Text by Kristy Jessica, Copyright 2023
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On The Art of Modeling-Part 1
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To the folks who follow Tony Ward’s blog: Hey! I am Kristy Jessica 🙂 I have been modeling since the age of 18, despite my strict religious upbringing. I see my body as a celebration of lines and curves, as well as a poetic visual communication device to positively affect the outside world. I hope you can enjoy, appreciate, and respect my nude modeling work.
This month is my birthday, I am turning 36 years old. Over the years of my career, I have learned that personality and reliability are more valuable assets than youth alone. My first photoshoot was with a predatory photographer who found me on Myspace. He lured me into his basement studio with the promise of $50 for a lingerie shoot, and tried to offer me extra money (and elicit drugs) to have sex with him on camera. He told me if I let him create a barely legal porn site I could be “rich and famous”. The fear in my eyes as I bashfully declined his solicitation triggered him to force me to sign an NDA and run me off his property.
A valuable lesson was learned that day: the real world of freelance modeling is booby-trapped with creeps. I learned the hard way how to screen photographers. First, I would meet them at a coffee shop to talk about potentially shooting. Over time I learned the red flags in someone’s demeanor, even in their email and text communication. If a photographer’s Model Mayhem portfolio seemed themed by micro-expressions of fear or disgust, that is enough to tell me I do not want to be alone in a room with that person. The last thing I want is to be tricked into a studio or basement where the photographer is trying to touch me or pressure me into something I am not comfortable with.
Despite the gravity of this harsh learning curve …and the fact I had to overcome it at the ripe age of 18 after emerging from a strict religious upbringing… I have had a vast majority of positive experiences since then. Another element that has emboldened a positive strength to my career is my fellowship and camaraderie with other full time traveling nude models. Over the last decade, social media has improved our networking abilities. If a photographer puts his hands on one of us, the whole network finds out! The support I have gained with the advent of secret Facebook groups and mass IG dms with other models has allowed me to share my experiences, learn about new travel hacks, discover recommended hosts in different cities for our little traveling model Underground Railroad, and build relationships with each other. This has been the single most important tool in my career: community support.
The evolution of my modeling career started out as a form of rebellion against puritanical societal norms. The first 6 years of my modeling were mostly just creative shoots for self expression. It wasn’t until I hit rock bottom in my alcoholism at the age of 24, got a second DUI, lost my relationship, got fired from my bartending job, lost my house, and fell into a depression that I decided I should pick my life up and attempt to model full time instead of trying to find a bartending job somewhere. From that point forward, I was being hired for a lot of glamour style shoots. I worked for many pushy and arrogant glamour photographers, and I racked up a long list of independent magazine covers, was featured in Playboy TV and Playboy Radio, featured in Penthouse Black Label, and I participated in glamour events like the Paradise Challenge and IBMS. By this point in my career I had moved to Southern California and produced a documentary about freelance modeling called “Bring Something Sexy”.
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To access, On The Art of Modeling Part 2, link here: