So I've been fiending for models lately. How do you approach them differently? Any special things to look out for?
I came across a decent answer to the pros / cons question on Quora (http://www.quora.com/If-you-are-a-man-wh...ing-models) - pasted below:
Pros:
-- Models are almost always mellow in daily life. They're used to gliding through life without a ton of responsibility, and so they don't tend to be as high-strung as the average woman (or man, for that matter). They're in the moment, natural buddhists. The type A exceptions are the ones that start fashion/media empires (Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum) but the vast majority aren't like that at all. The cattiness you hear about is a tiny fraction of the elite models; most are just working stiffs like the rest of humanity, trying to get the next gig, as professional as they have to be.
-- They're not nearly as entitled as I, at least, thought they would be.
They're brutally realistic about their looks, where they stand with respect to other women, what's perfect and not-quite-perfect about themselves, etc. Even at their elite level of attractiveness, they've been picked over by hundreds of men and women, beaten out by other models, etc. In a sense, they've lived longer lives when it comes to looks; their experiences are hyper-compressed.
-- They tend to value you, as a guy, on something other than your looks, because they've spent time with male models and have fished those waters. If you're hot, you'll feel like less of a trophy yourself (than usual); if you're not, you may actually have a shot. And yet...
They will happily critique your style if you like, and have a really good eye, in general. Surprisingly, many are not all that aware of the season's specific trends on the men's side, but they've picked up a general sense of proportion and color and cut and fit.
-- They are REALLY fucking entertaining when you watch any kind of fashion or modeling show. It's amazing how much goes on behind the scenes and how much they can fill in the blanks. Not all models are fashion geeks in disguise, but most of them are, at least the ones I've dated. All women love to throw out opinions with these shows, but only models can do so with matter-of-fact credibility, rather than cognitive dissonance-fueled envy.
-- If you're susceptible to the siren call of external validation, you will be serenaded every moment of your public life. Guys will stare; their girlfriends will stare and then quickly glare at their mates; and random people will ask you what your secret is, if they don't just give you the smile and nod.
Cons:
-- Models are used to being objectified by men, and tend to be a little suspicious at first of your motives. It takes a little more effort to get through to them than to the average woman, in my experience. They 'test' you more at first, check to see if you're just a guy hunting for a trophy.
-- Models are, on average, average in everything else besides looks. They're not stupid or brilliant, not sweet or cruel, not cultured or boorish. Their looks set high expectations and their personalities usually fail to deliver. Imagine having a lunch with a billionaire....who turns out to be as boring as an accountant and leaves you peeking at your watch. It's a downer.
-- In the vein of hyper-compressed lives, they realize that they only have 5-10 good years in their current niche; then they need to make the transition into something else. There are far more commercials/ads that feature hot 23 year olds than those that feature attractive 35 year olds (think Lexus commercial). The other direction is going into fashion/design, and models are completely average when it comes to entrepreneurship. The few successes, like the two above, trick the thousands of others into believing that it's that easy. It's lottery psychology.
-- Back to the external validation from above; people will assume that you're just dating her for her looks, and no one will take her or the relationship seriously. Ever. It doesn't matter how much time they spend with her, or what you do together, etc. The attention from strangers gets incredibly tiresome after a while, and you start to understand why some women put off such an ice shield when in public. I was doing it myself after a while.
-- There are really just two archetypes in the mainstream modeling world for women: fashion model and swimsuit model. Fashion models usually are very tall, very skinny, usually flat-chested; swimsuit/lingerie models can be average-height and tend to have more of a classic hourglass shape. These are two tiny, limited corners of the wide landscape of actual feminine figures. This will sound downright bizarre, but after a while, those two body shapes start to seem ordinary, even boring. It's hard to explain. You don't start to see other body shapes as more attractive, but the aesthetic shock of 'perfection' wears off.
I came across a decent answer to the pros / cons question on Quora (http://www.quora.com/If-you-are-a-man-wh...ing-models) - pasted below:
Pros:
-- Models are almost always mellow in daily life. They're used to gliding through life without a ton of responsibility, and so they don't tend to be as high-strung as the average woman (or man, for that matter). They're in the moment, natural buddhists. The type A exceptions are the ones that start fashion/media empires (Tyra Banks, Heidi Klum) but the vast majority aren't like that at all. The cattiness you hear about is a tiny fraction of the elite models; most are just working stiffs like the rest of humanity, trying to get the next gig, as professional as they have to be.
-- They're not nearly as entitled as I, at least, thought they would be.
They're brutally realistic about their looks, where they stand with respect to other women, what's perfect and not-quite-perfect about themselves, etc. Even at their elite level of attractiveness, they've been picked over by hundreds of men and women, beaten out by other models, etc. In a sense, they've lived longer lives when it comes to looks; their experiences are hyper-compressed.
-- They tend to value you, as a guy, on something other than your looks, because they've spent time with male models and have fished those waters. If you're hot, you'll feel like less of a trophy yourself (than usual); if you're not, you may actually have a shot. And yet...
They will happily critique your style if you like, and have a really good eye, in general. Surprisingly, many are not all that aware of the season's specific trends on the men's side, but they've picked up a general sense of proportion and color and cut and fit.
-- They are REALLY fucking entertaining when you watch any kind of fashion or modeling show. It's amazing how much goes on behind the scenes and how much they can fill in the blanks. Not all models are fashion geeks in disguise, but most of them are, at least the ones I've dated. All women love to throw out opinions with these shows, but only models can do so with matter-of-fact credibility, rather than cognitive dissonance-fueled envy.
-- If you're susceptible to the siren call of external validation, you will be serenaded every moment of your public life. Guys will stare; their girlfriends will stare and then quickly glare at their mates; and random people will ask you what your secret is, if they don't just give you the smile and nod.
Cons:
-- Models are used to being objectified by men, and tend to be a little suspicious at first of your motives. It takes a little more effort to get through to them than to the average woman, in my experience. They 'test' you more at first, check to see if you're just a guy hunting for a trophy.
-- Models are, on average, average in everything else besides looks. They're not stupid or brilliant, not sweet or cruel, not cultured or boorish. Their looks set high expectations and their personalities usually fail to deliver. Imagine having a lunch with a billionaire....who turns out to be as boring as an accountant and leaves you peeking at your watch. It's a downer.
-- In the vein of hyper-compressed lives, they realize that they only have 5-10 good years in their current niche; then they need to make the transition into something else. There are far more commercials/ads that feature hot 23 year olds than those that feature attractive 35 year olds (think Lexus commercial). The other direction is going into fashion/design, and models are completely average when it comes to entrepreneurship. The few successes, like the two above, trick the thousands of others into believing that it's that easy. It's lottery psychology.
-- Back to the external validation from above; people will assume that you're just dating her for her looks, and no one will take her or the relationship seriously. Ever. It doesn't matter how much time they spend with her, or what you do together, etc. The attention from strangers gets incredibly tiresome after a while, and you start to understand why some women put off such an ice shield when in public. I was doing it myself after a while.
-- There are really just two archetypes in the mainstream modeling world for women: fashion model and swimsuit model. Fashion models usually are very tall, very skinny, usually flat-chested; swimsuit/lingerie models can be average-height and tend to have more of a classic hourglass shape. These are two tiny, limited corners of the wide landscape of actual feminine figures. This will sound downright bizarre, but after a while, those two body shapes start to seem ordinary, even boring. It's hard to explain. You don't start to see other body shapes as more attractive, but the aesthetic shock of 'perfection' wears off.
"A flower can not remain in bloom for years, but a garden can be cultivated to bloom throughout seasons and years." - xsplat
