Thread: Modeling bellydance costume?

I hope that this is the right forum for this question...

Does anyone know how one might break into modeling bellydance costumes? I have a good friend who is a budding photographer/model, and we were casually talking about this topic recently. We're both interested, so any advice, tips, or info would be absolutely appreciated! :shades:

Samiramirage would be your greatest resource there, she was the primary model for Dahlal for years.

But several of the bellydancestore.biz models are on Bhuz as well.

Originally Posted by Sitara9

I hope that this is the right forum for this question...

Does anyone know how one might break into modeling bellydance costumes? I have a good friend who is a budding photographer/model, and we were casually talking about this topic recently. We're both interested, so any advice, tips, or info would be absolutely appreciated! :shades:

Where are you ladies located? I use models on my site with new Eman Zaki collections and I actually may need a few more runway models for an upcoming runway show in Nov..g.:PM if you're near the SF bay area

Wow great question! I've been wondering about this myself....looking forward to seeing more responses!

Currently, I'm in the VA/MD/DC area. I used to live a few hours of SF, lol.

Many thanks already!

i really don't know how i got into being shahrzad's model LOL i guess she likes the way i pose :-D it's a lot of fun. it's playing dress up all day

Sitara9, you are relatively close to the bellydancestore.com . I PM'd you.

How much would a model be paided?

I had never thought of it as a job or anything. I wonder if most models are just friends of the designer or seller and it is like a "hey, come over here and put this on so I can take a photo" thing. I wonder if it is a business you can break into if you live in a different city than the people who need photos.

Originally Posted by lida

I had never thought of it as a job or anything. I wonder if most models are just friends of the designer or seller and it is like a "hey, come over here and put this on so I can take a photo" thing. I wonder if it is a business you can break into if you live in a different city than the people who need photos.

I *think* it depends on the size & image of the seller. Someone just starting out, or who's dealing with a lower price point, would probably just use friends, or maybe offer a discount to local dancers who model. Or put the costumes on a mannequin!

But the higher end sellers who have a lot invested in image are more likely to hire professional models to create the high-end look they're going for. Plus, they're going to be asking you to sweat under hot lights for a number of hours to photograph maybe dozens of costumes at once. Some of the costumes aren't going to fit you, and you're going to be squished, pushed, pulled, and poked. It would get tough to talk friends into it after the first couple of months!

Originally Posted by Lauren_

I *think* it depends on the size & image of the seller. Someone just starting out, or who's dealing with a lower price point, would probably just use friends, or maybe offer a discount to local dancers who model. Or put the costumes on a mannequin!

But the higher end sellers who have a lot invested in image are more likely to hire professional models to create the high-end look they're going for. Plus, they're going to be asking you to sweat under hot lights for a number of hours to photograph maybe dozens of costumes at once. Some of the costumes aren't going to fit you, and you're going to be squished, pushed, pulled, and poked. It would get tough to talk friends into it after the first couple of months!

It also depends on the model hired. I've seen some who are simply beautiful, but, in the words of my Egyptian friends "know nothing about dance"- which can be incredibly obvious just from stance. When I'm looking at belly dance costumes nothing turns me off faster than seeing a pose like this:
Victoria's Secret - NEW! The Marisa Fit pant in seasonless stretch
Which I've seen on many costume sites. Sure, she's beautiful and has long legs- but "knees apart" like this is not so much part of our dance vocabulary. I'd rather see a dancer. She doesn't have to be dancing, but conveying elegance and grace while showing the "important parts" of the costume would be a good start.
...then, poor vendors, sometimes deal with getting messages from some local dancers ..."when are you going to use myyyyyyy pictures" etc. So using dancers has it's challenges when there are some who are really really enthusiastic about appearing online.

Hi ladies, I just happened to stumble upon this and have a couple things to say about my own experience. I model for Dahlal Internationale. I started out modelling for Dahlal about 9 or 10 years ago, this was before her website and newsletter. Dahlal herself approached me and asked if I would pose in some of the costumes. It was nothing more than that.

