Some questions to ask yourself before you commit to this as a full-time career.
1. How old am I? If you are under 18 and have the social awareness / confidence to pursue this field awesome you are already ahead of the game, keep reading. If you are over 18, you may still pursue your dream just realize things may become increasingly harder for you as you approach 25 (although within the past few years a few super models have bumped this age "max" up a few years).
2. What type of model do I want to be? Click here to see what height and weight requirements you meet.
Getting Started
Regardless of what type of model you wish to be, you will need a few basic things to start out:
1. Your Portfolio.
If you are looking to be picked up by a big time agency (yes agency, NOT school, I will explain the difference later) you will want to pay a professional glamor / fashion editorial photographer to take 3 photos of you if you are applying as a novice (1 face, 1 full body clothed, 1 full body swimsuit), 5 photos of you if you want to show up equipped with a comp card (3 solid examples of comp cards below)
1. How old am I? If you are under 18 and have the social awareness / confidence to pursue this field awesome you are already ahead of the game, keep reading. If you are over 18, you may still pursue your dream just realize things may become increasingly harder for you as you approach 25 (although within the past few years a few super models have bumped this age "max" up a few years).
2. What type of model do I want to be? Click here to see what height and weight requirements you meet.
Getting Started
Regardless of what type of model you wish to be, you will need a few basic things to start out:
1. Your Portfolio.
If you are looking to be picked up by a big time agency (yes agency, NOT school, I will explain the difference later) you will want to pay a professional glamor / fashion editorial photographer to take 3 photos of you if you are applying as a novice (1 face, 1 full body clothed, 1 full body swimsuit), 5 photos of you if you want to show up equipped with a comp card (3 solid examples of comp cards below)
*Note that most agencies will replace your self-made comp cards so don't break the bank and order 1000 copies to be printed.
If you are looking to get some experience and build up your portfolio independently before jumping into the big leagues, OR if you want to be a freelance model, launch a profile on modelmayhem.com using a few of your better pics from Facebook and Instagram.
2. Go Green.
Nearly a decade ago my mother dragged me down the cold corridors of Ford's NYC location where I met a male model who looked as pleased to be there as I was. He was holding a cd in a plastic envelope case, my mom asked him where his book was, he waved the cd and told her it was all on that delicate little disk. This is great news for you. Gone are the days of buying a huge book which you must fill with photos printed on expensive high quality paper, now you may just buy a stack of 10-50 cds to carry around with you for go-sees and open calls.
3. The Website.
Once you have a sufficient amount of EXCELLENT photos of you where you look COMPLETELY different in each photo (click here for an example), it is time to bring your presence online. For an easy step by step, read my post titled Everything you need to Build your brand online under the College & Beyond tab.
If you setup an account with Weebly and want to get the look I have for my welcome page, select a template with a black background then . . .
1. Click Design
If you are looking to get some experience and build up your portfolio independently before jumping into the big leagues, OR if you want to be a freelance model, launch a profile on modelmayhem.com using a few of your better pics from Facebook and Instagram.
2. Go Green.
Nearly a decade ago my mother dragged me down the cold corridors of Ford's NYC location where I met a male model who looked as pleased to be there as I was. He was holding a cd in a plastic envelope case, my mom asked him where his book was, he waved the cd and told her it was all on that delicate little disk. This is great news for you. Gone are the days of buying a huge book which you must fill with photos printed on expensive high quality paper, now you may just buy a stack of 10-50 cds to carry around with you for go-sees and open calls.
3. The Website.
Once you have a sufficient amount of EXCELLENT photos of you where you look COMPLETELY different in each photo (click here for an example), it is time to bring your presence online. For an easy step by step, read my post titled Everything you need to Build your brand online under the College & Beyond tab.
If you setup an account with Weebly and want to get the look I have for my welcome page, select a template with a black background then . . .
