What is diversity, that is a good question isn’t it? And do we see enough of it?
 
The dictionary meaning:  The state of being diverse; variety: there was considerable diversity in the style of the reports.
• [in singular] a range of different things: newspapers were obliged to allow a diversity of views to be printed.
 
Makes interesting reading doesn’t it? So, do we have a wide range of models in the industry? The answer to that is yes and no, funny answer, some brands only use white Caucasian models some brands are happy to use a bag of all sorts in their advertising campaigns.
 
I use models who fit the brief and that I like, but that is generally the norm for most photographers. For LaMode Magazine I try not to use a model that has the same look from my last editorial. Which was one of the reasons I shot with Mariangel for this swim editorial for LaMode. Not to get side tracked the industry is trying very hard to use a diverse cross over of all models. Even plus size models which I think is interesting and not so interesting to write about, you have to remember that models are born with their looks not given to them. If you are born with the right genes to be a model then you may be lucky enough to work in the industry and if you aren’t ( let’s not get into why you can’t be a model) then it is not something you dwell on, you just have to accept the fact that it is something you can’t do and move on. But let’s talk about how diverse the industry can be and how it is not.
 
I love the fact that when you email an agency for a job you can get many different options from them. Modeling is about looks, hair colour, height etc even eye colour can come into it as well. But what it boils down to is if they look good in the clothes they will be wearing. Not everyone looks good in a maxi dress and not everyone looks good in a denim shorts. So this is why we must have diversity in the fashion industry. Most of the time it’s up to the brands that hire the models that make the final decisions to who they want in there campaign, commercial or what ever they want to hire the model for.
 
But some models do look good in everything and I mean everything. These are the models that are blissed with the looks and body to truly be models. Not all modelling agency’s have plus size models, and that is OK because this is a new niche for agency’s that has only become popular in the last 5-6 years. So to tie this in a bow and finish this off. The fashion industry is about change and it changes every season, so who knows we may yet have a huge diversity of models down under one day, lets hopes so.

Enjoy 

 
 
Well this was my second trip too the Gold Coast this year which was way back in early November. I love traveling to new places but then again who doesn’t?
 
Walking around or should I say driving around the Gold Coast, the thing is you really need a car to see everything as public transport isn’t that good.
 
So why am I returning too the Gold Cost. Firstly it was to do a couple of swim shoots then take in what the Gold Coast has to offer landscapes wise, so I decided to shoot a Culture editorial as well. I was able to take in the purity and beauty of what the Gold Coast has to offer. So after I had shot the two swim shoots, I decided to get into landscape mode and then start traveling from location to location around the Gold Coast, and shoot some eye catching images for this editorial.
 
When I get into that photographic mode for me it’s about natural light and capturing  dramatic and most eye catching images. It is not easy to shoot that sort of stuff when you are on a time limit as I was, but you make the most of what you have got and shoot with your eye so to speak and not to mention have some fun while you are doing it.
 
In a lot of ways shooting landscapes is like casting a model. You only want to work with the best landscapes that are photogenic and easy to work with, and have the best angels where ever you shoot. Sounds weird doesn’t it but it is true.
 
The flip side to that is you don’t have to worry about directing the model and shooting lots of images to get the final image that you want. It’s more about seeing the shot first then taking it, then once you have it on your computer it’s up to you to decide on if you should use it or not.  
 
I love shooting land/seascapes as it allows me to lose myself into another world and not worry about getting the shot in a limited time span. It is also a good way to learn photography, as your subject stands still and won’t talk back and it will only move if you want it too. It is also how I learnt photography way back when I first started taking pictures. The time of the day will dictate how your images will look when you have taken them. You learn how too take a light reading and add that to your settings on your camera. So too sum up this little piece, the Gold Coast is a very pretty and natural setting to take pictures it’s how and when you take them that will make or break how your images will be perceived
 

​Form, what is it? And I am talking about the female body. If it wasn’t for the female form I wouldn’t of written this blurb. As for that matter I don’t think I would of taken my photography as far as I have taken it. I love shooting female fashion and swimwear which was one of the reasons I started this online publication. I also love creating images that are eye catching and thought provoking. Neither of that would of happen without the female form.
 
So why do we find the female form so intriguing? Even woman love to look at woman, more often than not females are more critical of their own, rather than a bloke. I think socity has this pre-conceived idea with what we like to look at, as previously mentioned in my last editorial the media love to put in front of us what we want to look at rather than what we should be looking at. Having worked in this industry for so long now, I know that we all love to look at a pretty woman rather than Jane average, right?!! Well I will let you answer that one for yourself.
 
Moving forward with why we love the female form rather than the male one. I think it is that we tend to love to judge everything that is put in front of us, regardless if we like it or not? Right or wrong  again I will let you decide yourself. So I think to sum this up in a bow tie, I would love to put this to you, and that is we all have different body shapes and sizes, blokes, chicks, woman, men, girls or boys. We have one body that will change as we get older , and it is up to us to decide what we do with it. Do we stay in shape or do we just go with the flow and let your body change gracefully or do we put the time and effort into maintaining it so our form will be our own legacy forever??

 What is beauty? I think everyone has their own idea of what beauty is. I certainly do and I am pretty sure you do as well. Before I go any further I would like to ask you a couple of questions? How do you perceive what beauty is and how does society see it? Two totally different questions when you think about it and here is what I think what beauty is and in a way should be. 

What is beauty? Is it a Australian size 8-10 long hair, blue eyes and drop dead gorgeous. Or is it what goes on in the inside of your mind, regardless if you are a female or male. The media portrays the first thought hands down, just about every image that is used in advertising has a pretty decent looking person in it. Why do you ask?? ........because that is what society wants us to see. We don't want to look at a over weight person or someone that is not easy on the eye do we?? ( Or though plus size models have been around for a while now, but I will leave that for another editorial to write about ) We want to look at a beautiful person who has nice feature's and is something that we would all want to inspire be like, and that is physically beautiful.

But in my opinion it is what goes on the inside of your mind is what really makes a person beautiful. Or more to the point how they project there beauty that they have on the inside to the outside that will really make them beautiful. This is how I would like to see the media portray beauty but unfortunately it doesn't.

So I ask you this, the next time you meet what yo may think is a attractive person regardless if it is a male or female, do they project there beauty across to you? 

Swimwear brands-Allerton & Bella Swimwear
Photographer-Geoffrey Chuah
​Model-Louise Pollard