We book shoots in three cities. Goa is the beach, Mumbai is a studio and the street, and Hyderabad is a studio. Models who have only done beach days ask what a studio day in Hyderabad is like, and the short answer is: shorter alarm, longer control, same rules.
Here is the longer answer, side by side with a Goa beach day.
The alarm
A beach shoot in Goa is timed backwards from sunrise, so the alarm goes between half past three and five.
A studio has lights, so it is timed from a call time instead. On our sample call sheet the call is half past seven, hair and makeup at eight, first frame at half past nine, lunch at one, wrap at five. Nobody is on the road in the dark.
That is the single biggest difference for a model: you arrive rested, and the day is eight hours from call time, not two windows of light with a wait in between.
The light
On a beach, the light decides the schedule. The camera works at sunrise and again in the late afternoon, and the middle of the day is for waiting in shade.
In a studio, the light is built. It does not move, it does not go behind a cloud, and it does not run out. That changes the rhythm of the day:
- Looks run back to back. There is no waiting for the sun to come back, so a catalogue of several styles gets through in one day.
- Every frame matches. The first style and the last are lit the same way, which is what a catalogue needs.
- Your position is set for you. On the sand you walk into the light. In a studio there is a mark on the floor, and the light is already on it.
The trade is energy. On a beach, the sea and the sky do some of the work. In a studio, your face and your posture do all of it, for eight hours, under the same light. Models who have done both say the studio day is less tiring on the body and more tiring on the expression.
The weather
Goa's beach season runs from mid-October to March, because that is when the weather allows it.
Hyderabad does not have a season. Our casting page says it plainly: studio shoots for catalogue and UGC, whatever the weather, all year. A monsoon afternoon outside is irrelevant to a room with a door. That is why Hyderabad bookings come through the year, including the months when Goa is closed.
It also means a Hyderabad booking is rarely cancelled for weather. A beach day can be lost to rain after you have arrived; a studio day is not.
What you wear in, and what you bring
On a beach, there is no changing room, so what you wear in matters, and the call sheet tells you where you change.
In a studio, you change in a private room, with no photographs or filming allowed in it. That is a promise on our casting page and it applies to every studio we book. So:
- Wear in whatever is comfortable. You will change properly on arrival.
- Bring nothing you were not asked for. Your garment list and shot list arrive at least a week before the shoot. The garments are the brand's and they are waiting for you.
- Your phone stays with you. Same as everywhere. The only rule is no filming in the changing area.
- Meals, snacks and water are on set all day. A studio has a kitchen or a table; a beach has a cool box. The promise is the same.
The sea, the sand and the onlookers
A beach has all three, and the Goa post deals with each. A studio has none.
For some models that is the point. There are no passers-by, no phones pointed from the road, no sand in the garment and no second take because of a wave. Only the people on your call sheet are on set, and the door is closed. If you have ever felt watched on a beach, a studio day is where that feeling goes away.
For others, the beach is the reason they model swimwear at all. Both are real. Tell us which you prefer when you apply, and we will book accordingly.
Travel
If we book you in Hyderabad and you live elsewhere in India, we pay your train or flight, your hotel, your food and your local transport. None of it comes out of your fee. That is the same rule for every city we book.
What is exactly the same
Everything that is not about the room.
- Your fee. Twenty thousand rupees for a full day of eight hours, ten thousand for a half day of four, five thousand for a UGC video. Hyderabad is not priced differently from Goa.
- When you are paid. Half when the booking is confirmed, half the day after the shoot, by bank transfer, never cash.
- Your lists. The garment list and shot list in writing before the shoot, and nothing added on the day.
- Your release. The same release, saying where the pictures go and for how long, and you read it before you sign.
- The call sheet. Only the people named on it are on set, and you are welcome to bring someone you trust.
Which to apply for
You do not have to choose. Your card goes to the same casting team whatever the city, and the booking letter tells you where the shoot is before you say yes.
If you want catalogue work, year round, with no four o'clock alarm, Hyderabad is where a lot of it happens. If you want the beach, Goa opens in mid-October.