May 2008
Modern Day Femme Fatale Heidi Van
Horne is here to take your questions on pin-up modeling. Got something
to Ask Heidi? E-mail
us! And don't forget to read Heidi's print column in Bachelor
Pad Magazine.
Dear Heidi,
All this advice is amazing,
and really confidence boosting stuff, however it seems to me that with
practice anyone can be a model, which is basically a lie. Not everyone
photographs well, some people are just not attractive and so on. Isn't
it a good thing to mention that kind of thing so people have an honest
understanding of the industry, so they wont be crushed if it doesnt work
out?
You are right, not everyone can make money,
be successful and make a name for themselves as a pin-up just because they
have the drive and desire. I'm not here to tell you that each and every
one of you will become the next Bernie
Dexter or Sabina Kelley. Frankly, the way our
scene has grown and blossomed over the years that I (and Bernie
and Sabina and many other "known" pin-ups) have been doing
this, it will never be the same exact route or path for a new pin-up girl.
The landscape for success in the field is not what it was when I started
5 years ago. It was rare for me to find other girls into retro pin-ups
when I started. That was part of why Sabina and I became
such good friends! Now you can buy your pin-up gear at the mall and
see plenty of Betties and Marilyns
and modern pink-haired pin ups while you are there! There were a handful
of websites going, not the HUNDREDS there are now. So, obviously the market
is different. My advice is what I've learned and done and seen work for
me and other models. For a new girl to break out, in my opinion, she would
need to take all this advice and BUILD on it with what she learns, entering
the scene whenever (and WHEREver!) she does. The new pin up "stars" WILL
have to stand out, and that usually means in a way that is different from
their predecessors.
So besides the ever-evolving scene that we
are in and the expanding (exponentially!) world wide web and online market,
there are other factors in this, too.
Like I said, I am NOT here to tell you that
you all will be big stars by taking some pin-up photos. But I AM here to
say that ANYONE can take some good pin-ups for themselves. Where they take
it after that is in the hands of luck, fate, and their own attitude and
drive. The target audience for my advice ranges from the aspiring working
pin up model who wants to break out and be successful to the housewife
in the middle of nowhere who is unsure if she is cute enough to pull off
a pin-up pic for her husband or for her own memories. What you are after
and what will be available to you is going to be different for everyone.
I truly believe pin-up is about celebrating
women, and any woman can take a pin-up style photo. That's not to say that
EVERY pin-up photo they take will look good (MINE don't!) or win contests
or that every type of shot or style will suit them. Or that the market
will be appreciative of what they are contributing to the scene. I AM encouraging
women of ALL shapes, sizes and colors to TRY it if they are into it and
not to let their differences or imperfections stop them from appreciating
themselves and having some photos they will cherish when they are older.
Trust me when I say that you will most likely never look the way you look
right now again when you are older. (Says 30 year old Heidi about her first
pin up shots at 24!) Stop beating yourself up for what you are not. Celebrate
yourself and this moment in your life (if you want) and take a photo. You
will likely cherish that pic when you are old! And who knows, when you
are older you may be hot in a different way and can pull off what you couldn't
when you were younger. Take pics then, too. he he he...
My point is this--No, not everyone will make
money and a name for themselves just because they TOOK some pin-up pics.
Not everyone will shine in pin up style or poses. But if you don't take
them because you aren't the most beautiful woman you know or because you
don't look like everyone else in the scene- then you DEFINITELY won't ever
have any success with it. You gotta buy a ticket to win the lotto. If you
don't try, you'll never know. ALL of the successful pin-ups were told not
to bother by at least one "friend" or person they knew. Good thing they
didn't listen.
Not every girl's pin-up photo is one that
others will appreciate. It might just be for posterity and to fill a frame
for mom or your man. Not every girl looks good with Bettie bangs or a vintage
updo, or can rock a vintage dress, or can pull off skimpy lingerie and
7" platform fetish shoes. Not every look or angle or classic-image-recreation
will work for EVERYONE. But I'd put money on it that EVERYONE has SOMETHING
they CAN pull off in a pin-up photo. That is, if you define pin-up like
I do, an image of a beautiful woman.
I do think girls should have realistic expectations.
This may work for you, or it very well may not. But if you listen to some
chick on the internet that tells you that you aren't cute enough, tall
enough, curvy enough, sexy enough, or whatever ENOUGH to do it--then frankly
you won't have ENOUGH chutzpa to ever get out there and try. You'll be
busy listening to someone on the other end of the mouse's opinion instead
of forming your own.
ALL of us had someone tell us we couldn't
do it. PROVE THEM WRONG and be the most successful you can be. There are
so many pin-ups with growing fan bases and friends that never would have
even tried if they listened to all the naysayers. In particular, I've had
SO MANY responses to my March column about African American pin-up girls
and how there ARE some great ones in the scene and in the history of pin-up,
even though I've literally heard people say there are none and none will
make it. I am seeing that just by de-bunking that mentality online, many
girls who otherwise were too intimidated to try are taking pin-ups now
and embracing it. Does that mean that every pin-up site is going to have
equal odds for all types of girls? NO! But if they all just don't try 'cuz
there aren't many, there will never be any at all.
So, to sum up my novel of a reply... No, not
everyone will be good at pin-up. But if there were a check list of what
you must have or look like to get in, it would be a very empty scene.
Much love to you all out there in pin-up land!
Be good to each other--and be good to yourself!!
xoxox
Heidi Van Horne
www.HeidiVanHorne.com
A little about Heidi: "I starting acting
in Texas at age 13, I have worked and trained as an actress in film, TV
& commercials for most of my life, as well as working behind the lens
on various projects. I have been shooting my own retro pinups since late
2003, when I started doing self-shot photos (just like Bunny
Yeager did!) with a self timer and a tripod in my home. Since
then, I've been on the cover of 3 books ("Hot Rod Pin Ups" by David
Perry and MBI Publishing, "How to Be a Dominant Diva" by Avalon
Press, and the new "Modern Vixens: World of Winytiki" by Octavio
Arizala and Goliath Press) as well as being featured on the
cover of 3 (and inside 2 other) Pin Up Calendars for 2007, magazine covers
and countless layouts, features and interviews in counter-culture publications,
as well as a few mainstream mags. I've gotten to work with tons of amazing
companies and photographers, including original pinup, pinup photographer
& living legend, Bunny Yeager--shooting on the same beach
where she and Bettie Page made
Pin Up history! Living in LA pursuing my acting, I've kept myself busy
on the side shooting the genre I love the most- and I'm thrilled to see
how the niche has grown and grown worldwide!" |
Have a question for Heidi? E-mail
us and we'll send it along to her!
View Heidi's Femme Fatale
Page>>>