Just being a model and having been shipped off to Paris at 17, I wish my mom could have been at some of those photo shoots because there are some creepy people out there.
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.
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.
As Conchita, I've got everything that I need to be glamourous and in the spotlight, giving interviews, doing photo shoots. And on the other side, there's Tom, this shy, boring boy. And I love to be shy and boring when I'm in private.
On photo shoots I've always had to do that - take direction and whatnot.
