Joceline, The Models Club Feature Model

Feature Model

Name:

Joceline

Based:

London

Height:

6' 1"

Bust:

36A

Waist:

Hips:

Dress:

Shoe

Hair:

Blonde

Eyes:

Blue/Grey

Birth sign:

Pisces

Music:

Ah, I love silly pop music; sillier the better.

Food:

Cake, Always

Film:

Ooh, The Night Porter. And American Beauty

Author:

Nancy Mitford, Stephen King, Toni Morrison

Destination:

Los Angeles, I like the photographers.

Introduction: Joceline is a professional model who's been working full-time in fashion, glamour and art-nude for 3 and a half years. She lives in London but travels worldwide in the search for really interesting work. Joceline trained originally as a ballet dancer, but got too tall. So she trained as an actress instead and discovered that modelling is a very small leap from there....

How did you get into modelling?

I was a STRUGGLING actress and I couldn't afford to get my headshots re-done. I was working in an office for £220 a week after finishing a theatre tour, and I wondered if a photographer might do my pictures in exchange for me posing for him. I was lucky, I contacted a really good professional (David Linaker) who hired a makeup artist, took some lovely shots, and gave me some advice about being a freelance model. I thought you needed an agent, so it

was a wonderful surprise! (all the agents had turned me down for being TOO TALL!) So I took a week off my temping job, did a couple of modelling assigments, and realised that I loved it at least as much as acting, and possibly more.

How did your first nude shoot go?

My first nude shoot was with Alex Ingram in the Highlands of Scotland. Being nude wasn't an issue for me at all, when I was

training as an actress we did nudity classes, when I graduated I got a couple of tv roles that involved nudity, and I had a sex scene with 'Casanova; on C4. Being OUTSIDE, in the cold, in December, was far harder than breaking the nudity barrier was. And I was never worried about my parents finding out, because they're incredibly comfortable with nudity - my mother is actually doing a naturist shoot with me later this summer! People sometimes ask if being naked makes you feel vulnerable, for me it makes me feel kind of powerful, I like it!

Do you prefer studio work or outdoor work?

Outdoor work does tend to yeald more interesting results, but I hate planning outdoor shoots in England - it's so hard to predict the weather, and it's normally just a bit too cold to be comfortable! I love to work outdoors if it's somewhere warm, the first time I worked in the Californian desert, I just took my clothes off a the beginning of the day, and didn't even think about putting them on

again until it got dark! That was wonderful. But if I'm working with a photographer who knows what he's doing, then I absolutely love studio work too. The precision you can get from studio lights is very interesting to me, I like to watch how a good photographer plays with light.

Have you done many shoots abroad?

Yes, I like to work abroad because I like to do the most diverse range of work possible, and for that, I think you have to travel. In

the last 3 years, I've worked in Botswana, Kenya, California, New York, Pheonix, Chicago, Florida, Spain, France, Switzerland, Portugal, Crete, Dubai, Prague, Worksop.... And I've loved it all. Sometimes I travel with British photographers for a specific shoot they want to do somewhere beautiful; sometimes I fly to Europe to work with a photographer at his studio. My favourite thing of all is to buy a ticket to somewhere far away, and then try to find photographers to work with!

What's the strangest thing you have been asked to do?

Hmmmm, depends on whether you mean 'Good Strange' or 'BAD Strange'. Bad strangeness includes a well-known fashion photographer telling me I needed to tell him all my sexual fantasies before we could shoot. HELLO? I had to kiss a plastic dummy once, which was kind of strange, but very fun. And being suspended upside-down for bondage shoots is CERTAINLY strange, but I love it anyway. I like strange shoots, no one wants to spend their whole

modelling career standing on a piece of white Colorama paper, smiling at the camera. I like weirdness :)

What do you like best about modelling?

Getting to work one-to-one with interesting, creative people who are comfortable sharing their feelings about what makes a beautiful picture. Some of the photographers I work with have become great friends, and I'm really happy to say that I like most of the people I work with very much indeed. Photographers are often really fun to

be around, and I love having creative input - I didn't have as much chance when I was an actress because there are so many more people involved in the decisions being made. When it's just the photographer and the model, you can collaberate, and it doesn't feel much like work!

Do you have a favourite kind of shoot?

Hmmm, I'm afraid my VERY favourite kind of shoot is bondage, the more challenging the better. But that's not really for professional

reasons! I like to do proper, classy fashion work because it's so easy to find interesting poses when you've got clothes on - you don't have to worry about the shot being too explicit, and you can try to find poses that show the clothes off particularly well. I also like over-the-top glamour - not normal bikini stuff, but really, raunchy, silly, excessive work, that can maybe be sexy and funny at the same time. And I love good art-nude, it's nice to do work that won't date too fast - and I like to be able to use my dance training.

Do you think you're a bit of an exhibitionist at heart?

I not exactly an exhibitionist - I don't like doing photoshoots in public places where people stop and watch because I know modelling poses look pretty stupid to a casual observer. But I'm definitely not shy....

What would you say is/are your best feature/s?

I like my hands best, probably - I think they're nice and expressive with long fingers. I worry about the way I look, I think most models

probably do. But I don't have any bits of me I can't stand having photographed. Not yet, anyway!

Has being on the web been a positive experience for you?

It's been amazingly positive for me. I love it that all photographers, from beginners through to well-known professionals can contact freelance models on the internet, and it's so easy to check people's references. And it's lovely to be able to find your own work, rather than waiting for your agent to ring. I'm not the kind of person who'd

be brave enough to call someone up and ask if they'd like me to model for them, so I love emailing - it's much less exposing.

Any tips for new photographers?

Don't feel apologetic about what you want to shoot - be honest with the model beforehand about what your requirements are, and give yourself a shoot plan so that you get all the pictures you're looking for. Don't be afraid of asking the model for advice, it's flattering to be asked, and I love helping new photographers to get good results.

Any tips for new models?

Don't work for free! I did two tfp shoots with professional photographers - one in a studio, one on location. Then I had a basic portfolio and I became a professional model. Also, check references, I've never had a bad experience with a photographer, but there's always a first time, so be careful. And if you're providing your own clothes for shoots, try to experiment with clothes you wouldn't normally wear - it makes the pictures more interesting and your portfolio will be more varied.

Plans for the future?

I'd love to carry on modelling in some form or another for the rest of my life. I know the work will change as I get older, and I might not always want to do it professionally, but I like the idea of being an old-lady model one day. In the meantime, I want to carry on travelling, and working with the photographers I like and whose work I respect.