Learning how to become a model is the first step in living your dreams. Every day you see fresh faces and old faces on the covers of magazines. And you may dream of seeing your own face in those magazines.
Be warmed this can be a very harsh industry based only on what you look like. Be prepared for a lot of rejection and don’t give up easily.
Finding an agent:
The first step you have to take is finding a good agent. They will send you to castings, get you a portfolio and market you to clients. In South Africa Star Model Management (Tansey Coetzee, Christina Storm), Ice Model Management (Tanit Phoenix, Tatum Keshwar) and G3 (Adele Segal, Michelle Wallace) are reputable agencies.
Be wary if an agency asks you to pay money to join them. When they take you on their books its because they believe you will work and make money. If they want you to pay, that may be a warning sign you cannot ignore.
Meeting your potential agent:
After deciding which agency you’d like to go with take some photographs. These should be as natural looking photographs with your hair out of your face and as little make up as possible. Take two photos of your face, one facing the camera and one in profile. Do the same with the full length photos. The agency will let you know if you suit the look and the type of model that they have on their books. If not, don’t stress, there are a ton of other agencies to go to.
Once you hear back from the agency and are going in to meet them make sure you wear something that is flattering and comfortable. It’s best to keep it simple, jeans, a white tee and heels or wedges for girls and jeans and a white shirt for guys.
Don’t feel pressure to dress up or cake your face in make up, the agency wants to see you and your natural beauty not a poppie covered in base and 7 colours of makeup.
A portfolio:
Once the agency accepts you, you will take portfolio pictures with a professional photographer, make up artist and stylist. The portfolio will show potential clients the different looks that you can pull of.
Castings:
After you shoot and get pictures taken for your portfolio you will start going to see clients from magazines, agencies and start attending castings. Make sure you know the brief and stick to to it, attend the casting on time and be well presented.If you are not getting booked for jobs, its because you don’t fit the part that the client is looking for.
Decide early on what type of model you’d like to be. You can focus on commercial, ramp, lingerie. Discuss this with your agency. Also decide what you are comfortable doing and what you are not. Inform them so they are not blindsided if a job comes up that you are not interested in doing because of your religious beliefs or principles. Posing in a bikini, relaxing your hair, kissing someone are all scenarios that you may face. It’s ok to not want to do anything that makes you uncomfortable, just let your agency know.
Final Tips:
As a model, your face and body play a large role in the jobs you’re getting. Make sure you are eating healthy, working out to stay toned and looking after your skin .
Being a model can be great lifestyle, very fun, exciting and allow you the opportunity to travel. It can also make you neurotic, and have self loathing issues. Think about your own personality and whether you would be despondent by rejection and constantly being judged about your looks.
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