HOW TO BE A MODEL

Let me start out by saying that if you are reading this, you probably have an interest in modeling or at least a curiosity. You may be a gorgeous lady, and have a lot of potential as a model. You may even be able to prove a friend of mine wrong, (who is a photographer still in NYC. He and I went to school together at FIT in NYC. Fashion Institute of Technologyis the top fashion school in the country and as such the top fashion photography school as well and by the way I was the top of my class there) ... He lived all his life in the big city, having grown up there. But I was from a small town and so was my wife (who at the time was an Art Director there). After a while of working there, big city life didn't agree with us, so we left. He is still there.

He says that I will never find a NYC quality model up here. Mostly, they don't have the same exposure as girls in NYC. Well, I decided to prove him wrong, but in the course of things I realized that what I really had to do was teach the girls up here HOW to be a NYC quality model.

My OMP pics and the majority of pics on my web page are part of that teaching. Most new models up here spend a lot of time working with the portrait photographers up here and getting what I would call `"editorial fashion" pics.

One new model, asked me what I can offer her that is different from what she sees in my portfolio.

I wrote back to her:

"If I may suggest... you asked me what I can offer you that is different than what you see in my portfolio. Actually you should be asking me what I can offer you that is different from what YOU have in YOUR portfolio.”

So if I may take a very short moment and say this… Please don't take offense ... it is my observation. I told you, you are good and have potential, but your poses are all built on the same pose, and have the same look. You have to learn how to work the camera more, and "seduce" the viewer. This is the things I can offer you. All of the models on my site were brand new and had not worked in a studio situation before. But the pics don't look it. I showed them how to move and what the basic rules are of ‘studio’ fashion modeling”

So what I am basically saying is that I’ll give you studio shots for your portfolio and I will give you the "rules" of how to move in front of the camera to make your modeling better.

As a new model, you need to be working with as many photographers as you can. Each of them will teach you something new. You may not even get any pictures from some of them. But it's the EXPERIENCE you need. Every time you go to a new setting for a shoot, there is the nervousness and anxiety that goes with it. The more you do that, The more you will be used to it. And hopefully you will be less anxious in front of the camera, each time. Any photographer that has been working for many years will give you something new in the line of experience and that's what you need most. It's not the studio , it's not the equipment. Some of the best pics I've ever seen were done with throwaway cameras. It's the photographer and the experience you get from it, that counts. Unless you only want to be an Albany quality model. If that's the case then don't bother reading any more.

Here's the letter I often send new models...

In order to give your portfolio a professional look and to look like you have worked as a professional, you need to have shots of you on seamless paper. As a professional looking for the right model for a shoot, I would want to be working with a pro. One of the tell tale hints is the "type" of photos used in the portfolio. Portrait photographers as a norm use fancy backgrounds and "sets" to
shoot in as well as site work. Fashion Photographers and magazine photographers are more often going to use "studio" sets with seamless paper. If I see no seamless shots in a portfolio I conclude that the person has not really worked professionally. This doesn't mean I won't use her. But it may mean I skip her for this job and have her come in for a test, first. The job that she just missed may have been a really nice one.

All the models on my web page are new. Some had a portfolio that I would not have considered worth testing. But as you can see in the website, they look good with the right kind of direction. There was much more to them than the early portfolio showed. There was a cable special done on the supermodels. And one of
the repeating statements thru it all was that the photographer, makes the model. So this is where I come in. Thru years of photography and working in NYC and being in fashion, I have learned the simple techniques that make the difference between being nice pictures and what makes it catch the eye and hold it. Even experienced models get into bad habits, or lose track of what they are doing or how they look.

STEP #1

To start out with, spend a lot of time looking at other models and pictures in magazines. See what looks good, and see what the current fashions are. Tear out pages and save them, study them. Even bring them in and we’ll talk about them and you doing those poses. If that’s what you like and what you want to look like we’ll make it happen.

STEP #2

Make sure that you buy at least some new "fashionable" clothes periodically, so you have shots that are up to date. Great shots with last years fashions, to a fashion person, means you are not doing anything current.

IMPORTANT:

Make sure you have "ensembles" that go together and look good together. And get a few accessories, like a handbag, a hat, a belt... jewelry is important too. If they can be interchanged that is good. If you look good in hats and scarves ... do it.

Don't shy away from make up even if you don't think you need it. You don't want "theater" make up but you do want "camera" make up - the basics at least to bring out the eyes and lips.

"Learn to do makeup"

Once you have the clothes that work well together, put them on and model them for yourself in the mirror. Get a full length mirror if you don't have one. You can get them cheap at Wal-Mart for under $20, and put it on the back of a door if you don't have anywhere else to put it. Then spend time modeling for yourself whenever you can, at least an hour a day. Look at models in the magazines and on OMP and copy them. If you see a model doing things that look good ... Go do it for your mirror. See how you look good doing it and how you don't. The only way you can see what the camera sees is to
see the pictures after the fact. Or, do it in the mirror. So you have it down before the shoot. Try to think angles and twisting at all times.

