Now that I'm a wiser, older human, when I do photo shoots, I specifically say, 'Please do not airbrush my moles out.' Because they will do it, to make you homogenized.
I have my insecurities, and some days you don't want to be photographed. You notice all of your flaws even if others don't notice them. Photo shoots also feel very vain because it's all about you and your looks and your face. I feel I work better on camera.
Whenever you have to do a photo shoot with a woman, there is this weird competition. They need to prove something. They need to play games - maybe unconsciously - but women are so sensitive, and people call me more masculine sometimes.
The fashion industry certainly has its obscene sides. The cost of a coat can be obscene. So can the cost of a photo shoot if you're working with a really good photographer.
I am just doing photo shoots. It's not something that extraordinary. I'm not a great artist, I'm not writing books, I'm not a painter, and people in the streets ask me for a picture or a note, and I say, 'Why?'
In photo shoots, I rely on instinct. Which is not to say I don't bring ideas to a project or consider it beforehand.
When it comes to photo shoots, there was a clear moment for me when I thought, 'I'm going to have to enjoy this because it's going to be a part of what I do.'
One of my favorite poses was when working with Steven Meisel. It was one of my first photo shoots with him, and we were trying to get the cover of Italian 'Vogue.' Then, I literally took my Balenciaga hat, pulled it down, and gave a rolling-eye, 'ugh' face, crossed legs on the floor. And lo and behold, that was the cover of Italian 'Vogue.'
As a high-fashion model, I have long had a policy of no nudity or partial nudity in my photo shoots.
I think there can no longer be such a thing as hitting a wall on a photo shoot. If I ever hear a photographer say to me, 'OK, what else?' I should retire, because that should never happen now having experienced just how much the body is capable of doing.
