“I’VE BEEN
ABLE TO
THE COMMERCIAL MODEL
LIZ FULLER
TRAVEL
Model, TV presenter and owner of Miss Great
AROUND THE
Britain
WORLD.”
“I fi rst got into the industry after a friend who was a model invited
me to go along to one of her shoots. It was with a local Swansea
photographer and he ended up taking a couple of snaps of me too.
He sent them to Models 1, which had an agency in Cardiff at the
time.
“They called and said they were interested but wanted me to go
on a modelling course that I had to pay for myself. I couldn’t afford
it so nothing came of it until a few months later when they called
again and invited me to enter the Miss Wales competition.
“After that, I spent the next two years focusing on pageants and
ended up winning the titles of Miss Cardiff, Miss Wales Universe
and, fi nally, Miss Great Britain, which launched my modelling
career.
“When I started out there were no opportunities for models in
Swansea so pageants were my way in. They gave me catwalk
training, taught me how to pose for photographs and often offered
a free photo shoot as fi rst prize. It was a great way to start a
portfolio if you couldn’t afford to pay for one yourself.
“It’s a hard industry to get into but the perks make it worthwhile.
I’ve been able to travel all around the world for jobs in Mexico,
Taiwan and South Africa. I even got to live in LA for three months
when I was 20. But don’t be fooled into thinking it’s an easy life.
The key is to be realistic. There are so many types of modelling
and you’re not going to be right for all of them.
“Through modelling I’ve also been able to branch out into other
fi elds. I’ve gone on to become a TV presenter for Channel 5 and
ITV and have just bought back the license to Miss Great Britain
that I previously owned from 2005 to 2006. Having started out in
Liz Fuller
pageants myself, it’s great to be involved with the industry again
and meet girls with the same aspirations I started out with.”
THE AGENT AMANDA DAVIES Former model and founder of Lush Models in Swansea
“When I was 16, my aunty sent pictures of me commercial photographic and promotional
to Mirror newspaper and our local newspaper, assignments for male and female models. I
the Warrington Guardian. When both of them get such a feeling of pride seeing the models
decided to feature me, I decided to try to make succeed whether it’s at a photoshoot, on the
a career out of it. I joined a reputable agency catwalk or promotional work. So many girls
in Warrington and luckily got offered enough dream of becoming a model for all the glitz
promotional and photographic work to keep me and glam and there is a lot of that, but it’s
in the business for six years. also hard work. Jobs don’t come easy and
competition is very high.
“Since then, the industry has not changed a
great deal. The main difference is there are “The advice I would give to any aspiring models
a lot more models and photographers, which is to speak with a reputable agency. Choose
means there’s more opportunity for aspiring an agency that does not charge to show your
models, but also more competition. pictures – that way you have nothing to lose.
“I’ve lived all over the world but decided to “It can be diffi cult to get an agent’s attention
settle in Swansea in 1999 with my husband, if you have never modelled before, so getting
who is Welsh, to start a family. I was working as your picture taken with a photographer is a
a make-up artist in the area, and realised there great experience. However, that doesn’t teach
was a gap in the market for a Swansea-based you the fundamentals of how to pose correctly,
model agency. In 2006 I set up Lush Models. and hair and make-up are not always provided.
Without a professional hair and make-up team,
“I wanted to be able to use my experiences as
a portfolio can look amateurish.
a model to help and advise others starting out
in the industry. You hear so many horror stories “At Lush we offer portfolios and teach models
of people going into the industry naively and how to enter the industry safely, along with
spending thousands on portfolios that never catwalk training and help with posing. In the
lead to any work. I had the experience to guide future , I want to continue expanding the
them and an abundance of contacts through business until we are the fi rst port of call to all
my work as a make-up artist. Lush offers local businesses needing models.”
Amanda Davies
AspirationalIndustries_Nov.indd 85 19/10/2009 18:10:28
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