Jessica L wrote:

UH OH...should I ask what you mean by that???LOL

Yea, I wanna know what he meant, too!

Hamza wrote:
My point is that you Probably have already had sex, if you are not having it on a regular basis, so being in Lingerie is NO BIG DEAL.  You don't have to answer, I don't care if you have had sex or not, it's not the point.  You are a pretty sexy YOUNG WOMAN and if you want to pose in Lingerie I say go for it.  It would round out your Comp Card nicely. (Emphasis Added)

I have largely stayed out of this thread because every time a teen asks a serious question about lingerie, it becomes a thread with chest thumping about morals rather than a discussion about the pros and cons of a teen creating an adult image at a younger age. 

However, I have to say, while I am sure you meant nothing by it, this comment by Hamza is one of the most inappropriate that I have read for a long time.

To suggest that a model must be sexually active or an exhibitionist simply because she has modeled in lingerie is a fallback to the dark ages.

Tawny Heath wrote:
Well I appreciate your compliments, but your assumptions are wrong. Just because I can present confidence with my sexuality doesnt mean I have ever had sex. I dont see anything wrong with having some sex appeal as a model at 17, but having sex at 17 isnt right for me.

YOU GO GIRL!  Being a model and being sexually active have nothing to do with each other.   One does not lower their moral standards simply because they get in front of the camera.

In NYC, we have 13 and 14 year olds walking down the runway.  Do you think they have a special dressing room for them in the back because they are young?  Of course not.  They are dressing in the crowded room along with everyone else.

Would we suggest because a 13 year old is being dressed by a male, she will go out and have sex? 

Some years back, Cosmo put a fifteen year old topless in the magazine and there were questions asked by the media.  Their official response was to yawn.

As has already been pointed out, Victoria's Secret and Sports Illustrated have used seventeen year olds so many times.  So let's get off our horse about morality.

She is not asking about getting in Playboy or doing porn.  She is not suggesting that she do sheer, reveailing lingerie.  This is not about decency laws.  The question she is asking is whether it is appropriate for her, as a seventeen year old to do lingerie.  She certainly didn't ask if it was time to start having sex.

The question is not about legality nor morality, it is about how you want to portray yourself as a model.  You are only 5'7" which means you will probably not be leading a career in fashion (although it has happened a few times at that height).  That means commercial modeling in L.A., Chicago or NYC if you are heading to one of the big markets.

So it comes down to how you want your image to be?  At seventeen, with your great look, you need a good body shot in your book.  As has been pointed out, swimwear is fine but appropriate lingerie is acceptable as well.

In the end, are you going after sexier side of commercial or the business side?  Will you model fitness and the edgy or are you looking for cookware and computers?  It is a lot about the image you want to portray.

A good, well rounded book for a commercial model will have a clear headshot, a good body shot, some lifestyle photos and some which are particularly commercial.  Tearsheets are important, but that is putting the cart before the horse.  The photos you pick will define the image of how the industry sees you.

Are you looking to be seventeen or do you want to market yourself for the older market?  Only you can answer those questions.  You mght want to see out some agents and then ask them how they want you portrayed.

It is not a quesiton of what is morally right, it is about where you will fit into the market.  In the end it is a question for which there is really no right or wrong answer.  There is only the choice you decide to make and how the industry eventually sees you.

Good luck to you.  I know you will do well.

Louis Braga wrote:
Your portfolio looks great as is ...
NO need to rush into lingiere ...
It will do you NO good ...

No? It will do no good to get booked for runway work (baring height requirements)? Or no good to be considered for VS (if she so desires)? If it can generate work (meaning "paying work") then it is fine. She seems to have a good head on her shoulders and doesn't look like she will be easily coerced into anything she or her mom doesn't want her to do.

UnoMundo Photography wrote:
Yes!  17 is too young for lingerie!   standards people standards!

What standards? Yours? Or the modeling industry, where some might say she is a late starter. The "standards" for modeling seem to be way different than your "moral" standard.

