The Internet has changed the world and the world of modeling. Let's first talk about Internet modeling and the explosion. First and foremost, in many ways, it has helped create a new generation of artist. The Internet has become a way for many models, photographers, and, yes, pimps (unfortunately) to make connections and do business. We cannot deny the fact that the pornography business is most likely one of America's highest profit-making exports. The World Wide Web all began so small, but it has since exploded. I can remember when there were maybe five message boards; now, there are thousands. I can remember when there were one or two modeling sites; now there are thousands. I can remember when it was such a small circle that I knew everyone.

It all started in the early nineties. Photographers are voyeurs by nature so the Internet provided them with the best way of being able to watch the world without being involved. This is one of the driving reasons that Internet modeling began to expand. It was the photographers who were tired of bookers with attitudes or who wanted to shoot something erotic, artistic, or just weird. They, being artists, would more often than not call the agency and, when they said they wanted to put hair gel all over a girl and have Christmas tree lights hanging from the ceiling and shoot it as art, the agencies would hang up the phone. So, for years, photographers had to use friends, lovers, or beg models to do the strange, artistic or erotic work they wanted to shoot. All of that changed, however, with the explosion of the Internet.

The internet was a place where established and even not so established photographers could post their work, their ideas, their dreams, their visions and their late night fantasies, and not have to worry about the old women who would gasp at the thought of what was being written.

The good thing is that there are a lot of strange, beautiful pictures that have been made because the photographers could find the alternative models.

When I first discovered the Internet modeling world, it was in its infancy. I was fourteen and the Internet was nothing. I wanted to be a fashion model, so I started posting pictures. Then, it started. Photographers wrote to me and other models wrote to me as well. Then, because of the Internet, an agency opened its door to me, so I had one foot in the Internet world and now one in the mainstream world.

The internet then had material which included porn, fine art, glamour, bondage, fetish, and more, but there were only a few sites and most were either the major companies opening websites or established photographers in fashion, commercial, and advertising who started using the internet for either their more creative or risqué projects or just to avoid the huge rates they would have to pay to find a model to do stock.

Eventually, I was adopted by the internet family, which is why people today say things to me like, "I can't go anywhere without seeing you." Well, after six years, I am not surprised. I have to say, if any model learned how to use, understand and take full advantage of the system, it was me. I quickly learned how to book myself solid day after day for years.

Let's go over the Internet and the various worlds that are brought together with regard to modeling and photography. The largest and most profitable world is most likely the adult industry. Nowadays, I would have to say that most of the girls and boys who get into pornography and the adult industry do it through the Internet. Most large and small adult video websites, cam rooms, and magazines use the Internet to find, book and recruit models. It is a well known and disturbing fact that a lot of the ones who seek they freshest models they can find (the ones who just turned 18) use chat rooms as well as message boards to find most of their models. They usually sugar coat what they're selling or they just don't tell the whole truth with regard to the nature of the shoot. More often than not a person's first experience in the adult world is where they are broken in so to speak. Most of the time they are young and naive and, because of that, they are easily swayed. The usual going rate is between three hundred and five hundred dollars for a shoot of adult nature. Once broken in, most producers pass their discoveries around, more so in LA than in New York I think. Most girls and boys are usually easily sucked in. Think about it. You go from making three hundred dollars a week to five hundred dollars in an hour. It is like a drug addiction for most. Once they cross the line they usually feel there is no use in trying to change it.

Then, there is glamour, which is another large money machine. Glamour consists of nude shoots without the toys or sex -- thinks Playboy. Glamour is much more limited. You have to be very attractive, fairly intelligent and also have a good personality to do glamour work. Glamour has more photographers wanting to shoot a nude girl and they are also willing to pay. There are a few very successful glamour sites, but not many. The good glamour models make most of their money from the high end modeling sites like, possibly, Playboy, HBO, and Cinemax. Sites like www.glamourmodels.com , www.garageglamour.com, www.vipmodel.com, and www.onemodelplace.com are the core sites for the glamour industry. Glamour models are usually girls who have some curves and meat, more Playboy than anything else. Most glamour models are older than the girls who end up in porn, but not all are. Glamour models can make a decent living without doing more than looking pretty and being cute if they have "the look." Most make a large chunk of their money through what is called amateur photographers and or private collectors. These pictures are usually what fashion photographer or just wealthy businessmen do as a hobby. I made a very large chunk of change when I gained ten pounds and did glamour for a second, but I could only take so much of pink lacy nighties.