1. Click Design
2. Click Edit HTML / CSS
3. Click Add new layout (under Page Layouts) & select Splash Page
4. Socialize.
As Taylor Swift pointed out in her piece published on the Wall Street Journal open forum, it is all about who you know. A friend of hers lost a role in a movie, to another actress who had the same amount of experience, but more twitter followers than she. It is not always this way in the modeling world, but give it a try. This is not the place where you post 40 selfies of the same exact pose & face with a new shirt and different background. Change it up, try to have each pic of you look at least a little, if not completely, different.
5. ANTM.
There is more than enough controversy over the show, while much of what they do in the later seasons is solely there to keep ratings high and fans amused, you can learn a decent amount from watching old re-runs of the beginning seasons. Pay special attention to what is said during each of the panels. If you notice something controversial (example: in one episode Tyra rebukes a girl for doing X but a season later she rebukes a girl for not doing X) this may just be the producers making shit up so they can kick a contestant off for unseen reasons, so do not take controversial critiques as gospel truth.
6. Study.
Pick a model whose career you aspire to have. Study what he or she did when they were starting out and do your research to figure out how those moves and decisions may translate to your current situation, skill set, time and place. It is not enough to be smart and beautiful you have to be unforgettable.
7. School vs. Agency
A modeling school is great if you are wanting to learn how to do your own makeup, or walk confidently in high heels, but YouTube will probably provide you with a better education for free. If a school claims to double as an agency ask what the costs are for them to represent you. If they charge anything they're not an agency, they are a scam. An agency takes a percentage of the money you make from GETTING jobs, they take you on as a client, invest research and time in you because they have faith that you will bring them money through your modeling career. This is why your agency may send you to the salon for a new hair color or style, this is why they will make you a new comp card, this is why they will make various financial investments in getting you work. You do not pay any work related bills, they do. If a place charges you for anything it is a scam, do not waste your time.
8. Fans vs. Friends
Friends will keep you sane along your journey, but fans will make you famous. If you treat your close friends like fans, you will loose them. If you treat your fans like close friends you will have stalkers. You need to find a safe balance with both groups, without offending, confusing or loosing either.
As Taylor Swift pointed out in her piece published on the Wall Street Journal open forum, it is all about who you know. A friend of hers lost a role in a movie, to another actress who had the same amount of experience, but more twitter followers than she. It is not always this way in the modeling world, but give it a try. This is not the place where you post 40 selfies of the same exact pose & face with a new shirt and different background. Change it up, try to have each pic of you look at least a little, if not completely, different.
5. ANTM.
There is more than enough controversy over the show, while much of what they do in the later seasons is solely there to keep ratings high and fans amused, you can learn a decent amount from watching old re-runs of the beginning seasons. Pay special attention to what is said during each of the panels. If you notice something controversial (example: in one episode Tyra rebukes a girl for doing X but a season later she rebukes a girl for not doing X) this may just be the producers making shit up so they can kick a contestant off for unseen reasons, so do not take controversial critiques as gospel truth.
6. Study.
Pick a model whose career you aspire to have. Study what he or she did when they were starting out and do your research to figure out how those moves and decisions may translate to your current situation, skill set, time and place. It is not enough to be smart and beautiful you have to be unforgettable.
7. School vs. Agency
A modeling school is great if you are wanting to learn how to do your own makeup, or walk confidently in high heels, but YouTube will probably provide you with a better education for free. If a school claims to double as an agency ask what the costs are for them to represent you. If they charge anything they're not an agency, they are a scam. An agency takes a percentage of the money you make from GETTING jobs, they take you on as a client, invest research and time in you because they have faith that you will bring them money through your modeling career. This is why your agency may send you to the salon for a new hair color or style, this is why they will make you a new comp card, this is why they will make various financial investments in getting you work. You do not pay any work related bills, they do. If a place charges you for anything it is a scam, do not waste your time.
8. Fans vs. Friends
Friends will keep you sane along your journey, but fans will make you famous. If you treat your close friends like fans, you will loose them. If you treat your fans like close friends you will have stalkers. You need to find a safe balance with both groups, without offending, confusing or loosing either.