Photoshoot
Ahh, that was fun. It's been a while since I was last in New York, so it was nice to be back. The Nike photoshoot was definitely interesting, though sitting through two hours of make-up and hair was not. Last time I recalled, I wasn't a supermodel.
Another thing that perplexes me is the sheer difference between male and female representation in photos. The photoshoot was with me, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Williams-san was constantly told to smile more and flash her teeth at the camera, while Federer-san and I were constantly told to stop smiling and look serious.
The male tennis players were told to look serious while the female tennis players were told to smile and look pretty. It made me think and wonder at how our media portrays gender stereotypes, if it must extend to even sports. It made me feel really angry for quite a while. I still feel a little resentful.
The photoshoot was fun despite that and the photos should be postered up everywhere on the Nike website and the internet. They aren't anything special. We barely posed with our rackets, it was mostly just wearing Nike clothing. Now, what was special, was what we received after the shoot was over. My clothes for Wimbledon.
Its my first year with Nike and I was asked if I had any requests about clothing. I jokingly asked for the Rikkai colours, but I wasn't expecting much. When I opened my package I was greeted with this:
(Ignore the bad quality, I asked Nadal-san to take it on my phone, and it's not got the best camera in the world). Traditionally, Nike tends to stick with plain, one-colour ensembles so that their logo stands out but I was really impressed by the design. I have no idea who made it or designed it, but thank you~! I love it! Oh, and you can't see it here, but Atobe's logo is on the back as well :)
So, now I'm waiting on my flight to take me to London. It's delayed, which is annoying. Since I'll be busy training up for Wimbledon, I won't be making any new posts till it's over, but I'll be replying to comments as best as I can ^_^
[ooc: The picture was drawn and painted by me hurriedly for this purpose. I was hit by my muse when I saw all of the tennis stars showing off their Nike uniforms on Facebook and I didn't manage to capture the muse perfectly, but here's Yukimura along with a crappy background :)]
Another thing that perplexes me is the sheer difference between male and female representation in photos. The photoshoot was with me, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Williams-san was constantly told to smile more and flash her teeth at the camera, while Federer-san and I were constantly told to stop smiling and look serious.
The male tennis players were told to look serious while the female tennis players were told to smile and look pretty. It made me think and wonder at how our media portrays gender stereotypes, if it must extend to even sports. It made me feel really angry for quite a while. I still feel a little resentful.
The photoshoot was fun despite that and the photos should be postered up everywhere on the Nike website and the internet. They aren't anything special. We barely posed with our rackets, it was mostly just wearing Nike clothing. Now, what was special, was what we received after the shoot was over. My clothes for Wimbledon.
Its my first year with Nike and I was asked if I had any requests about clothing. I jokingly asked for the Rikkai colours, but I wasn't expecting much. When I opened my package I was greeted with this:
(Ignore the bad quality, I asked Nadal-san to take it on my phone, and it's not got the best camera in the world). Traditionally, Nike tends to stick with plain, one-colour ensembles so that their logo stands out but I was really impressed by the design. I have no idea who made it or designed it, but thank you~! I love it! Oh, and you can't see it here, but Atobe's logo is on the back as well :)
So, now I'm waiting on my flight to take me to London. It's delayed, which is annoying. Since I'll be busy training up for Wimbledon, I won't be making any new posts till it's over, but I'll be replying to comments as best as I can ^_^
[ooc: The picture was drawn and painted by me hurriedly for this purpose. I was hit by my muse when I saw all of the tennis stars showing off their Nike uniforms on Facebook and I didn't manage to capture the muse perfectly, but here's Yukimura along with a crappy background :)]