Fine art and artistic nudes is another part of the industry. This part is made up of photographers who shoot work for galleries, art books, and/or for personal use. This work will bring models into contact with the more cerebral and intelligent group of photographers. Most of the photographers who shoot this type of content are fairly harmless and do it for artistic reasons. Fine art is a good place for models who are bookworms or artists to hang out in. Fine art is fairly competitive because many fashion models, ballet dancers, and actresses will do fine art and artistic nudes. The rates are usually between fifty and a hundred and fifty an hour, depending on the project and the model. Most of the work ends up in galleries, portfolios and sometimes on the Internet. Fine art is another area where many models can make a good amount of money shooting with people who do it as a hobby. Many CEOs of huge companies will shoot fine art as an artistic endeavor, which makes it a prime place for an intelligent and artistic model to be.

The body is key in fine art because youth and a very toned, often small, body is sought. I did a massive amount of work in this field over the years. Having ballet, dance and yoga in my life helped me a great deal. This world is also one of the safer ones to be in. In many ways, it is also more intellectually stimulating than fashion because it is about art and the body as art. You, of course, have to make sure they are really shooting fine art. I have had my share of photographers tell me they were shooting art and then when I would look at their portfolio, I would see differently. Some of the more known fine art sites are www.fineartfolios.com, www.creative-nude.net. Then there are sites like www.michelle7.com and, once again, www.onemodelplace.com that are among the most used sites for the fine art industry.

Fine art is a highly "word of mouth community," so a word of advice to models -- all of the photographers talk so if you play nice, it will open many doors for you. And, while I'm at it, a word of advice to photographers too -- the models all talk as well, so the same rule applies. It is a very community oriented industry. I got and continue to get most of my bookings through word of mouth.

Then, you have the world of amateur photographers. They are those who want to be photographers or they just want to get a girl naked. These can be tricky. If they really want to be photographers, they tend to be the nicest men on the earth, trying to learn and you, as a model, are their teacher. If, however, they are just trying to get into your pants, they can be the biggest mistake you can make. Needless to say, later on I will explain ways to separate the two of them.

When I was first starting my career, I worked with my fair share of the ones who wanted to be a photographer. They would usually pay an arm and a leg just to shoot an established model. They would also be very open to me having control of the use, or signing a piece of paper saying they wouldn't publish anything without my permission.

Amateur photographers can be a great way to pay the bills in between the dry spots of fashion or commercial modeling, as long as you do your research and avoid those who are just trying to get laid. More on that later. Most amateur photographers tend to hang out on the glamour, fashion, fetish, and fine art boards. They are usually up front and honest about the fact that they are just starting out. The rates are usually between $50 to $150 per hour, depending on the model.

Then, there is the fetish industry, which ranges from foot fetish to stockings, from food to skirts. If you can think of it, there is most likely a fetish for it. A large portion of the fetish industry is just silly. I remember being paid to pop balloons when I was eighteen. I found it very amusing. Most fetish models also do fine art work and most fetish sites look for models at the glamour or fine art sites. Most of the people who shoot the tame fetish work are adults who don't want to grow up, making it a very almost fairy tale world of bizarre adventures. I will expand upon this later too. Most work is through word of mouth or off the usual big alternative modeling boards. The rates are about the same -- from fifty and hour to two hundred an hour. The industry goes from beautiful like SKIN TWO and DEMASK, to just silly ones like sites that involve popping balloons and whipped cream. I found the soft side of fetish, which could also be artistic images in corsets or smoking cigars or dressing up in a maid's outfit, to be mostly harmless. Most of the people are super intelligent and somewhat on the geek side of the fence, which makes for interesting conversations between takes.

