen me in an advertisement for QVC and Mally Cosmetics.


Of course, you might not have seen me either, as I'm not really the focus of the photo.  But, yep, that's me...  The behind-the-scene shots from the December shoot can be seen here.

Quick New York Trip and Photo Shoot

I just got back from New York where I was shooting something very special with makeup artist superstar, Mally Roncal, and her fabulous team at Mally Beauty.  I've been working with Mally on QVC since back in June and I can say that I'm a HUGE fan of her makeup line and love the whole Mally family.


Here's a few backstage pics from our shoot yesterday:

Stay tuned for more... The rest of the Mally models and I will be on QVC working with the Mally team on New Year's Eve.

Please Vote For Me-- Madmen Casting Call

My sixteen-year-old niece, Morgan, is something of a triple threat. She's spunky, beautiful, and incredibly talented. A few years ago she got her hands on a camera, and within no time, was producing incredible photographs.


I've long said that I wanted her to shoot me, and yesterday we finally collaborated. I wanted something fifties-inspired, and she was able to indulge me. I provided the dress (a gold lamé dress that I picked up at Goodwill last year for a few bucks), did my hair, makeup and nails, and she did the photography and photo editing.


I LOVE the results. Just take a look and see:

Morgan hand-selected these photos herself, then used the online editing software, Picnik, to adjust the colors so that the pictures look like they're from another era.

This one (above) reminds me of a photobooth picture. The one on the left could be from the late fifties or early sixties, whereas the one on the right reminds me of a headshot of an actress from the silver screen. We had an inspired moment when I lay down on the ground and flipped the lace of the skirt behind my head. It adds such a nice texture to the photo.

This one has that same 1950's feel. I LOVE it!


So, I really need your help. I'm entering the Madmen casting contest for a chance to win a walk-on role on AMC's Madmen. PLEASE VOTE FOR ME HERE BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK.


Below is the picture I chose to use for the contest. I like some of the above pictures better, but this one has the most sixties feel, I think. The current season of the show is set in 1964, so I thought some of the black and white photos looked too old.

XOXO,

If You See Something, Say Something

My English friend, Laura, emailed me a few weeks back to report that while in London she had seen me on the cover of a magazine. I am so thankful that she alerted me, as I had no idea. As a model, I'm constantly shooting, and my images tend to pop up in the most unexpected places. That's why I am so thankful when my friends recognize me in a picture and hasten to let me know. In some cases, the pictures have been used without clearance, which means my agency has to track them down and make sure I get paid for it. At other times, I have been paid for the usage, but it's still nice to see the finished product, as usually all I see is what is on the computer monitor on the day of the shoot.

The magazine: July 2010 issue of UK magazine Prima.

The shoot: A half-day booking in Yzerfontein, South Africa in March. Fellow cover girl Nicole Lupton (Prima, June 2010) and I carpooled together, leaving Cape Town in the early morning hours. We arrived at the beautiful coastal town and managed to disturb a family enjoying their breakfast when we knocked on the wrong door. We eventually found the correct address, and the shoot took place in and around a lovely beach house. Most of the crew were English, and had flown down for the week. South Africa is a popular destination for photo shoots because it is summer there in January, when Europe is laden in snow. The summer issues of magazines are shot several months in advance, which means shoots flooded with greenery and sunlight need to be shot in a summery location rather than the dreary European countryside during winter.

Inside my head: Longtime friends reading this will roll their eyes, but I felt completely incompetent the day of the shoot. I enjoyed my ride up to Yzerfontein with the other model (she's a sweetheart!), but once there, couldn't help comparing myself to her. She was stunning, knew how to move in front of the camera, and was super skinny to boot. Next to her, I felt oafish (commence eye-rolling), and amateurish. Thankfully, the crew didn't seem to notice my insecurities.


What you probably don't know: Cover shoots are often referred to as a cover try. It is a try because when you are shooting it, you have no idea if that picture will ever see the light of day, let alone the cover of a magazine. Until it comes out in print, there is no guarantee that it will ever run, and it is the powers that be back at the magazine office that determine what photos end up on the cover and inside each issue. When we were shooting this, I did shots in several locations in probably four or five different outfits. Also, contrary to popular belief, cover models do not get paid a lot of money to be on the cover of an issue. We get paid for one day of work, and the rates for magazines are very low. The typical day rate for a magazine shoot (whether appearing on the cover or inside) is between $150 (€123) and $250 (€205). As you can see, that's not exactly breaking the bank!


