How do I get noticed?
5 Answers
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Its the same anywhere - and it's very simple.
If you are 5' 9"+ and 34-25-34, and even reasonably pretty, you almost certainly can be a model. Girls like that are very rare, very much in demand, and don't need to do anything to get noticed. You just need to send 6 pictures to the agencies (they all want the same thing). Three pictures are full body shots, in a bikini; front, side, and rear views. No posing, no distracting background. The other three need to be head shots, front, side and 3/4 views. Hair up, no makeup, no posing.
And NO OTHER PICTURES. That is all they want, and they will be annoyed if you send them more.
If you are not 5' 9"+ and 34-25-34, even if you are stunningly beautiful, then you almost certainly cannot be a professional model. There is no such thing as a "petite model." Here is what they do:
Petite:
http://www.anntaylor.com/ann/product/AT-Petites/AT...
Regular:
http://www.anntaylor.com/ann/product/AT-Apparel/AT...
They use the same models for everything; print, runway, commercial, whatever. All models have to be qualified for runway, the best/prettiest/most interesting of them get chosen for print and commercial work. If you are a teen, you can do teen glamour modeling at any height, but you need the right personality for it - the best places to look and see what its about are trueteenbabes.com, OMG models and Sandl models. Those girls make very good money, but only before they turn 18
Once yuo are 18, you really only have "glamour" modeling as an option. You have no agency, and amateur "art" photographers pay you to get semi-naked or naked. You'll get paid around $50 an hour, getting work for yourself though sites like model mayhem and craigslist.
http://www.imgmodels.com/become.aspx?cityID=1
http://www.elitemodel.com/bediscovered.aspx?city=L...
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You can start to build a portfolio and get paid for modelling before approaching any agencies. Beware, 3 out of 4 agencies are scams or bogus. If an agency asks you to pay for a shoot or a portfolio it is a scam.( If signed to their books, a genuine agency may ask for a fee to host your portfolio on their website but the fee will be deducted from your earnings once work has been found for you.)
Your portfolio can contain good clear amateur shots or professional images. One of the best ways to gets pro-images is to join a model networking website. Over 18s can join Purestorm, Model Mayhem or One Model Place. These are international sites so it doesn`t matter where in the world you are located. Decide your genres and set up a profile. Network with the photographers on the sites that are in your area and hopefully you`ll get some freelance shoots offered to you. There are other websites, but these are the ones most models use. You can be a member of more than one.
Under 18s can still use these networking sites to find photographers in their area by using the search facility. The photographers will have links to their own websites where you can contact them direct. Drop them an email and ask if they do shoots appropriate to your age and chosen genre of modelling. Ask them about TFP/TFCD work. TFP/TFCD means Time For Prints / Time for Compact Disc. It works by both the model and the photographer giving time to a shoot where no money exchanges hands but both get either printed images or a CD of images to use in their portfolios. The photographer will hold the copyright to them.
Build up a portfolio (doing it this way gives you valuable experience in front of the camera AND you can get paid for it) and then approach the agencies You can carry on freelancing while you do that. It`s not as secure as being signed to an agency, and it`s very competitive but you will be getting experience and references.
By joining these sites you can also get loads of information and advice from other models/photographers/agents/MUAs etc but be aware that the scammers also use these sites so if you`re not sure of any offers, ask around first. You can use the site to check on the authenticity of any agencies that approach you or who you find online. You can access most of the threads in the forums as a guest. Use the search facility to find threads on any particular aspect of the industry or for information on an agency etc.
For runway work a female model needs to be at least 5'7. However, numerous successful working models are shorter, some under 5'. They do promotional, lingerie, commercial, print and glamour modelling. Many are with good, smaller agencies but the high-end agencies are more restrictive and prefer "petite" models to be c.5'6"
The USA seem to have more height restrictions and set ideal modelling standards than the UK. Unfortunately it seems that many (not all) american girls are fixated with the idea that being tall automatically qualifies them to be a model. It takes a whole lot more than height! Australia will have it`s own perameters.
People are all shapes, sizes and ages. Agencies` clients will be wanting models representing that. Anything and everything needs a model to sell it. Clothing, product, emotion and lifestyle. Advertisers need to appeal to everyone and that requires 'real' people! All the people you see in television adverts, billboard adverts, flyers, magazines etc are all models.
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Be warned that there is so much misinformation (even from some agencies) out there these days. It's very different in this decade, with different methods available, but also more scams and creeps so be careful.
Check out www.aussieelite.com
They are an independent group of professionals supporting models and even run the Australian Model Conference.
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Throughout this course you will learn concepts that range in scope from beginner photography all the way to advanced topics in post production, composition, and light. https://tr.im/VRXSp
You can start right now. Like right this very moment! The course is all online. There are no deadlines or timelines for you to follow. Set your own pace! Go slowly through the course or blaze through it.
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