Then there is bondage. Bondage modeling is only for those who can deal with pain and a little discomfort. I know many models who used bondage modeling to get out of the adult industry. However, as usual, there are the good ones and the bad ones within this industry. One of the best ways to survive the industry is to connect with someone in it. Most of the time, the known models are willing to fill you in on the details. Within the bondage industry, the top American bondage producers are people like www.tiedgirls.com, www.bondagecafe.com, www.shortfuse.com, and www.nybound.com. They are the sites that I consider to be the godfathers of the industry. They have been around forever and have very solid reputations. If they don't hire you, if you ask nicely, they will more often than not tell you who is okay and who isn't okay to work with. The bondage industry does have danger in it. I have heard stories of girls having there arms dislocated or otherwise injured, as well as bondage producers who are NOT about making images and running a business, but, rather, are about the pain and suffering of women. These are the producers that you can learn about by word of mouth. You do have to be careful because there is danger out there, and it can be pretty bad if the wrong person ties you up. But, it can be a safe place if you are smart and play on the safe side of the fence. Just like any other industry. I will later go into further details of this industry. The rates in the bondage-modeling world are a hundred to a hundred and fifty an hour. The work is all over the place -- some of it is tame and very Betty Paige in nature, but some of it looks much more painful than it is. Most of it is pretend and most of the time, the ropes don't hurt and it is more about pretending you are in pain. Most of the time it is more about how good of an actress you are than anything else. This industry I will cover in depth later on.

Then there is the fashion, commercial and life style work which can also be found on the web. More and more ad agencies, photographers and clients are going directly to models as opposed to through agencies. There are places like http://models.com, http://www.fashionbook.com/home.html, http://www.americamodels.com/eventsfr.html, http://www.modelresource.com/,
http://www.fashion.tripnet.se/index.htm, http://www.howtomodel.com/, http://www.modelspring.com/, http://www.ninemodels.com/, http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/model/model.html .

Also onemodelplace is a good place. I got picked up by an agency, several photographers and also got some print and runway work from one model place. More and more fashion models are using the net to connect directly with photographers as well as clients. Nowadays, it is easy to work direct. Getting a hold of people within the industry is very simple since every major or almost every major photographer is listed in here http://www.lebook.com/ Granted, if you aren't already known, it may be very difficult to get a response, but if you are known, it means dropping a package in the mail. Nothing too fancy. In addition, as a model or anyone in the industry, it is a "who is who" in many ways and has tons of beautiful work to look at.

I see in the future more and more models connecting and dealing with the photographers and clients directly and more and more models being more in control of their work. At this point, I still do both -- I work with agencies as well as directly. If an amazing photographer contacts me directly, I usually do my research and do a reference check. I have found another good thing to do is always meet for coffee and look at each other's books. One warning -- fashion photographers also are just as likely to try to get you naked as nude photographers. The only difference is the photographers on the net who want you to do nudes will often tell you up front; the fashion photographers will offer you wine and try to coax you into it being art, so, as always, be careful. Fashion either pays nothing or huge amounts. Testing and editorial pay nothing or next to nothing. Commercials pay very well and so does advertising. A shoot in Vogue for an editorial will usually pay around a hundred dollars, but you can make millions if you do an ad campaign for Calvin, or three thousand dollars a day for a big catalog (although lately, I have been hearing more days are being booked at fifteen hundred than three grand.) But, in order to get this work, you must remember that you are competing against millions, so the chances are slim.

The Internet takes down the walls. Nowadays, more than ever before, models are crossing lines, breaking rules -- and so are photographers. Fashion, fine art, fetish and glamour are all intermixing. Models are crossing back and forth which, in some ways is good, but in other ways, it can be dangerous (but so is the fashion industry, so, frankly, I suppose the rest of this will be stories of what I went through in my adventures in the wonderful world of modeling -- from one side of the fence to the other.

I was one of the first to basically say rules are made to be broken and a good model is a good model with or without her clothes. I learned many hard lessons and am still licking some wounds. I hope to share my experiences with all of you so that maybe it will prevent some of you from making the same mistakes I made. I also, despite my mistakes, managed to become successful. I fell, but I rose again. The process was a massive learning experience. Now, with the increase of models, people and society in general obsessed with the Internet, I thought there was no better time to write a book or series about that world -- an account coming from an eyewitness. I was there. I walked down all the roads. I tried it all (almost) and now I am on the other side and I will share my stories and experiences with the world

Jillian Ann

 

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