Maria Dionisiou Photo Shoot

   If you think the process of putting together a look book is easy, you're sadly mistaken. On Saturday, Ada Mitchev, Skyler Oates, Mariah Janos and I were featured in Maria Dionisiou's fall/winter 2010-11 photo shoot for her line of coats. We worked from about noon to eight at night and it was one of the most tiring days I've ever withstood. We shot 32 looks all together in Carsten Fleck's Brooklyn studio and outside in a local park. You wouldn't think posing and changing outfits would be too much work, but by the end of the day everyone wanted to go home and be done with it.

 

   The process of hair and make up also took forever and it was difficult to sit in a chair for long periods of time. Mariah and I woke up around 7:30 in the morning, showered did hair and make up for about an hour then left for Brooklyn. Traffic was backed up so much and it took us forever to get through the Holland Tunnel. By the time we arrived at the studio, we were already tired but it was just getting started. Hair needed to be redone and make up needed to be touched up before we could even change into Maria D's designs. The stylist had to fit us and then coordinate outfits which took a long time also. By the time we actually started shooting with the photographer it was 2:00, and we had been getting ready 8 hours prior to the start of the shoot.

   Once the camera started rolling, we started to have a blast. I was paired up with Skyler, a 5'9" experienced model who taught me so much. She was one of the nicest people you could ever work with and she was extremely gorgeous and such a great model. Ada and Mariah were paired up and they made a great pair because of their similar heights. Of course the shoot was hectic, and it got tense every once and a while when the models became argumentative towards Maria and complained about the clothes she was dressing us in. 

   As the day progressed, everyone began to know each other and become familiar with the way all of the girls were modeling. Carsten made everyone feel so comfortable in front of the camera as if it were your thousandth time modeling. He would dance with us and tell us just to be ourselves and he would photograph that. I can't wait to see the pictures Maria and Carsten select for her look book!

   All in all, it was a great weekend in NYC and I learned that modeling is a lot harder than most people think. I went in with the idea we'd be out of the studio in 2 hours - wrong. Staying with Maria (the designer) was a fun experience because we got to see what she does when she goes to work, what a designer's apartment looks like and we most importantly got to experience New York City in a whole new way. I'm crossing my fingers that all of us models will be able to reunite soon because we all connected so well. 

   Overall, New York is amazing and the fashion there is impeccable. Every corner you turn you see people in unique clothing and you see models everywhere. On the way back from my shoot, there was a shoot going on on Park Avenue with professionals who looked so cool. I hope to experience that all again and now I know how difficult a career in modeling actually is. That's all for now.

XOXO ZM