I do know that Dahlal uses local St. Louis dancers exclusively. I now live in Hawaii and go in and shoot a couple of times a year, this is why sometimes I'm all over the place and sometimes I am not. As far as I understand, she sees local dancers in the community and invites them to shoot for her.

As far as my experience goes, I am pretty much the standard size "belly dancer" body size so that comes in handy for them. I am pretty much Pharonic's mannequin size. But like Lauren said, many of the costumes are a bit too big or too small and we make it work. I can wear anywhere from a small b cup up to a d if I have to (don't ask me how, its a mystery to all of us.) I sometimes feel like a sausage and sometimes have the belts wrapped halfway across my back. Its always a challenge to make it work.

The shoots are fun but a lot more work than you would think. Most of the shots you see are the ONLY one taken of that costume. Thats right, you usually get one chance to get it right, its not like there is a contact sheet with 50 shots of each costume and they picks the "best" one, so that can be a little bit of pressure. Time is of the essence and we have to try to get it right on the first shot. Its a really fun challenge.

We roll through dozens of costume in a day and at the end of it all I am usually ready to collapse. I more often than not end up shopping while I am there too, how could you not!?!

She could hire a stick thin non-dancers to model the costumes but I am personally glad she uses real dancers with a variety of body types. I agree that REAL dancers are so much better at presenting the costumes in a believable way, but maybe I am biased

I modeled for Sakkara several years ago.

Bauchtanzwelt sakkara

I responded to an ad on their website that they were looking for women, preferably dancers to model for their upcoming catalog. I sent in some pictures and was hired. I was paid since I had to travel a bit to get there, but all of the other models were local dancers or students who I think were paid in trade and discounted costumes. I know Moondance Belly Dance something similar, all the models on their site are local dancers and students, and I know some people on the site who got discounted items for allowing their pictures to be used on the website.

I don't think there's any big career in modeling belly dance costumes. You can periodically check vendor sites to see if they're looking for any models, and you might get some work that way. But I think many vendors use local dancers which I think is much better than professional models.

I actually want to do it for fun and to expand my portfolio. Costume discounts couldn't hurt either, lol. I fight ovarian cancer during my day job, so I'm not looking to model full time or anything. :) My friend who is a model/photographer is always searching for creative, new shoots; hence, our recent convo.

Thanks for all of the information, ladies. You're awesome!

Originally Posted by mathkitty

I modeled for Sakkara several years ago.

Bauchtanzwelt sakkara

I know Moondance Belly Dance something similar, all the models on their site are local dancers and students, and I know some people on the site who got discounted items for allowing their pictures to be used on the website.

I don't think there's any big career in modeling belly dance costumes. You can periodically check vendor sites to see if they're looking for any models, and you might get some work that way. But I think many vendors use local dancers which I think is much better than professional models.

I extend the costum discount to models as well..g.: I love featuring local dancers as my cover model on Cairo Couture because I like providing the exposure and I also think it's a great way to give back to the local community that really supports me. I'm currently working on a model bio page now...

I've been a fan of the headless model for my collection pages as well..l;,for practical reasons. Time is usually really limited and since I'm an amateur photographer I find that I can breeze thru a photo shoot of 10 costumes in a little over an hour if the model is aware that she doesn't have to model from the neck up. You should see some of the crazy faces that have been made at me..l;,

Originally Posted by SamiraShuruk

Victoria's Secret - NEW! The Marisa Fit pant in seasonless stretch
Which I've seen on many costume sites. Sure, she's beautiful and has long legs- but "knees apart" like this is not so much part of our dance vocabulary. I'd rather see a dancer. She doesn't have to be dancing, but conveying elegance and grace while showing the "important parts" of the costume would be a good start.
.

