Using your body to model

Hey Girls,

You totally don't have to pose nude to work as a model. It's not a must-do!

You can still model with agencies and brands and magazines without going nude.

But if you are over 18 and comfortable with your body you can find modeling work using it within "parts modeling" and "health and fitness" "lingerie" and "body modeling" for magazines and brands. Some print modeling agencies have "parts divisions" and work with body models for fitness, health and beauty, and models put their even skintone, their proportioned body, their pretty limbs and curves to use in campaigns and print ads for brands and magazines. 

I have seen many beautiful print campaigns using the body for jewelry and retail and skincare.
I am into classy, beautiful and sincere nude and body images. Also I love black and white photography. I am comfortable with my body and have used it on modeling jobs within magazine editorials and advertising campaigns, here are some of my body shots which I hope inspire you when you are considering using your body to model within print modeling.  Well, this is my body and some shots from my "parts modeling porfolio," and I hope these images inspire you when it comes to creating body images that have purpose for print modeling. And here are tips for parts modeling photos for hands, legs, and shoe modeling.

This skin is camera ready! Is yours?

Despite height and inches and measurements, it has been my skin that has helped me work as a model over the years, and my skin has been my best asset. I’ve worked with many brands and magazines as a body parts model, I’ve even gone in the complete buff on The Stacy London Show, was topless for a shoot with Time Magazine, and being comfortable with my body is part of the job. My hands were in a Macy’s commercial and also in editorials for Bon Appétit magazine many times, my feet and legs have appeared in campaigns for Marshalls, Easy Spirit Shoes, and I modeled the FitFlop for Victoria’s Secret, and I’ve been booked for many other body jobs despite being the shortest model out there, by knowing my assets, taking care of them and marketing what I’ve got, -may it be a hand, leg, foot, booty, or torso, I’ve got it ready!

Here are some of my tips from keeping my body head-to-toe camera ready.

Hand and nails: When I get my manicures and pedicures done I bring my own nail polish to salons, because if I get a chip or my nails need a touch up I can quickly fix that because I own the color and it is in my bag. And you can make your manicure last longer this way too. To keep my nails looking good and healthy and strong nails I drink milk , and moisturize of course, and my favorite lotion products for my hands are LUSH’s Lemony Flutter cuticle cream, L'Occitane Shea Butter hand cream. I always carry with me travel size lotions, currently in my bag I also have Caswell-Massey Newport Mariner’s hand cream, and I also like Ives Hydrating Vitamin E Lotion. Also at the salons, I only use fan-dryers not the UV dryers, which can damage your skin! Or, I don’t use a hand dryer at all and just air dry my nails.

Face and torso: For keeping my face and neck youthful looking I drink a lot of water and moisturize my neck and collarbone area daily. Also I give attention to under my eyes, my forehead, and my chin each night. I also give some love to my stomach, belly button (yes I moisturize it!) and my breasts, shoulders, upper back, lower back, and also as far as I can reach around my back and up my spine. On my face I am rotating right now between Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel, Clinique’s Moisture Surge, and LUSH’s Ultralight moisturizer and Kiehl’s creamy eye treatment with avocado.

Feet and toes: I love foot scrubs. I love making my own handmade coffee foot scrubs; I save my coffee grinds from the morning and put them in a sealed container in the fridge, then use them during my evening shower by mixing the grinds with a body wash or lotion for a fantastic coffee scrub. (My coffee scrub video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=984V4unM84g ) it’s also good for hands. Also I like scooping up a nice amount of St. Ives Apricot Scrub and rubbing it all over my feet, my heel, and in-between my toes, the bottoms of my feet. Another good one is The Body Shop’s Olive Body Scrub. I even like using my cold face-masks on my feet, and sometimes I do put lotion on my feet and then put socks on overnight to wake up with extra soft feet.

Whole body: Weekly, I give my whole body some loving by rubbing a nice layer of LUSH’s Turkish Delight on my skin, from my neck to my toes, everywhere, then I jump in the shower and wash it off, my skin is super, duper soft and silky. Also I love really hot showers, but I try to cool the water down a bit, hot water can dehydrate the skin.

Legs: One night I used my man’s Gillette Aftershave Gel for sensitive skin on my legs and became addicted! Now I shop for it for both of us, it makes my legs feel and look even smoother after shaving.

Skin fix: For covering up scars or to make skin look more soft and smooth, I mix together in my hands a liquid facial foundation and a body lotion. I then rub the mixture wherever is needed. The lotion mixed with the foundation gives the skin a natural glow which looks great on camera.