James Berglie wrote:
Id have to agree with the people who say stick with binkin shots....  and get an agency and they will tell you what you need. 

james

If she's looking to be in VS, then lingerie shots are a viable marketing tool for her. Again, she seems to know what she wants and it doesn't look like GWC are going to be able to coax her into "sleazy" lingerie shoots.


As for the oringinal question, no, 17 is not too young for lingerie shooting and to go a step further, and I'm not suggesting that you do this, your lingerie shot(s) are too tame for what 15, 16, 17 year old lingerie models (models that make a living modeling). So, you should not worry about your plans (they are sound) and definitley not worry what a bunch of photographers say on a website but do what you (and your parent(s) ) think is right. You seem to have it right so far.

Frank Rehm wrote:
Yes... you should not even own any lingerie at that young age....

wow
unless that was some heavy sarcasm, you're seriously not living in the real world.

DeBoer Photography wrote:

You are confusing "morals" with advice to keep her options open.  For a national lingerie ad, that pays thousands, sure, I'd shoot her in a heartbeat and would recommend that she do the same.

Note that you are throwing in the "national lingerie ad" part.

- Denoy

Yes, I threw in the "national ad" in there for a reason. It seems to the morally correct folks that as long as there is a big pay check and some prestige from the shoot that it becomes alright to shoot a minor in lingerie. That's almost as bad as telling her that she shouldn't get naked for the camera unless it's for a blockbuster movie.

Seriously, if you're gonna press the morals issue, you have to stick with them otherwise why bother having them at all???

Personally, I don't think it's a big issue if Tawny wants to shoot in some lingerie as long as she is very tasteful about it. Having read her responses to this thread, I believe she has her head in the right place and isn't gonna shoot pictures that are gonna hurt her and her chances at other work.

Ed Remington wrote:

Personally, I don't think it's a big issue if Tawny wants to shoot in some lingerie as long as she is very tasteful about it. Having read her responses to this thread, I believe she has her head in the right place and isn't gonna shoot pictures that are gonna hurt her and her chances at other work.

I think I definitely have my head in the right place and won't do a shoot in anything or anywhere or with anyone that would compromise myself or my career.  Having said that, I am very new to the industry and want to make the right choices for myself and my career, so I am not sure what is acceptable for being 17 and modeling lingerie.  If I were 18 or older, I still wouldn't compromise myself by posing in anything that I wasn't comfortable in, no matter what the paycheck would be.  I think after much thought on this subject, I am going to finish getting my zeds together, without lingerie photos on them, just fashion and swimwear, and send them out to reputable agents whom I would like to represent me.  If they want to meet with me to possibly represent me, then I will have a few lingerie shots included in my portfolio, so they can see my diversibility.  Thank you everyone for all of your advice.
Xo!
Tawny

Tawny Heath wrote:
I think I definitely have my head in the right place and won't do a shoot in anything or anywhere or with anyone that would compromise myself or my career.  Having said that, I am very new to the industry and want to make the right choices for myself and my career, so I am not sure what is acceptable for being 17 and modeling lingerie.  If I were 18 or older, I still wouldn't compromise myself by posing in anything that I wasn't comfortable in, no matter what the paycheck would be.  I think after much thought on this subject, I am going to finish getting my zeds together, without lingerie photos on them, just fashion and swimwear, and send them out to reputable agents whom I would like to represent me.  If they want to meet with me to possibly represent me, then I will have a few lingerie shots included in my portfolio, so they can see my diversibility.  Thank you everyone for all of your advice.
Xo!
Tawny

Sounds great Tawny

Best of luck to you in your career!

Chili wrote:
in keeping with the less is more spirit, the answer is 'yes' (you are still too young)

That's for her and her parents to decide.  Not everyone is at the same maturuty level at the same age.

