Baby Modeling

[MonkeyPie]

And the icing on the cake? I guess my shock must have lasted several minutes, because when we got into the car, DD said to me, "I think you're really pretty, mama."

Oh, what a SWEETHEART.

 

[ericad]

Yes, she is a very sweet and sensitive child

But it really irked me that this stranger, in the blink of an eye, created a situation where my daughter was exposed to so many negative things - focus on looks and beauty, that she doesn't look like her mommy, that people are nicer to you if you're pretty and maybe not as nice if you're plain, etc.

Some people are just so stupid! Blood pressure is going up again just thinking about it! And the worst part is that I was so stunned that I had no sarcastic comeback, LOL, and that pains me the most...

 

[MonkeyPie]

And the worst part is that I was so stunned that I had no sarcastic comeback, LOL, and that pains me the most...

LOL I do that all the time.

I don't get why people do things like that. I hate when someone says a baby looks "unique" or "interesting" just so they can avoid saying the words pretty or cute. All babies are cute, even if they are plain or awkward. Besides, all children grow up and look completely different from when they were babies. I hate that sort of judgement.

 

[waxing lyrical]

It's something I considered back when my oldest was a baby and we lived in a major city near reputable agencies (Wilhelmina Kids). I thought about it some when my youngest daughter was a baby and we lived in Atlanta, but since we were only there temporarily I decided to wait. We don't live anywhere near a major city now and I don't trust modeling schools or gimmicky 'agencies.'

Both my girls were absolutely gorgeous as babies. They still are. My oldest has the classic beauty and is very photogenic and loves being in front of the camera. My youngest daughter? She doesn't care to be in front of the camera.

My little guy is quite handsome. His curly hair is growing in. He was so scrumptious as a newborn. Just gorgeous.

I've considered waiting until my kids are older to decide whether we should pursue it. I'll let it be their choice. I really can't see my youngest daughter being interested.

 

[noelwr]

Pigs are cute, anyway.

TGal - you crack me up the way you keep repeating your daughter looks like a piglet. I have no idea what she looks like, but to be honest, if I didn't like her picture, I wouldn't comment. thank you for your honesty. I also find that a lot of babies/kids are just not cute and sometimes I see photos and feel horribly sorry for the parents, but of course parents don't see this because they think their kids are so beautiful to them, which is how it should be, of course. like at the office when someone just had a baby and photos are going around and everyone is oohing and aahing and I'm just cringing and don't know what to say... (sorry, I'd rather just not say anything than lie about it.) I am now starting to worry that my baby's going to come out ugly. not that I'll love her any less, but I hope I can just joke about it like you.

 

[packrat]

American Baby magazine does contests for their cover babies, and then there is a photo shoot w/clothes modeled.

I would post pics of my kids looking..not their best. Dad thinks all the pics should be deleted if they're not up to snuff, but I think it's kinda funny to look at the pics and think holy hell what kind of a face is *that*? London's got a couple staggering drunk looking ones, and Trapper has a couple that make me lol every time I see them. One where he's somewhat able to sit up and his head was tucked down so he has 4 chins, drooling, top lip curled, head tilted and eyes really wide open. Gah, I laugh just thinking about it. Oh, and another when he was pretty newborn and was losing his full head of hair-from the forehead back. He had Phil Collins hair and he had this strange look on his face.

London went thru a phase when she was about 2, I think, 2 1/2, anyway, she would NOT sit still for pics, shied away, threw fits etc. Up until then she loved it, and would whip out poses and got the biggest kick out of it. After that, no way no how. Trapper didn't mind it, but now they both know that after the camera clicks, at home or at Sears, the picture shows on the screen, so we have to make them sit down and quit looking over at the camera all the time. We haven't done pics in about 2 years.

 

[ChinaCat]

Noelwr, you WILL think your baby is adorable, even if she(?) is not classically beautiful. O has good days and bad days. I think he's pretty darn cute now, but not so much as a little baby. Of course what I find so cute about him now is his personality.

Even so, I see babies now that aren't really that cute aesthetically or objectively, but they are still sooo cute and yummy cause they are babies. There is just something about them. And even funny-looking ones, well, there is something just so cute about their funniness.

And you will cause she's yours.

 

[partgypsy]

Darn it still getting the hang of this interface so just deleted somehow my post. It's hard to post pics of your kid not looking their best, but suffice to say when my oldest was a baby she had a flattened head so we avoided taking pics of her in profile or stuck at hat on her! And my youngest as a baby got the name "ghoul baby" because of her pale skin and especially after she cried the red circles under her eyes!

Here are some pics, neither glamour or ugly.

Reading over my comments I didn't mean to say my youngest isn't cute, just that she isn't model cute. She also has a bit of the piglet or what we call potato nose. But really kids are so much cuter than adults it's all relative.

