There is a common misconception among many aspiring models that «glamour modeling» is like they see in the pages of
Glamour Magazine. Sorry, those are fashion models or commercial models. A glamour model may do many kinds of
work, but all of them are based on the fact that she is pretty and attractive (unlike a fashion model, who may not be pretty, or commercial model, who may not be either pretty or attractive).
Some of them do promotional work: appearing in a bikini at a boat show, or in bars or special events to represent a liquor distributor. Some do «cheesecake» work: appearing in magazines which appeal to a male audience, adorning the product in a magazine (such as cars, boats and motorcycles) or appear in calendars. Many do nude work in magazines, or videos, or in the growing field of web site content. There is also the “glamour commercial model” whose appearance in an ad is intended to drive viewer attention to the page, where a message about the client’s product can be snuck in as well. The market for non-nude glamour models certainly exists, but it is rarely something that a model can make a living at, and generally does not pay as well as other modeling work. Most glamour models who do not do nudes will have no more than a few appearances in print, and virtually all of them are in New York, Miami or Los Angeles.
The requirements for being a «glamour model» are different from being a fashion or commercial model — generally any
attractive woman with an appealing body can qualify. Preferred age varies by the type of job, but is generally from 18 until the late twenties. Some glamour models have successful careers into their thirties, but they almost always became known prior to that. There are a very few specialized agencies for glamour models, but they exist in a small number of cities. Few glamour jobs are booked by agencies. Some glamour agencies do handle promotional or trade show jobs, but other glamour assignments generally are booked in other ways: through personal contacts, direct advertising and hiring by the client or photographer, and more recently, through the Internet. It is very common for a model to get such jobs through self-promotion, direct to magazines, clients or photographers. A growing number of them also are getting work through the Internet, using on-line model referral pages or modeling forums.