Samira I'm definitely guilty of this one..l;, Deep down I always wanted to have a career in fashion and having this boutique is a way for me to play in that world a little bit....so I can definitely say that it shines thru in the way that I market my costumes, boutique, and photo shoots....very self-serving, I know

I to would love to be a costume model for discounts! For those who model or own stores how much of a discount is offered?

From my experience, most Belly Dance shops prefer to use belly dancers. Models are great, but have NO idea how to pose in a Bedlah. The businesses I know, use local area dancers as costume models. The dancers do receive discounts or merchandise. They also get to have professional photos done, in beautiful costumes, done by professional photographers to use in their fliers and marketing. The business gets beautiful dancers posing and showcasing the costumes in a beautiful way. Everyone wins!

C'mon, Samira -- we all know the real reason you've been able to achieve international superstar status as a costume model is that your boobs are unnaturally high, so every costume you put on looks fabulous!

Seriously, Andrea and I saw your pics all over Cairo couturiers when we were there. They all work so hard to keep their collections secret from each other, the minute you hit the web wearing them, they print them out and start copying. So maybe they subconsciously design everything specifically to fit/flatter YOU since you're always in front of them when they're sketching.

Now that you've moved to Hawaii, all the costumes will be made to fit Penny and Loryn and Shara!

Originally Posted by Lauren_

C'mon, Samira -- we all know the real reason you've been able to achieve international superstar status as a costume model is that your boobs are unnaturally high, so every costume you put on looks fabulous!

Seriously, Andrea and I saw your pics all over Cairo couturiers when we were there. They all work so hard to keep their collections secret from each other, the minute you hit the web wearing them, they print them out and start copying. So maybe they subconsciously design everything specifically to fit/flatter YOU since you're always in front of them when they're sketching.

Now that you've moved to Hawaii, all the costumes will be made to fit Penny and Loryn and Shara!

Ha! Well, its true, my boobs are attached strangely high. They just grew that way. The down side of this is ALL of my costume straps need to be shortened. ,r:;

That is so funny, I have heard from a few people that my pics were floating around Egypt. I have been on more than one CD cover too, I guess its just too easy to grab a pic of the website and use it as the cover for "Egypt Belly Dancer Times Dance for Fun Volume 8" or whatever the latest bootleg happens to be.

I hope to do a shoot or 5 this winter so they aren't done with me yet! Penny, Loryn, Shara and I all such different body types its amazing how one costume looks on each of us. I always though that would be a fun feature, to show one costume on each of us. Well, except maybe Loryn as she was blessed to be a gorgeously curvy 5'11".

PS Not to get into detail here but Dahlal does pay all of her models in addition to a discount. She is such an established company and she values the work we do. I did, and continue to do modelling for other non-belly dance companies and insist on getting paid by them so this is no different. Not that most of us don't turn around and spend our money there! A newer or smaller scale company might work in discounts and it works out for everyone.

Originally Posted by samiramirage

Ha! Well, its true, my boobs are attached strangely high. They just grew that way.

So unfair. Mine came in strangely low and I've been working on them ever since. *goes to corner for 30 minute headstand*

Originally Posted by samiramirage

A newer or smaller scale company might work in discounts and it works out for everyone.

Yep, that's what I do. I can't afford to pay them, but they get a discount and a CD with all their pictures to do with as they will.

Hey Lauren, if that works you should make an instructional dvd call "Gravititty"!

I get on Where Professional Models Meet Model Photographers - ModelMayhem to find models for my non belly dance projects. You can find photographers on there, too.

I would model for discounts:) I modeled for a while in high school but really never found it to be much fun until I was a bit older. Now I model wedding dresses and formal wear. Nothing beats being able to get all prettied up and strutting around in beautiful clothes but not having to buy them. Of course if I was modeling dance costumes, i am sure I would be shopping while posing. I would probably be choreographing shows for each costume I put on:) My poor husband...he would never understand;)