RULE #1

The first rule of advertising (and modeling is after all advertising) is NEVER miss a deadline or an appointment.... NEVER. I can't tell you how many times I worked thru the night to make sure a deadline was met. Keep in mind that time is valuable even though I don't charge you for the shoot. Please don't set up a shoot and then cancel. That unfortunately is one of the biggest problems with new models. Either they get cold feet and decide they can't do it. Or decide whatever. I work free, but if I was charging for it ...few models could afford my $200+ / hour fee. When you set up a time ... I will set aside that time for you, you can count on that. So please if you set up a shoot ... be there. If something comes up, I know that it can. I understand. But in this industry, that is a strike against you ... and against you getting the job, when there is one. You can be making $30/hr if you are good ...even in the beginning. and if you make it even a little bit ...much more. So don't blow it all by not being there.

I don't mean to sound harsh... but it is the worst problem with models. You have to prove you are reliable, and the way you start that is to be there for your shoots, even if you aren't getting paid. Your payment is reputation and pics.

RULE # 2

(However keep in mind that there is NO rule that is ALWAYS) EXCEPT RULE #1

RULE # 3

If one foot is forward put the other back, if one hand is up put the other down. If you understand negative space, watch it and work with it, when you are posing. If you don't understand, don't
worry, we'll work on it when we get together. But mostly copy other models, copy their clothes, copy their poses, copy their facial expressions, etc. It won't look like a copy when you do it, though, because it will have your personality in it, and that's what will make it special.

RULE #4

Modeling is part looks and part attitude together

Your attitude controls your looks "Change your attitude and you change your looks"

I know this is a lot to throw at you, and maybe you know all of it and have been doing it. But it doesn't hurt to refresh ones mind of these things, because even experienced people can get out of the good habits and tend to get stale. In this industry stale is out of work.

As for what I would suggest for a shoot. First you want to show as wide a range of YOU as possible in a portfolio. So bring a little bit of everything from lingerie to a full-length dress. A sexy jeans and belly button showing top is good too. It's another image and important as well to have something in a gown or full-length dress, something to show your "sophistication". Those are all things for your portfolio. Make sure you figure out how it works in each case as an "outfit" what goes together and what looks good. Take the time to make it an outfit/ensemble (remember accessories). Of course lingerie doesn't get a handbag as such but a bathing suit can. You can throw in a little jewelry or even a belt or sash or some sort. But then it doesn't have to be. Maybe just by itself is fine. Sometimes a scarf can be great, especially if it brings out the color in your eyes.

There was an Article on MSNBC.COM on LOOKS and

SEXINESS by Fashion Designer Bradley Bayou

THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT THING TO KEEP IN MIND ON WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT....

Updated: 5:20 p.m. ET Jan 9, 2007
NEW YORK - To call sexiness an exact science is a stretch, but there is certainly a formula, says fashion designer Bradley Bayou.

Measurements have nothing to do with it. It’s about symmetry.
“What we are attracted to, what we find sexy, are things that are symmetrical. Research backs that up,” says Bayou, who has written a new book called “The Science of Sexy” (Gotham Books).

“Women try to force their figures into fads and trends, even if they’re not flattering to them, because they think they’re ‘sexy.’ ... But it’s really all about balancing the body.”

Short hourglass shapes might consider jackets that fit snugly at the waist, perhaps adorned with a peplum, and skirts with either semicircles or A-lines. Tall boyish shapes would be better served by open necklines, such as a V or a scoop, and a pleated skirt or straight-leg pants with angled pockets, Bayou suggests.

“Everywhere you look in nature, it’s always balanced. A tree is balanced, even looking, even though it’s not exactly the same on both sides. Yes, you’ll have imperfections, but if you pull it all together, they’ll be balanced.”

That makes sense to Randy Thornhill, a biology professor at the University of New Mexico who has studied the link between symmetry and physical attraction.

Health equals beauty
“The bottom line is developmental health. The general finding for animals — not just humans — is that as the individual begins development, optimal development is bilateral symmetry. Most don’t achieve it,” he says.

Symmetry, whether most of us realize it, may signal that an individual can be a strong, healthy mate capable of producing healthy offspring, Thornhill says. It indicates an ability to deal with any environmental problems encountered in the person’s life.

Thornhill’s original research focused on facial symmetry, but, he says, further research has found the same thing with breasts, buttocks and thighs.

“With women, bodily symmetry is conveyed in the face but also how she mobilizes — how she walks, a more attractive gait. When dancing, symmetrical people are more attractive when they dance. It comes out in the grace and movement,” he says.

