Fanny Bagnon models in a bright ensemble. *Photo by @w.illch*

By Tom Victoria

Fanny Bagnon paints a pretty picture whether it’s in front of the lens or designing it on the computer. The entrepreneur also is a fashion model.

The French model explained what she likes about posing for the camera.

“It's often a very cool context because we go to very cool places,” she said. “A beautiful house next to the sea for example, so it's a cool job.”

Fanny also cited working with the respective photo assignment teams.

“It's a good ambience, a good atmosphere,” she said. “And I like to see backstage and after that, the results. It's very cool to see the before and the after.”

Fanny has been a professional for five years.

“Seven years ago, I started to do some photo shoots,” she said. “I did one photo shoot with a professional photographer that my family offered me at my birthday. After I do the photo shoot, I published my pictures on my social media Instagram. After that, there are some other photographers in Lyon who contacted me and say: do you want to make a collaboration for a project?”

Eventually, companies hired her for jobs.

“There are some brands who contacted me,” she said. “I went to Paris for contracts. A majority of work is in Paris. I build a network in Lyon with the photographers I knew and I work with them for their clients’ photo shoots. I started to meet people in Paris to build my network in Paris, too.”

Fanny receives much modeling work from referrals.

“When people see my Instagram, they contact me,” she said. “Sometimes they contact me because another person recommended my Instagram, but it’s also other photographers who give my name.”

Fanny would have made it to Asia already but the timing was delayed due to government measures taken in response to Covid.

“When Covid finished, it was not a good moment for me,” she said. “Next to my modeling activity, I built a graphic studio in France. It was complicated for me to go three or four months abroad because I had clients in France for my graphic design activity. So I never was abroad for work.”

However, Fanny has found modeling work in France, including Marseilles, and Switzerland.

The model finds it easier to convey sadness than joy in a shoot.

“It's most complicated to look happy because sometimes people say you have to smile, but it's very complicated to be natural,” she said. “I think it's easier to be sad and strong than to be happy. Your smile has to be natural.”

Fanny said the conditions of a shoot impact how a model feels.

“If we shoot a summer collection at the mountain in winter, it's difficult to smile because we are cold,” she said. “We take the pictures for the summer collection in winter and for the winter collection in summer.”

Fanny said one virtue in particular is a key attribute for models to possess.

“We have to be patient,” she said. “Because sometimes for casting, we have to wait long hours. Sometimes we arrive, for example, at 8 p.m., and we start the job at 11. We wait during some hours, so we have to be patient. I take my computer for clients of my graphic studio because it's very long.”

Fanny stressed the importance of using social media to showcase a model’s photographs.

“It's very important to be active on the Instagram because people see your profile,” she said. “It's like my website. People go on my page and they see my work.”

Fanny’s beauty was noticed before she started doing photo shoots.

“People said that because I was very skinny and tall,” she said. “It's the stereotypes. They said you have to be model.”

Fanny is tall enough to do runway work.

“In Lyon, three or four times,” she said. “But I work more on shootings.”

Styles and tastes change. Traditionally, models were very lean, but now are often more toned and muscular.

“People often said me that for their casting, I'm too skinny,” Fanny said. “The world changed.”

During a shoot a model has to deal with awkward apparel or accoutrements.

“We have to adapt ourselves because we don't have choice,” Fanny said. “For example, I did a shoot with a ski on my foot so I can’t move as I want, so we have to adapt our position.”

She won’t do certain things for an assignment, such as lobbing off her locks.

“Haircut very short, I say no,” Fanny said.

She also weeds out people giving off the wrong vibe.

“It was because I don't trust the people in front of me,” Fanny said. “Propositions that are not serious. It's fake. People just want a picture of a woman. For example, when I talk to people and I don't feel trust with the person I'm talking to, I prefer to say no. But when I trust the person, I don't refuse.”

She checks out a person’s social media to factor in her decision whether to respond to inquiries.

“It's very important,” Fanny said. “I see on their Instagram page if people I know follow them or not.”

She enjoys running her studio.

“I started to do graphic design after my studies,” Fanny said.

She started working for an agency.

“I worked one year for them,” Fanny said. “It was a very cool experience, so I work for their project. We had clients in industry, in education. It was very different. I worked a lot because I did three years of study, one year of work, and I didn't have lots of holidays.”

That changed for her.

“After that, I did a gap year,” Fanny said. “During this year, I travel to Tenerife, Seville, Malta, Hammamet and Guadeloupe and I go back home because there was the Covid situation. After my studies, I had to take a break and explore some new places and meet new people. It was an amazing experience.”

She eventually returned home due to Covid.

“I didn't know to do what to do, so I built my own agency,” Fanny said. “I created my website, I make a communication strategy and I start to send emails for the prospection. After that, I have my first clients.”

She wants to combine both her careers.

“I'm preparing a new offer for my business, which mixed my two activities,” Fanny said. “I want to propose my services to a company to organize their photo shoot, because I know lot of people: photographer, makeup artist. And I work with brands for their visual strategy. So I'm thinking about my new offer to propose my services to a company to organize a photo shoot.”

She stays motivated by remaining positive and learning to handle rejection.

“Sometimes it's complicated to stay motivated when we have some: no, they don't want you in the casting,” Fanny said. ”It is important to step back and be resilient. As a model, we know that out of 10 profiles presented to the customer, there are one happy model and nine disappointed.”

She even models in her free time.

“It's often photo shoots, but with my friend photographer, just for us,” Fanny said.

She dispensed advice to aspiring models.

“My advice would be to stay focused, because when you are a model, you will have 90 percent of no, we don't want you and 10 percent of yes, we want you,” Fanny said. “So you have to stay focused and never give up. Maybe in two weeks, two months, you will have some contracts, so stay focused.”

She also offered a suggestion to prospective business owners.

“It would be to organize the things to start from the beginning,” Fanny said. “Create a strategy, create the tools. For example, website, Instagram, social media account. When it's all okay, you start your business, just very good preparation before starting.”

She stressed the need to research.

“They have to study the market,” Fanny said. “It's important to have a very good connection to the market because you have to contact the good person. If you have a good offer, but you contact people who don't have interest for your offer, you will lose time. But if you contact the good person, you can have a very important opportunity.”

Fanny’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fannybgn/

Fanny’s business Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fanid_art/

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