Simone's Bluefly Shoot | ANTM Shoot | ANTM Girl | ANTM Models | Models Dress | Show of ANTM | Highlight of ANTM Show | Fashion Show | Fashion of ANTM | Philosophical Ponder | Popeye arm flex | Spring look Model | Photo Shoot of ANTM | ANTM Photo Shoot | Bluefly Offices
When we're casting models at Bluefly, we're looking for girls who know how to move. The right poses highlight the clothes while still looking natural. So when the ANTM girls came in, we told them to walk for us and show us how they'd move in a dress.
One girl did the Popeye arm flex. Another girl told us how she would pose. I was like: "Are you looking to be in radio or trying to be a model?" I had to wonder if these girls were serious. I found my inner Kramer as I wanted to scream: "Poise, girls, poise! Poise is everything!!" For the girls who did move well, something else was off. Some were extremely thin while others had bad skin or looked too pale for a spring look.
I was really panicking that I'd have to suffer through coaching a sub-par model during the eventual photo shoot, until Simone showed up. She was definitely the strongest girl of the group. Yes, Simone was a bit green when it came to posing, but she has a great body, a flawless face, and she was the most professional. I knew she was taking this go-see seriously, and both Melissa (our CEO), and I felt she would work best for the Resort shoot we had planned.
On Shoot Day, it was like some Secret Service mission around the Bluefly offices -- minus the men in black suits. Simone and the ANTM crew snuck in at night so no one would see the winner of the challenge. It started off cool: Simone came out of hair & make-up looking flawless as expected. We had to coach her a little bit on the posing, but I also expected that. We broke for dinner, I saw her eat; everything seemed fine. I turned my back for a second and when I looked for her, she had taken off! I found her on our kitchen floor surrounded by cameras! She explained that she was feeling dizzy and needed a minute.
The ANTM shoot had our studio packed, and between the cameramen and producers tailing her every movement we had more than double the amount of people we usually have during shoots. I image this can be overwhelming to any girl.
Anyhoo, I took Simone out of the photo studio, and brought her into my office for a breather. We could not shake the cameras! The crew was all over us as our stylist Tanesha fanned Simone with the French Vogue on my desk. I gave the girl a Coke to sip and the cameraman shouted: "Hide the Coke can!" Through it all, Simone kept apologizing. She was sweet.
As she pulled herself together, she looked at the board in my office pinned with model cards. She asked me if these were the "real girls" we use in our photo shoots. After a nanosecond of philosophical ponder, I wondered if she meant "real girls" as in not model types, or "real models" -- either way, coming from a reality show star, I had to smirk at the irony.
After she took her moment, we returned to the studio and coached her through the rest of the shoot. Simone needed to take direction better; she meant well and wanted to nail it, but she didn't give me much variation in her facial expression. I kept wondering "What happened to practicing Tyra's "smize" routine?" However, in the end, we got some shots of her that we were all really happy with! She looked perfect in the jumpsuit and the way the dress moved on her: amazing!
Tags: Simone's Bluefly Shoot, ANTM Shoot, ANTM Girl, ANTM Models, Models Dress, Show of ANTM, Highlight of ANTM Show, Fashion Show, Fashion of ANTM, Philosophical Ponder, Popeye arm flex, Spring look Model, Photo Shoot of ANTM, ANTM Photo Shoot, Bluefly Offices
