Who does, who doesn't, and contacting those who count.
The People Who Decide.
It's a problem for aspiring models and a bigger problem for
Playboy Enterprises: photographers who misrepresent
themselves to models as "shooting for Playboy." Or
a photographer, manager, or agent who claims to "have
connections" that can get a girl in the magazine.
Here is the
truth of the matter. As of this moment, August 2006, there
are only eleven people in the world who can approach a model
and truthfully say "I shoot models for Playboy."
The truth - the
whole truth - from inside Playboy. Arny Freytag (LA) and Stephen Wayda
(LA) are contract photographers who shoot every month and work
exclusively for Playboy. George Georgiou (Chicago)
is a full-time staff photographer for Playboy. The remaining eight
photographers are regular contributors who shoot frequently, but not
exclusively, for Playboy: Jarmo Pohjaniemi (Miami),
David Rams (Atlanta), Ric Moore
(Dallas), Mizuno (LA), Gen Nishino
(NY), Byron Newman (London), Waldy Martens
(Vancouver) and Paul Buceta (Toronto). Over time,
this list can change, and models can call the Chicago office of
Playboy to verify a photographer not on this list. But as of now,
there are eleven.
And there are eight people who decide which models are chosen. Hugh
Hefner still chooses each monthly Playmate for the magazine
and remains the ultimate decision maker. In Chicago, director of
photography Gary Cole, senior photo editor Kevin
Kuster, managing photo editor Jim Larson,
online photo editor Chad Doering , and Special
Editions publisher Jeff Cohen are responsible for
the images. In Los Angeles, west coast editor Marilyn
Grabowski and senior editor Stephanie Morris
decide.
There you have it. The source? Kevin Kuster. Over the past two
weeks, I've spent several hours talking with Kevin, separating the
truth from the mythology about how models get into Playboy. Bottom
line: the above mentioned people are it. Playboy does not employ
scouts, or agents, or recruiters. Others can submit, others can
recommend, but these are the people that decide.
Inside Playboy
Playboy has several outlets where model's photos can appear and
deciding who goes where is the initial task..
First, there is Playboy magazine. Here, a girl may appear as a
Playmate of the Month or in an editorial specific feature, such as
"College Girls" or "Housewives," where the model
fits the criteria for that category.
Then there are the periodic Special Editions magazines that are
published under broad categories: Lingerie, Vixens, Wet and Wild,
etc. Twenty-five Special Editions appear each year.
Finally, there is the website, www.playboy.com.
Here, all the models appear in editorial specific categories. One
model is featured each week, and from these, a Cybergirl of the
Month is chosen, and from these, a Cybergirl of the Year.
The process: once properly submitted photos have reached Chicago or
LA, the first cut is to decide whether or not the girl has Playmate
potential. If so, she is flown in for a test shoot. Roughly 50 to 75
such shoots are done each year. If she doesn't have the Playmate
look, then they see if she fits one of the magazine's editorial
categories for an upcoming shoot. If not, she is considered for the
Special Editions or the playboy.com website. Jeff Cohen, the
publisher of the Special Editions, selects the girls who appear in
those magazines.
The Money
The payment for models varies with the venue. Rates start at
industry standard levels but can rise quickly. Although rates can
change, as of now, girls who appear in Playboy magazine features,
such as the "Girls of the Big Ten" typically get $500 per
day for an appearance, while the twelve girls chosen as Playmates
each year get $25,000 and the Playmate of the Year takes home a tidy
$100,000. Girls who appear in one of the Special Editions are also
paid $500 per day and on the website, the Cybergirl of the Week
receives $1000, Cybergirl of the Month $1,500, and Cybergirl of the
Year $10,000.
Who Can Appear?
The key criteria for appearing in Playboy is that you must be at
least eighteen and be willing to appear nude. Although many images
in Playboy publications are partial, implied, or assumed nudity,
every woman who applies must be willing to pose nude.
Compared to other magazines, Playboy's policies on appearing in
competitor's publications are very liberal. Whether a girl has
appeared in a mainstream men's magazine, such as the popular "laddy"
magazines (e.g. Maxim, FHM, etc.) simply isn't an issue. And while
Playboy would prefer that a girl's first nude appearance be with
them, it isn't a requirement. However, although it is not
disqualifying, it is a substantial negative to have appeared in one
of the harder nude-only magazines, or on a hard-core website. There
are exceptions, such as when Playboy did a feature on "Girls of
the Internet," but it can be a negative.