Some pictures from the day of the shoot:

XOXO,

City Lights

I have to apologize about the serious lack of blog posts as of late.  Welcome to South Africa.  Disgruntled residents have informed me that SA has the most expensive internet in the world (due to the fact that all cables and whatnot have to go under the ocean or along the coast of Africa, or something along those lines), and I'm beginning to think it has the world's slowest internet to boot.  Gone are my days of downloading albums from Amazon (that's a big pooh to you, iTunes-- Amazon's downloads are the same price, or cheaper, without that silly rule that you can only put your music on five devices at a time), or reading my daily blogs, or doing anything else remotely interesting on the web.

I have discovered, through trial and error, which file format to save my text files as so that I can plop them on a flash drive and access them at the internet cafe... with that new discovery in hand, I should be able to blog more.  We'll see how that works out.

In today's news, I did my first job in Cape Town.  I did a cover try for the magazine, Woman and Home, which apparently is very popular here.  I was SOOO nervous-- I always am before a shoot-- but I think it went well and everyone seemed to be pleased by how it turned out.  Cover try means that the shoot is for the cover of their magazine.  If all goes well, the editors will like my picture, and I'll end up on the cover of their May issue. 

This past Saturday, The National, a newspaper based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, released their weekend magazine, M Magazine, with a spread that I featured in.  I shot the story back in December and have been eagerly awaiting its release.  It was shot by Tina Chang.

I have to say, this was a really fun shoot. It was one of the last jobs I did in Dubai, and they threw me in the (freezing) pool in a Christian Dior dress! Since we were shooting at night, I had to hold extra still as we were using a slower shutter speed on the camera (to allow more light to enter). It was shot in Bonnington in the Jumeriah Lake Towers and shows the lights and skyscrapers of the city that I hold so dear.

XOXO,

Colombia Recap

I'm happy to report that I made it back from Colombia in one piece-- better than one piece, as a matter of fact!

I was picked up from the airport by the lovely Nana, who was the art director for the shoot, and also my tour guide for the four days I was there. She dropped me off at my hotel, and then picked me up several hours later to have a fish dinner with her family. Colombian cuisine= yummy!



The photo shoot went very well. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to perform (modeling isn't as easy as it looks, folks-- at least not to me!), but for two long days I worked my butt off, and am glad to say that they were very pleased with me.

There was another model there too, a beautiful Colombian girl named Juliana. The team was comprised of Colombians-- the hair stylists, the makeup artists, the photographer, etc. Every night we would go out after shooting and see something of the nightlife or enjoy dinner. I got a fair dose of Colombian culture! The women there are beautiful, and the Latin culture was amazing. I loved how friendly everyone was, and how much they wanted to share their beautiful country with me.


One of the customs that I was introduced to was drinking Aguardiente, a local anise-flavored alcoholic beverage. It reminded me of a drink from Greece, Ouzo, but apparently is 26% alcohol. I went out my last night and stayed out until 3am drinking Aguardiente at a locals bar-- it was so much fun!

I have news...

I'm going to South America! I just found out that I have booked a photo shoot in Medellin, Colombia and I fly out on Monday. It's for a catalogue based down there-- I was told, "it's the Macy's of Colombia." So, I have to practice being happy, and laughing, as that's the sort of look they're going for. I'm a little nervous because I haven't really shot catalogues before, and doing happy shots aren't my thing, and then there's the weight gain-- let's hope I can fit in the clothes!

That said, I am so excited to get to travel to a new country. As you can see by my map below, I've never been to South America-- I've never even been below the equator! I've heard Colombia is a dangerous country, and as I'm there working, I probably won't see too much (I'm only there three days), but I'm still excited to be traveling the globe.

I have more travel plans up my sleeve... I'll keep you posted!

Places I've Visited

visited 19 countries (8.44%)

Edit: I thought I'd be traveling below the equator, but it looks like I'll either be right on the equator or north of it. Aww shucks-- another time perhaps!

Test Shoot

I promised some time ago to share pictures from a photoshoot I did in December. It took me a while to get the pictures, and then my computer broke, but I am finally getting around to posting some here for you to see.

I wasn't completely happy with the pictures-- I gained about ten pounds (4.5 kilos) during the holidays (thanks to an anti-anxiety medicine I was on), and haven't been able to shed them since. I'm not big per se, but I'm bigger than I'd like to be, especially when I make a living by being able to fit into clothes, and I can't even fit into my own clothes anymore (no kidding-- I went through several pairs of jeans yesterday before I found a pair I can wear).