Tanaye White Shares Behind the Scenes Prep for SI Swimsuit Feature in Barbados

The model gave followers a taste of what goes into poses on the set of her 2022 photo shoot.

Tanaye White was photographed by Ben Watts in Barbados. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

Each year, the SI Swimsuit Issue hits the shelves filled with a slew of new and returning faces, who have posed expertly in a handful of idyllic destinations. Those photos are the result of months of hard work—on both the part of the models and the brand.

Tanaye White first posed for the SI Swimsuit Issue back in 2020. As the co-winner of the year’s Swim Search, the brand’s open-casting call, she traveled to Turks and Caicos, where she posed among the palm trees for her first feature. From there, she landed two more consecutive photo shoots, in both 2021 (in Sacramento, Calif.) and 2022.

Today, we are taking a look back at that last year in particular. For the 2022 issue, she traveled to Barbados, where she posed for an appropriately vibrant photo shoot styled with a no-frills preppy aesthetic in mind. From the photos, you can get a sense of the atmosphere on set: White brought her characteristically good energy to what was a seamlessly brilliant feature. The snapshots are a testament to her skill in front of the camera, the incredible styling efforts from the brand’s fashion editors and the natural beauty of the destination.

What they don’t necessarily reveal is the backstory behind each pose. But, thankfully, White has taken it upon herself to do just that. In an Instagram post on Oct. 8, the model shared a throwback to that third brand feature—and one particular photo from the trip to Barbados.

Tanaye White was photographed by Ben Watts in Barbados. Swimsuit by Ark Swimwear. Earrings by BaubleBar. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrate

In the snapshot, which was captured by Ben Watts, she donned a red V-neck one-piece and hung from a metal pole suspended between two trees on the white sand beach. But how she ended up there is a different story entirely. White’s Instagram post featured a video in which the model practiced her pull-ups on the the bar before stopping and posing for the final shot.

“Sometimes modeling requires a bit of upper body strength,” she joked in the caption of the video. “This day is still one of my all time favorites shooting with [Ben Watts] in Barbados.”

The video was a testament to the behind-the-scenes action on the set of each and every SI Swimsuit photo shoot. But it was also a testament to the incredible energy that White brought to each of her brand features. With that sort of enthusiasm, it’s no wonder that the resulting images are so stunning.