Kaitlin Knox of Antigonish, a third-year human nutrition student at St. F.X., has been modelling for more than seven years. She balances that work, which has taken her around the world, with her studies. (Jeff Babineau photo)

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Like many university students, Kaitlin Knox has a part-time job.
However, her work doesn’t involve flipping burgers, but flying to places such as Italy as a model.
“I love it, but it is a lot of work. It pays well, which certainly makes it a great part-time job for a university student,” Knox said.
The Dr. John Hugh Gillis Regional High School graduate got her start in front of a camera when she was 15. She auditioned to be a hair model for a beauty convention and hair show at the Keating Centre in Antigonish.
She secured a spot and the rest, as they say, is history.
After four or five years of hair modelling, Knox said she was asked to compete in the Miss Nova Scotia World 2009 competition, where she finished in the top five.
One of the judges for that pageant was the manager of Halifax-based City Models, who encouraged her to pursue a modelling career.
From there, Knox completed shots for a portfolio. One year later, she dropped off her work to that manager.
“She signed me to a modelling contract,” Knox said.
City Models does work in Montreal and Toronto, along with spearheading Atlantic Fashion Week.
“I do a lot of different types of photo shoots and a lot of work that is not in my portfolio such as runaway – you don’t always have shots from those events,” Knox said.
Boudoir and glamour shots are two of her main genres.
“I do some fashion. I find it is more challenging for me. Fashion is for the really, really skinny models,” she said, noting boudoir as the “easiest” for her.
“There is a big market for that, which a lot of people wouldn’t think, but there is a big market for the boudoir stuff,” Knox noted.
Although she has runway, acting, promotional and film experience, Knox specializes in print work, which has taken her on shoots everywhere from Calgary to Brazil.
Along with modelling for several brands – everything from bridal wear to high fashion – Knox was a top-20 finisher in Nova Scotia model search 2010. Her photos also grace several publications such as the cover of the 2010 ARL Bike Girls Calendar.
“I love it. There have been so many different experiences I have enjoyed,” Knox said.

Marathon sessions

Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean modelling is all glitz and glamour. Eight straight hours in front of a camera may sound like fun, but it is a lot of work.
“A lot of people think you just sit there and look pretty,” she laughed.
“There’s a lot of work,” she added, noting marathon photo sessions may yield “just to get 10 good images.”
Those long hours in front of the camera are preceded – and interrupted – by time in the hair and make-up chair.
“That’s not to mention the wardrobe and preparing the set,” Knox noted.
She added there are other aspects, including lighting, that have to be just right.
“There are so many people that do their part to make the shoot run smoothly,” Knox, 22, said.
Although her modelling has taken her to around the world and garnered her several awards, Knox said her favourite photo comes from the lens of her mother, Nellie Fraser’s, camera.
Knox, then 18, is riding her horse, Triple, while wearing her prom dress.
“It’s one of the best ones in my portfolio. I love it,” she said.

Education first

As for that portfolio, Knox said there are many other photos she would like to add, including some from the prestigious Atlantic Fashion Week.
“It is a lot of work, but it would be worth it,” she said, noting the challenge is it usually takes place during spring exams.
“There’s a lot of stuff I would like to do,” Knox added.
She said she would like to model full-time.
“But, at the same time, there are a lot of other things that are more important to me, like my education. I wouldn’t put my education on the line for modelling or anything,” Knox said.
“I love it but it is a lot of work. I am happy doing it part-time. I think if it was a full-time, all-the-time thing for me that it wouldn’t be as enjoyable,” she added.
After finishing her undergraduate next spring, Knox plans to complete her master degree in nutrition at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax.
“While I am down there, there is a lot more modelling work available,” she said of plans to continue her career.

‘Be healthy’

For Knox, both careers have an important connection. Her studies provide her with an important perspective as she works in a modelling world that focuses so much on how someone looks.
“I am in nutrition so it is really important to me to promote a healthy body image rather than you have to be this skinny,” she said, noting she likes her agency for that reason.
“If they sign a girl and all of a sudden she loses a lot of weight, they put her contract on hold until she is healthy,” Knox added.
Nevertheless, she said there is part of the modelling world which, if you are not a size 2 or 0, “you miss out on some jobs.”
“I would rather be healthy and promote that to other people than get all those other jobs. That’s more important to me.”
Last year, Knox did a shoot with a photographer to promote Eating Disorders Awareness Week, which takes place each February.
“I wanted to do that because I know a lot of girls look to the media about how they should look,” Knox said, noting she did the same growing up.
“I don’t want to cause that problem for somebody else, so we did a project to promote awareness of eating disorders – just for me to say that this is what I look like when I am photo-shopped, dressed up and stuff, but I am still a normal person just like everyone else.
More than anything else, Knox said it is “important to be healthy.”

Be yourself

For people who want to pursue modelling, Knox said to be you.
“The most important thing when you are going into a field where it is mostly based on art is to be original – try not to mould to what everyone thinks you should do,” she said, noting that applies to body image as well.
“If you are not a size two, don’t try to be that so you fit in. Just be yourself and do your own thing and you will get inspired by that. That’s the biggest thing,” Knox added.
She stressed the need to be professional about every job and to treat modelling “as you would any other job.”
“I also tell people confidence is the most important, key aspect of any model, regardless of their experience, size and so forth. If they can portray confidence then they have what it takes to be a model.”
For more about Knox’s work, including her portfolio, visit www.kaitlinknox.webs.com or www.modelmayhem.com/kaitlinknox