6 ms·

Checked the cvdazzle site. Why do these models - and models on "high fashion" photos in general - look always like they feel deep contempt towards the viewer? W

Checked the cvdazzle site. Why do these models - and models on "high fashion" photos in general - look always like they feel deep contempt towards the viewer? Where did this trope come from? What are they trying to suggest? I don't get it.

cardiffspaceman 8y ago
> What are they trying to suggest? That smiling pleasantly is hard
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
yellowapple 8y ago
If I had to pose for a camera while wearing ridiculous-looking clothes and/or makeup, I'd have some pretty deep contempt for everyone involved (including the viewer) as well.
- the-pigeon 8y ago
  If you are a model then you choose the wrong career path...
  - scotu 8y ago
    not everybody has the luxury of doing what they like in life...
    - jsonne 8y ago
      While that may be true modeling certainly doesn't fall into that category of professions.
      - yellowapple 8y ago
        It actually does, and with surprising frequency. Professional models in the high-fashion world often endure considerable amounts of work-related stress, and the decision to do a particular job is often less of an "I like doing this" and more of an "I have to do this to stay relevant / make ends meet / satisfy contract obligations / etc.". Even a seemingly-normal photoshoot can end up being excessively taxing both physically and mentally; the viewer only sees the end result, not the hours of standing around holding poses while the photographers try to get the photo oh so perfect or the hours of wardrobe and makeup prep or the overwhelming pressure to not eat (or - worse - to purge after meals) in order to remain palatable to the mass market and its unrealistic-bordering-on-downright-impossible body image expectations. My original comment was a lame joke, sure, but it's one with a disturbing amount of truth behind it. Not all models like being models. I'd wager that hating the job might even be the norm. It has a high potential to be excessively stressful and even outright degrading, not to mention that it's a hotbed for shady business practices, outright fraud, and abuse (psychological, physical, and sexual alike). It's a career path notorious for its workers having little to no bargaining power. I suspect that the folks voting my comment down don't actually know how shitty of a job modeling can be. I don't blame them for not knowing; on the surface, being a model seems fun and glamorous, right? Never mind that - like how office work is (usually) more than sitting around playing Solitaire all day - professional modeling is (usually) more than just hanging out all day and getting the occasional photo taken real quick (there is no "real quick" to these sorts of photo shoots). Just my two cents.
aaronbrethorst 8y ago
http://theconversation.com/why-fashion-models-dont-smile-53658 http://theconversation.com/why-fashion-models-dont-smile-536...
danharaj 8y ago
They're trying to have a neutral face so it doesn't distract from what they're modelling.
- tzahola 8y ago
  But it's not a neutral face. It's a face of disdain and contempt. This is a neutral face: https://cdn.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/styles/article-inline-half/public/field_blog_entry_images/shutterstock_114522091.jpg?itok=a7EVvRFs https://cdn.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/styles/a... And this is the face of disdain I'm talking about: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSGkhmT2x0fhKItaDSLmrBPiDSaHYt2TccXHGNV4_5aPWpXIsxlZg https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSGkhmT...
  - phs318u 8y ago
    I know this is subjective but I just don’t see “disdain and contempt” (which assumes the model is trying to communicate something about the viewer) in the sample you provided. I see possibly “secretiveness” and “a challenging disposition” (I assume the model is trying to convey something about herself).
  - thebooktocome 8y ago
    They both look neutral to me?
  - Pfhreak 8y ago
    I don't see that second picture on the cv dazzle site at all. All the pictures I see on cv are unquestionably neutral in disposition.
    - tzahola 8y ago
      Ok, here's an example from the cvdazzle site: https://cvdazzle.com/assets/img/coreana/coreana-04-copyright-cha-hyun-seo.jpg https://cvdazzle.com/assets/img/coreana/coreana-04-copyright...

cardiffspaceman 8y ago

> What are they trying to suggest? That smiling pleasantly is hard

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

yellowapple 8y ago

If I had to pose for a camera while wearing ridiculous-looking clothes and/or makeup, I'd have some pretty deep contempt for everyone involved (including the viewer) as well.

the-pigeon 8y ago
If you are a model then you choose the wrong career path...
- scotu 8y ago
  not everybody has the luxury of doing what they like in life...
  - jsonne 8y ago
    While that may be true modeling certainly doesn't fall into that category of professions.
    - yellowapple 8y ago
      It actually does, and with surprising frequency. Professional models in the high-fashion world often endure considerable amounts of work-related stress, and the decision to do a particular job is often less of an "I like doing this" and more of an "I have to do this to stay relevant / make ends meet / satisfy contract obligations / etc.". Even a seemingly-normal photoshoot can end up being excessively taxing both physically and mentally; the viewer only sees the end result, not the hours of standing around holding poses while the photographers try to get the photo oh so perfect or the hours of wardrobe and makeup prep or the overwhelming pressure to not eat (or - worse - to purge after meals) in order to remain palatable to the mass market and its unrealistic-bordering-on-downright-impossible body image expectations. My original comment was a lame joke, sure, but it's one with a disturbing amount of truth behind it. Not all models like being models. I'd wager that hating the job might even be the norm. It has a high potential to be excessively stressful and even outright degrading, not to mention that it's a hotbed for shady business practices, outright fraud, and abuse (psychological, physical, and sexual alike). It's a career path notorious for its workers having little to no bargaining power. I suspect that the folks voting my comment down don't actually know how shitty of a job modeling can be. I don't blame them for not knowing; on the surface, being a model seems fun and glamorous, right? Never mind that - like how office work is (usually) more than sitting around playing Solitaire all day - professional modeling is (usually) more than just hanging out all day and getting the occasional photo taken real quick (there is no "real quick" to these sorts of photo shoots). Just my two cents.

aaronbrethorst 8y ago

http://theconversation.com/why-fashion-models-dont-smile-53658 http://theconversation.com/why-fashion-models-dont-smile-536...

danharaj 8y ago

They're trying to have a neutral face so it doesn't distract from what they're modelling.

tzahola 8y ago
But it's not a neutral face. It's a face of disdain and contempt. This is a neutral face: https://cdn.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/styles/article-inline-half/public/field_blog_entry_images/shutterstock_114522091.jpg?itok=a7EVvRFs https://cdn.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/styles/a... And this is the face of disdain I'm talking about: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSGkhmT2x0fhKItaDSLmrBPiDSaHYt2TccXHGNV4_5aPWpXIsxlZg https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSGkhmT...
- phs318u 8y ago
  I know this is subjective but I just don’t see “disdain and contempt” (which assumes the model is trying to communicate something about the viewer) in the sample you provided. I see possibly “secretiveness” and “a challenging disposition” (I assume the model is trying to convey something about herself).
- thebooktocome 8y ago
  They both look neutral to me?
- Pfhreak 8y ago
  I don't see that second picture on the cv dazzle site at all. All the pictures I see on cv are unquestionably neutral in disposition.
  - tzahola 8y ago
    Ok, here's an example from the cvdazzle site: https://cvdazzle.com/assets/img/coreana/coreana-04-copyright-cha-hyun-seo.jpg https://cvdazzle.com/assets/img/coreana/coreana-04-copyright...