Updating the Portfolio

 Updating the portfolio with a more "North American" approach

Shooting in Toronto is definitely different than anywhere in Asia. The most skin I ever showed in any country in Asia was the equivalent of wearing a modest bathing suit. There was also a lot more smiling in photos – especially in Bangkok. Fashion shoots here tend to venture into a more scantily clad area as you'll see in the photos below.

People ask me if it is weird to find topless photos of myself on Facebookbut really, with the amount I'm covering myself, I’m showing less cleavage than the average girl’s profile picture. But while one is deemed socially acceptable, the other is met with skepticism. I admit that I’ve withheld from uploading certain pictures on to my Facebook page. Not because I’m ashamed of my body but because of  the social stigma that would come with them. Maybe there is a time and place for certain images, and maybe Facebook isn’t always it. 

In my last post I mentioned that the questions of wearing fur or having tattoos are common ones for models. There are two more that appear commonly in contracts and on casting sheets: Will you pose nude, or in lingerie? It is always up to the model to do what she is comfortable with. When people talk about modeling taking away the innocence of young girls, I can’t say they are incorrect, but I would lay the blame more on the social life of a model rather than jobs. A model can always say no. I have been lucky that I have not been put in any uncomfortable situations, but I’ve always had bookers that assured me that I could call them if I was ever unsure about something on set. I won’t deny there aren’t sketchy situations in the industry, I’ve heard the stories, but I have always managed to stay out of them - in a professional capacity at least. Maybe I can credit that to working mostly in Asia where, like I said, there is much more modesty.

But to those questions, I usually answer no to the first and yes to the latter. Not because I am against nudity, but because I am cautious about how I do it. I don’t mind posing ‘nude’ if I am still covered where it matters. The pictures in this post are from a simple test shoot where I didn’t mind at all shedding my top at the reassurance that I could cover myself. I felt comfortable in the situation and with the photographer, who I have since worked with again.

Photos from a recent rest shoot with Anthony James Giura

 

Photography- Anthony James photography
Model- Therese MacCallum, Elite Model Management Toronto
Makeup & Hair- Samantha Pickles

DeuxFace Campaign

A not so lazy Sunday shoot for DeuxFace

Once the snowstorm stopped, this weekend turned out quite well. After I came out of my day and a half hibernation, I made up for it by wandering and exploring the city for almost three hours with a friend. And because it is such a small world, I caught up with a friend I had made in Tokyo who just happened to have recently moved to Toronto. Toronto is definitely a city with potential; somehow it just feels fuller than Vancouver.

I also shot an eyeglass campaign yesterday for DeuxFace eyewear. These glasses made me wish I wore a pair myself. I’m not one to wear glasses when I don’t need them but I feel like I’m missing out on an accessory here! I modeled three different pairs as we tried out three different looks. In the end only one picture will be used as this campaign is going up guerilla style. I’m talking poster sniping all around Toronto and Montreal. I’ll definitely find out some of the locations and look for them come April. But for now I have some behind the scenes photos thanks to a lovely makeup artist that offered to use my phone to take some pictures while I worked.

A good team makes any shoot. I pretty much do something along the same lines at every job; the concepts might change but in the end I am posing for pictures. It's really the team that I'm working with on a job that makes or breaks a job for me. Yesterday we have a fantastic team with the talented Jake Rosenberg (of The Coveteur fame) on photography, Pheinixx of Pencil Designs as creative director, and the wonderful Sheri Stroh and Sansyrae St. Martin on hair/makeup and wardrobe styling along with the designer of DeuxFace and other clever people assisting.

All the pictures that I am in were taken by Sheri - thank you Sheri! - the rest are from my point of view

 

Working in my Underwear

Stripping down for my first day in Toronto

I am currently sitting in my new apartment munching on almond clusters and drinking green tea, so you can see, I have basically made myself at home here in Toronto. I could be out exploring but right now I am in need of rest. I got a lot of exploring in yesterday, not all of it intentional.

I walked to the Elite office in the morning to meet everyone, take digitals, and switch my pictures into my new portfolio and then I had to travel over an hour outside of downtown for a photo shoot. I’m still not sure how I managed to end up on the wrong bus but I did. All I can say is thank god I’m still in Canada so I could use Google maps on my phone. After well over an hour of traveling, I ended up hopping off the bus when it was neighbouring the location and calling a taxi take me the rest of the way – which by then only took ten minutes. It was stressful to say the least (I hate being late) and very cold as this adventure took place in -15 degree weather and light snow.

But I made it to my shoot and the day became much improved. The team at the shoot was very easy-going and fun. Jennifer did some amazing makeup on me and shooting with Desiree was close to effortless.  I also shot a couple of photos with a fellow model at Elite. Luckily we hit it off because we were basically still introducing ourselves while we wrapped our arms around each other’s lingerie-clad bodies for the pictures. There is no room for shyness at photo shoots.

I always love to have fun on my shoots so when Desiree mentioned having a stuffed version of a character from What The Duck and that photographers at Humber College have been incorporating him into their shoots for a contest I immediately offered to take a shot with him.