Glamour Boulevard wrote:
I see nothing wrong with it as long as you don`t do it in a sleazy way.Others here do have issues with it. Victorias secret  has been known to have runway and catalog models as young as 13-14-15 in the past.

Do you have an article or something that states that, because I find that VERY hard to believe and so far I haven't been able to find anything that states that.  The youngest I have been able to find has been Karolina Kurkova, at age 17 in 2001.

BasementStudios wrote:
Do you have an article or something that states that, because I find that VERY hard to believe and so far I haven't been able to find anything that states that.  The youngest I have been able to find has been Karolina Kurkova, at age 17 in 2001.

http://www.jurgita.com/models-id10368.html

In 1999, when she was 16, Isabeli appeared in the Victoria's Secret catalog. This generated a bit of a stir in the fashion world, since Victoria's Secret reportedly violated its policy of only hiring models that were 21 or older. But such controversy helped, rather than harmed, Isabeli's prospects, especially in an industry that worships youth to extremes. A case in point: Isabeli revealed that when she was 16, clients complained that she looked too young; when she was 17, they thought she looked too old. C'est la vie in the world of fashion.

James Jackson wrote:

http://www.jurgita.com/models-id10368.html

In 1999, when she was 16, Isabeli appeared in the Victoria's Secret catalog. This generated a bit of a stir in the fashion world, since Victoria's Secret reportedly violated its policy of only hiring models that were 21 or older. But such controversy helped, rather than harmed, Isabeli's prospects, especially in an industry that worships youth to extremes. A case in point: Isabeli revealed that when she was 16, clients complained that she looked too young; when she was 17, they thought she looked too old. C'est la vie in the world of fashion.

i find that my age is a problem sometimes. i am 17 very soon. people have told me how makeup ages female models. i know that i can look older than 17 in full makeup. im not saying that i look like 23 or anything, but just more sophisticated. yet others tell me my look is too young and im not what they are looking for. i get very confused. i dont know whether i should tell people if im 16 or 17 sometimes! in regards to the beginning of the post, i am wondering the same thing about whether or not i should have tasteful lingerie in my portfolio. all these posts have helped.

Tawny Heath wrote:
So, I just turned 17 about 3 weeks ago and I wanted to know if it was appropriate to have tasteful lingerie on my zed card and my portfolio or am I to young? I have one Lingerie picture of me on my picture gallery, and I think it looks tasteful and appropriate for my age...What do you think?

I wouldn't feel comfortable as the photographer. I don't see any minors modeling lingerie in any of the mainstream catalogs. Then again, I can't tell the age of any of them and you yourself don't look like a minor. But, in knowing that you're a minor, makes me feel uneasy doing anything beyond fashion, casual and swimwear.

Wild Horse Photography wrote:
I don't see any minors modeling lingerie in any of the mainstream catalogs.

"In 1999, when she was 16, Isabeli appeared in the Victoria's Secret catalog"

James Jackson wrote:
http://www.jurgita.com/models-id10368.html

In 1999, when she was 16, Isabeli appeared in the Victoria's Secret catalog. This generated a bit of a stir in the fashion world, since Victoria's Secret reportedly violated its policy of only hiring models that were 21 or older. But such controversy helped, rather than harmed, Isabeli's prospects, especially in an industry that worships youth to extremes. A case in point: Isabeli revealed that when she was 16, clients complained that she looked too young; when she was 17, they thought she looked too old. C'est la vie in the world of fashion.

Cool, thanks James, that covers the 16 year old but I still have to wonder about that 13 - 15 age group that was mentioned, guess I'll keep looking, but that's where I found the info about Karolina Kurkova.

James Jackson wrote:
Someone care to translate Duane Allen in to english?

Pass....I don't even want to attempt it!

amanda Irish wrote:
yes, you need to be 18

No...you do not...


People...please...work on your reading comprehension skills

amanda Irish wrote:
that is my opinion so you can't deny it.

Then state it as such...

"I think"

or

"In my opinion"

not

"It is"