“When a girl feels that she's perfectly groomed
and dressed she can forget that part of her. That's
charm. The more parts of yourself you can afford to
forget the more charm you have.”
--Marjorie, “Bernice Bobs Her Hair”
There’s a lesson many aspiring models and actresses
could stand to learn. Believe it or not, most
attractive women can successfully convey haughty
unattainability, so that’s not really a commodity
here in Hollywood. The real value is in modesty -
forgetting your appearance, as Bernice is counseled,
and letting your charm shine through. Sounds simple
enough, right? Apparently, however, it’s fairly
difficult because: (1) it’s incredibly rare, and (2)
it’s incredibly rare despite the success of women who
manage to pull it off.
Take for just one example
Olivia Munn (above). She went
from chomping hot dogs on “Attack of the Show” to
garnering a leading role in Aaron Sorkin’s much
anticipated new HBO drama, “The Newsroom.” Munn just seems
like one of those self-effacing women who can hang
out with the boys and have a beer, even though
they’re all secretly crushing out on her. There’s
value in that.
Just ask Mal Malloy.
With her casual, approachable demeanor she
represented the antithesis of the brittle
arrogance flaunted by your typical urban model,
and it was refreshing for people. Hence, her
popularity. People will continue to do what comes
easiest. But for the few willing to challenge
themselves and who have everything else in place,
you may find success comes faster than you’d
imagined.
More natural stuff from the Maxim people. For those
of you wondering "Who's Olivia Munn?" I suggest the
purchase of beautiful flatscreen TV for Christmas. In
the meantime, you can go here where you can see some
behind-the-scenes footage of the shoot. By the
way, and this is interesting, the photographer
was using two point-and-shoot digital cameras
simultaneously to gain different vantage points.
But still, it wasn't even a 35mm DSLR. What the
hell!?
For some reason, Olivia Munn has become a
favorite even in the urban market, which is
somewhat strange given her relative lack of
curves for that niche.
Anyway, I posted these because of the amazing,
photo-realistic retouching more than anything. Urban
photographers and magazine editors need to take note
- this is how you do it.