» Sandra’s wedding dress
Sandra Omo reminds us that all is not glam during the first days of modelling
I remember the day I did my very first modelling job. It was far back in 2002, and I had just been chosen to be the face of a major wedding gown designer house in Lagos.
“Where was the make-up artist? Was there one on the way, I mean who was going to do me up?”
I did not go through any casting or audition, and I would not say I was scouted either as I was introduced by a relative of mine to the owner of the wedding gown boutique. So was it by connection then? I guess so. Nonetheless, it was a well paying job, and to begin my career like that, although I didn’t take it serious until five years later, really boosted my confidence.
When I met the designer, and owner of the wedding gown boutique, she was impressed and thought I fitted the idea she had in mind. I was asked to come in early the next day for the shoot. As I left home the next day, I was looking forward to a big shoot, like the ones I had watched on Fashion TV where there are huge camera crews, photographers, make-up artists, stylists and directors.
However, when I arrived, it was just the designer, a photographer with a non-digital camera, my relative and me. Just the four of us and no one else; I was disappointed. The first thing I asked, and what I was most concerned about, was the make-up artist. Was there one on the way, I mean who was going to do me up?
The designer looked at me and said laughingly, “go to the mirror and do your make-up the way you did it yesterday when I saw you.” What? Never in my life did I ever think I will appear in an advert wearing makeup by me. I mean I thought commercial shoots were always as I saw on Fashion TV. But my first experience taught me those were only the glam ones. Nonetheless, when the pictures came out in posters and billboards in major high streets, I was impressed and I made it my duty to tell everyone there was nothing glam about the shoot, it was just me wearing my everyday make-up.
Looking back at this experience today, I realise that my first job falls into a category that is not common with first jobs these days. I have spoken to countless models about their first jobs and their answers all fall into two categories: the majority, although they had the big crew and well airbrushed pictures did their first job for free, while the lucky few had it glam-glam (paid, big crews).
There is hardly anything in the middle, these days, where the model has a not so artificial shoot, but still gets the joy of earning as well as seeing herself on posters on a major high street, as the majority of the shoots these days do not get further than the internet. When I walk through high streets these days, the posters and billboards I see are all of famous people, and I am beginning to wish we were still in the years back where one could see faces of non-famous people on major commercials. You could walk the high street and point to a poster or a billboard and ask who the model on it is, and some one would reply, “she is not famous; it’s her first job.”
