On the morning of each shoot, one of the first things your Shoot Producer will do is the “Grooming Check”.
“The Grooming Check was easy-going. Giulia [Shoot Producer] said we could do it when I was ready. I read about this before so I was not surprised.” (Nina K, Jan 2023)
As you may recall, we do not use Photoshop to edit our images, and we do not allow makeup on shoots (because our customers want to see the “real you”). Trouble is, sometimes it’s a bit too real, ya know?
In the lead-up to the shoot, our Model Liaison team will ask you a few times to send images of yourself, so we can verify there’ll be no issues on the shoot day. Knowing about potential issues before the shoot day gives us time to address problems, meaning there’s less chance the shoot day will be canceled after you arrive on set – super annoying for everyone!
So, on the morning of the shoot, the Shoot Producer will ask you to get nude and then will inspect your body closely for possible grooming issues (if you prefer, you can do topless first, then put your top on and do “bottoms”).
“Brad [Shoot Producer] started with my face and worked his way down. At first, I kept my clothes on for him to check the things that could be checked while I was still wearing clothes. Then as the checking went on he asked me to remove my top and my clothing. He asked me if there were any grooming issues he should worry about and I was, like, “Yeah. This huge friend I developed on my chest!” So, we sent a picture where I used my finger for size reference. We waited to proceed until he heard back from Garion [Creative Director]. Then we were given the go-ahead.” (Oshun, May 2022)
If you’re booked to do a more-explicit shoot, your Shoot Producer will ask you to open your legs and labia. There’s never any touching, and it’s always professional. At most, it takes five minutes, but two minutes is more typical.
“Giulia [Shoot Producer] told me that she would not touch me and that she would just be looking. She was just looking to compare things to the photos that were approved before. Just comparing…At one of my shoots, she had to take and send photos [to her support team to check if she could proceed] and she deleted them when she was done” (Gizela, Sep 2021).
We make dozens of shoots each month, and around 97% of shoots go ahead as planned (because models shared images of themselves in the weeks leading up to the shoot day).