Model-must-have’s: Travel size teeny-weeny Noxzema Bikini Shaver’s, I have these in my bag, just in case. Travel size toothbrush and toothpaste, if you have a casting after lunch or something. Q-tips, these are some of the handiest modeling tools ever, you can clean up your face, nail polish, and a million other things with a Q-tip. Travel size nail polish remover. Nude pantyhose, shoe models use these often. Thongs, models need to have their own black, nude colored and white thongs. Panty-liners, to put in the undergarment for lingerie and swimwear or body jobs. Band-Aids, just in case.

Daily go-to beauty products: Fresh’s Magic Wands Mini Mascara Duo, Bare Escentuals bareMinerals SPF 15 powder, Revlon’s ColorStay Ultimate Liquid Lipsticks, Revlon’s Extra Curl Eyelash Curler and Fresh SUGAR ROSÉ tinted lip treatment SPF 15.

Also eating veggies and fruit keeps my skin looking nice as well. I try to stay away from BBQ and grease but I really love cheese.

I know it can be time consuming to take care of the skin, but once you start overtime it becomes a normal way of life, and by doing so I’ve been able to put what I have to use as a model and prove the little guy can get the job done!

~Isobella Jade

Check out Short Stuff: on the job with an x-small on Amazon and BN.com and in Barnes and Noble store, read about these on-the-job experiences and keeping my body camera ready. :) A sample excerpt of the book is on my website here as well: http://www.isobelladreams.com/

Above body parts portfolio photos: Larry Baglio, Robert Milazzo, Michael McCabe

Isobella Jade TM.

The Importance of Being Natural at Castings

So far, at castings this week, I showed my bootie for a jeans project and touched my boob for a breast cancer awareness ad casting.

As a body part model and print model, castings involve holding, using, modeling many different things. Being comfortable with yourself, and knowing quickly what the job involves and how to use the product, how to hold it, or whatever,- is important at a casting. Before a casting your agency should give you the breakdown of what the casting involves and if it seems confusing, ask. If you are unsure, practice putting on shoes, smiling, modeling jewelry, or whatever the casting might involve before the casting.

For this casting, it was about touching my boob.
I was reminded of the importance of being comfortable with yourself and knowing what the casting is for ahead of time. Here is what I observed.

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She looks the part, but she has no clue what she is doing.

In the room is the casting director, the photographer (male) and another woman, maybe the art director. I am standing against the wall, waiting for my turn, another girl is aside me also waiting. A handful of others are outside the door.

The girl on set is obviously nervous, I can tell when she unbuttons her shirt ALL the way down when the photographer just asks her to unbutton a few.

She is told to put her hand in her shirt and cover her boob/aka, put her hand on her breast.

She is having trouble with this.

The casting director says to her, “touch your breast." "No. Like this!"
The casting director touches her own boob and then says, "Not like you are cupping it or grabbing it."
"Like this."

"Across"

"No lower."

"Not grabbing."

"Touch it. OK. Now relax your arm, your elbow."

The casting director is obviously annoyed at her. The girl waiting next to me is giggling a little. I feel kinda bad for the girl on set. She is basically getting ripped to shreds. I unbutton my shirt while I wait and practice touching my boob. The casting director notices I am practicing and gives me a nod.

A few things come to mind about the girl on set.
She really COULD USE this campaign as awareness for herself. She is acting like she never gave herself a breast exam in her life. She has no idea what she is doing, what the casting is for, or why she has to touch her boob. She isn't going to get this job.

Casting directors like it when "You know what you are doing." Like agents in print modeling, casting directors don't like to "teach the models," or "repeat themselves 1000's or times."

When the casting director says, "Ok Jade!" "Let's do this." I do.
I am comfortable with my body, have done many "body part modeling jobs" and as a model I am used to being in situations where you have to do things that would be un-normal for most people. Like show my legs, my hands, my feet, my butt, my torso, everything basically for castings and on the job for magazine editorial and campaigns.
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The reason I am sharing this is because it is important for a model to "know what the casting involves." For this casting above my agency sent me a VERY detailed email about what it involved ahead of time. Maybe the girl on set hadn't fully read it or understood? However, whatever you are holding, touching, using, wearing, or modeling, you need t know how to relax, how to become natural, and especially when it comes to your hands...never be stiff.

Who knows if I will get the job, but I know that if I don't it won't be because I was tense.

~ isobella

Modeling with your body with products-parts modeling

As a body parts model I have learned clever ways to cover my body for modeling jobs. Here are some examples of how I posed with a product, whether modeling handbags, jewelry, or shoes or a chair. Also cropping a photo can help to make it have a more commercial print or editorial, appeal.