Girls are not limited by a previous Playboy appearance. Any girl who
appears in any Playboy venue remains eligible to become a Playmate.
In fact, just by virtue of the exposure, one Playboy appearance
gives a model a modest advantage toward another Playboy assignment.
Nor does Playboy demand exclusivity for girls after an appearance.
Only Playmates have an exclusivity requirement: they cannot appear
nude in any non-Playboy publication for one year after the Playboy
appearance. All other girls are free to appear where they wish.
Should they desire to appear in another Playboy publication,
however, they would be wise to avoid those hard core venues.
Myth One: My Friend Has "Connections"
Perhaps the most persistent myth about Playboy is that models must
have "connections" to get into the magazine. In truth,
Playboy needs a lot of beautiful girls to apply. There may be only
twelve Playmates per year, but between the other Playboy magazine
features, the twenty-five Special Editions, and the insatiable
Internet, Playboy is continually looking for models.
Still, the "connections" myth persists because, as Kevin
Kuster puts it, "Many people want to attach themselves to
Playboy. They want credit for getting a girl in Playboy. No one can
do that."
"To show you the strength of this myth," Kuster says,
"I was speaking at an event where I was clearly identified as a
photo editor for Playboy. I spotted a beautiful girl in the audience
and, later that day, I offered to fly her to Chicago for a test
shoot. She turned me down, saying she knew someone who had a friend
who had already promised to get her in Playboy. I couldn't believe
it. I just walked away."
Myth two: My Photos Will Get You In Playboy.
As humbling as it may be to glamour photographers, they are not an
important factor in Playboy submissions. Some photographers will
claim "I shot so and so and she then appeared in Playboy"
as if there were a connection between the two. "But there is
not one photographer out there that has a style unique enough to get
models consistently approved for Playboy" according to Kuster.
"No one needs a stylized, amazing photographer to get you into
the magazine. If you are a beautiful woman, snapshots will do the
trick. Eight quick snapshots changed Jenny McCarthy's life."
In fact, submitting beautiful, carefully prepared photos is a waste
of time. Playboy editors assume that such images have been
cleaned-up, liquified, or otherwise enhanced. Playboy editors want
to see the girl, not the wizardry of a photographer. So submissions
to Playboy should always be recent, unretouched photos.
Anyone Can Submit
So you want to be in Playboy. Here's how to best present yourself.
You can attend one of the monthly casting calls that Playboy
conducts around the country. See Casting
Calls Sadly, the big black Playboy bus roving about the country
no longer exists. That was for a Playmate of the Millennium project
and has since been retired.
But the most common route is to submit your information and photos
yourself. Here's what you need to provide:
1) Two forms of identification with your legal name. At least one
must indicate you date of birth.
These can be a driver's license, passport, or birth certificate that
verifies you are at least 18, along with a Social Security card or
other official identification. For mailed submissions, this can
photocopied, for online submissions, a jpg image of the documents is
fine. Your name and date of birth must be clear.
2) Contact information: the more the better. Email addresses and
phone numbers are most helpful. You don't want Playboy to be
interested and then not be able to contact you, so try to include
contact information that will be usable in the future. Remember,
Playboy may try to contact you six months from now.
3) A short description of your interests and activities, your
height, weight, measurements.
4) Photos: these must be unretouched and recent, not more than two
months old.
At least one face shot, at least one 3/4 topless, at least one
full-length front nude, at least one full-length rear nude. Your
hair and makeup should be how you appear when going out for a night
on the town. They do not have to be done professionally.
You can mail your submission to:
Playboy Enterprises
Photo Department
680 N. Lake Shore Drive
Chicago, IL 60611
Mailed photos will not be returned and, though they become the
property of Playboy, they will not be published and will eventually
be destroyed.
So what should a model think if she submits and never hears from
Playboy? Well, she should remember that Playboy deals with the most
beautiful girls in the world. Distinctions between who is more
attractive or who has the right "look" are very
subjective. The Playboy editors have to make their choices and move
on but even they would admit that many beautiful women, for one
reason or another, never hear back from Playboy. There are no
quotas, no hard criteria, that models must fit. It is all in the eye
of the beholder.
Copyright 2006, R. A. Glidewell
Doc Glidewell can be reached at doc@onemodelplace.com
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