 

[Mara]

china..i agree re the babies. before having J i was sooo not into babies..and didn't really think of them as cute at all, but that has changed. i think it's that funny mommy gene that pops out after you have your own. mine was WAY dormant.

that said... minor rant re: people thinking it's weird if you think your kid is super cute. i think it's normal for a parent to think that their kid is A.dorable. someone told me recently that i was competitive for thinking my kid is the 'cutest kid ever'. i was like..really? that's competitive? i think it's just NATURE. not even that 'his features are so aesthetically pleasing' because the kid's symmetry is not quite totally there yet...but just his personality comes through and he is just such a little sunny ham with monster cheeks. so yeah i think he's the cutest thing ever made. maybe cuz i helped make him.

 

[steph72276]

Haha, yeah I think my sons are pretty darn adorable, but then I'm always thinking "well, of course I think they're cute, I'm their mother and I'm seeing them through Mommy vision!" And I do think all babies are cute in their own way, but it's all subjective when it comes to an agency because it's one or two people deciding if your kid has that elusive "special quality" that comes across in photos.

 

[pennquaker09]

We were approached a few times when DD was a baby. She is strikingly pretty and photogenic (slightly olive undertones to her skin, huge blue/violet eyes and dark brown hair). One time, at Borders, a woman was watching her and when DD ran up to me for a hug, the woman came up to me and said, "Is she yours?" and I said, "Ummmm, yeah." And she said, "OMG,I NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS would have guessed she belonged to you, I though you must be her nanny! She has those big gorgeous blue eyes, and you...don't."

And I was like

Can you imagine? Sheesh! I know she doesn't resemble me (I'm 1/2 Indian) but who says stuff like that?!

And the icing on the cake? I guess my shock must have lasted several minutes, because when we got into the car, DD said to me, "I think you're really pretty, mama."

I feel really bad for you, because I totally know how you feel. Growing up, people would stare and whisper when I was out with my mom (mom is African American, I'm biracial, and when I was little, I had blond hair so yeah). Even now, when I go home, we'll go out and say we're at the mall shopping. People will hear me call her mom or the twins call her grandma, and we'll get weird looks and whispers.

But even the most well meaning people don't know it's inappropriate to ask someone if they're the nanny. I was 23 when the twins were born and everywhere we went I got comments about, how cute they were, and how cute of a nanny I was. There were times I thought they were going to pet my head.

I don't see myself doing the kid modeling thing. I think Savannah could do it, she's a friendly kid, but Gray would be a nightmare. But more than that, I just don't . . . agree with it I guess. Not for my kids. However, I have to say, when I go into Gap Kids/babyGap, I love the marketing because the kids are so freaking cute and that's probably what makes me buy the clothes.

I caught an episode of Life on the D-list, and Kathy judged a kiddie pageant. She made it seem so fun and cute, but I don't think a lot of people get the inappropriateness of those things. Even though some moments were hilarious, I just - it's just wrong. One little girl said and I quote, "If you can't tone it, tan it."

 

[TravelingGal]

china..i agree re the babies. before having J i was sooo not into babies..and didn't really think of them as cute at all, but that has changed. i think it's that funny mommy gene that pops out after you have your own. mine was WAY dormant.

that said... minor rant re: people thinking it's weird if you think your kid is super cute. i think it's normal for a parent to think that their kid is A.dorable. someone told me recently that i was competitive for thinking my kid is the 'cutest kid ever'. i was like..really? that's competitive? i think it's just NATURE. not even that 'his features are so aesthetically pleasing' because the kid's symmetry is not quite totally there yet...but just his personality comes through and he is just such a little sunny ham with monster cheeks. so yeah i think he's the cutest thing ever made. maybe cuz i helped make him.

I don't think it's weird if people think their kid is super cute. I think it's normal. But I'm a err on the side of modesty kind of person, so I do think it's obnoxious when people go on about how cute their kids are ALL the time. However that would be my problem, not the braggart's issue! Better for the kid's self esteem anyway...and I'm aware of this so it's not like I'm going to call my kid a piglet when she's old enough to know what that means.

I had a friend who was a bit put out that her friend said her son was the cutest kid in the world. My friend was like, really? In the world? And you say this to me, a mother to her own son? Obviously my friend knew what her friend meant, but she thought it was just kind of clueless and unjustifiably vain because the kid is, er...not that cute.

 

[qtiekiki]

Tgal
I wonder if it's because you and your mom see Amelia IRL and see how cute she is (as in personality and look) that you don't think she is cute in pictures since you don't think the cuteness translates. I say that because I've seen plenty of pictures where Amelia is absolutely adorable and other where she is just stunning.

"Cutest kid in the world"
I am along the same line as Tgal. I don't think it's weird, but do think it can be a little obnoxious depending on the situation. I think my kids are cute, but I know that I am biased because I am their mom. In fact, I tell DH all the time that our kids are SO cute.

Every baby is cute
I have to agree. For me, cute is not just look. Babies can be cute because of their personality or actions or whatever. With modeling though, look tends to be priority. Although sometimes, personality can make up for look.