Sabina Hordinski, ‘20, never planned on becoming a model. Her interest started when her older sister, Madeleine Hordinski, ‘16, asked her to pose for some photos to help improve her photography skills.
When Sabina’s sister first came to her, she just needed a model to help make an idea come alive. Her work then progressed from capturing scenes of Sabina painting or reading to up-close portraits, allowing her appearance to become the prominent element of the pieces.
As an up-and-coming photojournalist, Madeleine used social media platforms to broadcast her work in a way that more people could see it.
Rather than deciding to branch out on her own, Sabina caught the eye of those interested in using models. Through the photos posted on Madeleine’s Instagram, a myriad of companies and independent businesses began contacting Sabina regarding modeling jobs. Though she never thought of modeling professionally, she saw no harm in accepting the offers.
Sabina describes the shoots as varying in process. Most of the time, she is instructed to come to the shoot without makeup and in casual clothing. From there, depending on the shoot, the artists will do her makeup and dress her accordingly. A natural look is frequently her trademark; however, the company may sometimes do a more unique look in order to create a focal point on a certain area of the face.
Sabina’s largest shoot that caught the most attention was a Pantene advertisement she modeled for earlier this year. The photographs center around her face as the main point in order to sell Pantene’s hair products.
“The most attention I have received from an ad is definitely the photos I did for Pantene, but I had another shoot with a magazine called Pattern in Indianapolis. I got to be on the front cover which was pretty cool,” Sabina said.
The modeling she usually partakes in is just photographs, but she has done video advertisements on occasion. Through the preface of “Exploring the Bounds of Technology,” a STEM Program invited Sabina to participate in one of their films.
“It was a video of me watching myself on another video, but it was live. I would see myself moving in real time, and overall it was a very different set up than I was used to,” Sabina said.
Modeling is an enjoyable hobby for Sabina where she gets paid to simply be herself. However, she does not see herself making a serious career out of it.
“I am not into all of the superficial aspects of modeling, so I don’t think I want to get too serious about it. I probably will continue doing it in college to make money but I don’t plan on pursuing it after that,” Sabina said.
Sabina handles the logistics of the shoots for herself without involving her parents much.
“It’s mostly people just reaching out to me and asking me to come a certain place on a given day, so it is very casual,” Sabina said.
With people constantly taking photos of her, Sabina said that modeling has affected her self-esteem. On one hand, she feels flattered to have people want to use her as a model but, on the other hand, it leaves her worried about what flaws she may have.
“The camera will show everything. It’s hard to not wonder if I could change some aspects of myself, but then I have to remind myself that these people want to use me as a model for a reason, and that reassures me a bit more,” Sabina said.