Career Tips for Aspiring Models

Dealing with rejections:

Many would-be models dream of having a magical fairytale entrance into the modeling world with an incredibly fast rise to stardom and the high life. When you get rejected for your first time it might feel crushing and hopeless. My advice to you is to not give up. Talk to successful models and ask them how many times they have had the agency door shut in their face.  I have personally witnessed models that were passed over by their small hometown agency to go on to become successes and are now represented by a top New York agency.  Keep knocking on doors and eventually one will open for you. If rejected the first time it’s a good idea to hit even the same agencies up again after a few months. It’s about timing. You never know, your first rejection could be just because the agent was having a bad day or possibly they already had someone who fit your style already at that time. Things change in 3 -6 month so it will pay off to have persistence and a positive attitude.  

Professionalism:

To be a professional model one must act accordingly, in many photo shoot situations you will have to deal with cold or uncomfortable weather conditions, squeeze into ridiculously tight fitting outfits, or balance on sky high heels.  Try your best to suck it up for the shoot. Of course don’t put yourself in any physical danger or harsh discomfort but most professional models can get though any photo shoot without complaining.  Once you attain the supermodel status then feel free to throw a childish fit or act like a super start. Until you can honestly say you are super model, keep a professional attitude, it will pay off in the long run. 

Never take anything personally at a photo shoot. If you get a strange attitude from someone at the shoot it is probably because they are stressed or not confident in their own skills. Not to say to put up with crap from people, just save it until the shoot is over and let your agent or the photographer know. You won’t gain anything from blowing up on set.

Health:

Eat Healthy foods and drink plenty of water to keep your skin hydrated. Doing cardio exercises will give you photo shoot stamina so you can stay fresh for longer. Don’t get the tattoo, just don’t do it, you will regret it or lose jobs because of it, sure there is Photoshop but people will still see it as a detriment. If you are sick or hung over avoid at all costs staggering onto a set looking tired a dreary for a terrible first impression.  If you do happen to be hung over or slightly sick on your shoot day, pull yourself together just before entering the studio or location and burst onto the scene with energy, fake it for about 3 min while you meet everyone then escape to the makeup chair where you can relax for a while, sip a latte and get into character (and get make up to cover up your sins from the previous evening).

Attitude and Perspective:

One thing to remember when considering your career as a model is remember your role as a model is such:  a commodity whose sole purpose is to aid in selling a product, mood or image.  People pay you (your agent) money because they want to make money so try to see it from the client’s perspective.  Make sure you know what the art director or photographer is going for and do your best to deliver.  Good news travels fast (so does bad news). Market yourself as an outgoing model who loves to pose and work the camera. Word will spread in the fashion and photography circles.

Keep Shooting:

Always keep in practice and continue to grow as a model. Find out what angles work for you and which are weaker. Build your relationship with the camera until you can master any mood or convey any feeling though your posture and expression. Read the top fashion magazines and learn from the poses (especially the ones in the advertisements in first 20 pages of the magazine) Keep shooting with different photographers to get to know different shooting styles. Get out there and be a part of the fashion and photography scene, you never know who you will meet at an industry party.

Ok have fun and good luck!!!