Guide
Modelling levels explained
Levels are the shorthand models and photographers use for how much is shown in a picture. Get them right and a booking takes two messages. Get them wrong and somebody has a bad day. Below is each level in order, starting with the one people ask about most: glamour.
What is a glamour model?
A glamour model is photographed for her own appeal, not to sell the clothes she is wearing. Glamour modelling covers lingerie, swimwear and implied nude work, and for some models topless. It is one level on a ladder that runs from clothed fashion work through art nude to adult, and each model chooses where she stops.
The levels, in order
| Level | What the picture shows | Where it is used |
|---|---|---|
| Fashion and commercial | Fully clothed | Selling a product or a brand. Booked through agencies, and not something Climaxx Media covers |
| Lingerie and swimwear | Underwear, bikini, bodysuit | Glamour portfolios, calendars, lingerie and latex brands |
| Implied nude | Nothing on show, though the model may be undressed | Hands, hair, fabric or the pose keep everything covered |
| Topless | Bare breasts | Classic British glamour, boudoir sets, some creator content |
| Art nude | The whole body, posed for shape and light | Fine art photography, exhibitions, books |
| Nude | The whole body, posed to be alluring | Glamour sites and magazines, creator content |
| Adult | Sexual content, solo or with others | Adult film and paid content platforms. Adults only, with ID checked |
There is no official list. Sites and photographers word the levels slightly differently, and some split the higher ones further. The order above is the one most UK models will recognise. If a casting uses a term you have not seen, ask what will be visible in the final image. That question always has a clear answer.
Glamour modelling: meaning and scope
Glamour modelling is the middle of the ladder. The model is styled to look attractive, in lingerie or swimwear or partly undressed, and the photograph exists because of her. In Britain the word has long been tied to topless newspaper and magazine work, and plenty of people still assume it means topless. It does not have to. A model can describe herself as a glamour model and never work beyond lingerie.
If you want to do this work, see glamour modelling jobs, or lingerie and swimwear modelling jobs for the level below, and how to become a model in the UK if you are starting from nothing. If you want to photograph it, see our glamour photography guide, or browse glamour models in the directory.
Implied, topless and art nude
These three cause most of the confusion. Implied is about the finished image: the viewer can tell the model is undressed but sees nothing. Topless is exactly what it says and stops at the waist. Topless modelling and semi-nude modelling have their own pages.
Art nude is full nudity with an artistic purpose, where the photographer is interested in light on a body more than in the person's allure. It is the level closest to life modelling, and some art nude models do both. Photographers new to it should read our nude photography guide before booking anyone.
Nude and adult
Nude, without the word art, means full nudity posed for appeal. Adult goes beyond posing into sexual content, on film or in stills. It is legal work for adults in the UK and it is what a large part of Climaxx Media exists to cast, but it is a different job from modelling for a photographer and nobody drifts into it by accident. A model has to choose it on her profile. Pages such as nude modelling and adult modelling jobs explain the work at each end.
Why hirers have to state the level
Because it is the first thing a model checks. A casting that says "glamour shoot, levels to be discussed" reads as a plan to push on the day. Name the highest level you intend to shoot and stay under it. The release you sign before the shoot should name it too, and the model release forms guide shows how.
Level also sets the price. Each step up costs more, for reasons covered on how much models get paid in the UK. And it decides whether TFP is realistic: most models will swap time for pictures at lingerie level and expect a fee above it. See TFP photography.
How levels work on Climaxx Media
Each model sets a comfort level on her profile: lingerie and glamour only, softcore, or adult. Models who do filmed work can also tick the scene types they accept, and they are only sent castings that match. Castings carry a type as well, including non-explicit ones for glamour and lingerie, latex and fetish fashion, and product shoots. Hirers filter on all of this, so nobody has to open a conversation by asking.
We do not list fashion, commercial or child models. Everyone on the platform is an adult whose photo ID has been checked by a person. To book, start at hire a model or models for photographers.
Modelling levels: common questions
What is the meaning of glamour in modelling?
Glamour means the picture is about the model. Fashion photography sells a garment and the model serves it. Glamour photography sells the model's look, so styling is lingerie, swimwear or less, and the mood is flirtatious. The word says nothing fixed about nudity, which is why levels exist.
Does a glamour model have to go topless?
No. Plenty of glamour models work at lingerie or implied level for their whole career. Topless is a separate level that a model opts into, and a hirer who booked lingerie cannot ask for more on the day.
What is the difference between art nude and nude?
Intent and posing. Art nude treats the body as form: shape, shadow and line, often with the face turned away. Nude glamour is posed to be alluring and the model usually engages with the camera. Many models will do one and not the other, so name the one you mean.
What are the different types of modelling?
Broadly: fashion and editorial, commercial, fitness, parts modelling such as hands and feet, life modelling for artists, glamour, art nude, and adult. The first few are run by mainstream agencies. Glamour, nude and adult work is mostly freelance and booked through platforms.
Can a model change her levels?
Yes, in either direction and at any time. A profile shows what she will do today. Pictures already published at a higher level stay published under the release she signed, which is the reason to move up slowly.
Is implied nude the same as nude?
No. In an implied shot the model may have nothing on, but the finished picture shows nothing: an arm, a sheet or the angle covers her. The level describes what appears in the image. Some models still treat implied as a step up from lingerie because of what the set involves.
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Cast at the level you stated, and no further
Every profile shows what the model will and will not do before you send a message.