That means the structure of your genes are more important than the size of your jeans.
Bayou, formerly the creative director at Halston, is known as a source of red-carpet gowns for Oprah Winfrey, Queen Latifah, Salma Hayek and Eva Longoria — women of varying body types. “All these women are sexy, and they’re all different. The one thing in common, though, is that they’re not emaciated. If that’s what magazines say is sexy, they’re wrong.”

He adds: “Every body is unique, and there are different pieces that will work on them.”
Bayou’s book aims to help women find the styles that work for them. He offers suggestions based on 12 basic body types, accounting for shape, height and weight. He tells you what to wear and what not to wear: Overt plunging necklines and micro minis usually fall into that second category.

The one thing that does look good on just about everyone is a wrap dress. “Thank God for Diane von Furstenberg,” says Bayou. (Von Furstenberg first introduced that silhouette to the fashion world in early 1970s, got it on the cover of Time magazine in 1976, and has included it in every variation imaginable in her collections ever since.)

Accessorize with confidence
How to accessorize it? With confidence.
“I find that most women — 99 percent, I’d say — are insecure about their bodies, and I’m talking about drop-dead gorgeous women. What I find sexy is self-confidence. I’m trying to give those women confidence about their body. You can’t change your body overnight, but you can change the way you dress.”

Other things to wear with pride are kindness and a sense of humor.
“I think everybody agrees that sexy comes from within,” Bayou adds. “A runway model might not be sexy, but a size 10 or 12 shapely woman can be so sexy. She’ll get more attention in the end if she’s confident and funny.”

Women spend too much time stressing about the little stuff, he says, not realizing that men can usually find something sexy about almost anyone. “Women think you need it all, but you really only need one part and make the most of it. ... People aren’t born perfect.”

As for what I would want to see... for the faerie look. I think anything can be a faerie look from a bathing suit to an evening gown. But admittedly when I add wings and insert the model into a nature shot (sitting on a flower say) The evening gown becomes a stretch. So in that case if you have something that is showing skin. That is what we naturally think of in a faerie look. So lingerie or a bathing suit. Or a dress that can be pulled up or a mini skirt. Peasant cut shirts and skirts work very nicely. That's what the black dress Becket is wearing had ... The bottom was jagged edged and worked nicely into the idea.

So now the question is are you serious about being a model or are you just "playing" with the idea and getting your picture on a web site cuz it's "cool". I say this because there are a lot of girls out there that just want to see their face on an international web page.

I do agree that you need to know more about it. That's much of what I do... explaining what is going on in this industry and what to expect, what to do and what not to do.

RULE #5

NEVER GO TO ANY SHOOT ALONE! Always be safe and be sure, after all you don't know the person

RULE #6

Don't sign anything other than a model release (you have to sign a model release in order to get pictures for yourself from the photographer... he's not going to give them up without the release).

RULE #7

Don't pay money for your portfolio... those are scams. Also don't take money (yet) for a portfolio or "test" shoot. (you aren't good enough YET). Let me put it like this... No photographer that is any good (at least by NYC standards... and that after all is the standard of excellence), needs to take money or pay money for portfolio/test work. If he takes money then that says he needs to get money from a model to keep in business. If he pays money at this point in your career, then he can't get models without paying for it. Any really good photographer will have models coming to him and asking for what is called TFP (Time For Prints) or TFCD (Time For CD). This means the model gives her time and is paid for it by getting pictures/CD in return. This isn’t to say he doesn’t advertise that he is looking for models. Every photographer is always looking for new models.

All the models on my web page and on my OMP page are brand new to modeling. Most of them I had to teach how to pose and what to do, and even what to wear.

RULE #8

Oh by the way NEVER pay for modeling classes either. That is also a scam. Now makeup is worth it. You need to know makeup especially eye and lips... It helps if you can do more. The key to good modeling is 2 things, (other than the model of course) Make Up and the Photographer. So you want to work with as many different photographers and learn what each can teach you ... and you want to learn all you can about makeup.

To start out you need a portfolio. This is how you get your face out to the Photographers and Art Directors, who will be using models. There is more than one way to do this.

1. You can go to a photographer and pay him to do a portfolio for you. Although if a photographer does portfolio's for models as a regular thing... I would question just how good he is since the really good ones wouldn't need to get paid for a model to do a test ( and after all doing a portfolio is just a test of that model that gives her pictures too)

2. You may be able to find a photographer (especially on OMP) that will pay you to do a shoot and give you the results. Any good photographer has enough models coming to him looking for shoots that he doesn't need to pay for it.

3. You find a good photographer that will do a test on you and give you the pictures that result from it. He either gets a test of you and can see if he wants you for a serious job in the future, or he may want you to do a few poses specifically for some work he is doing that either doesn't pay much or not at all.

I fall into the third group. Of course I'm prejudiced as to how good I am. But you can decide for yourself on that part, just by looking at my web page. Yes I will give you plenty of pics for your portfolio. I typically will take a few hundred pictures in one shoot over a 2 to 3 hour shoot. And on occasion I have even taken as many as 700 in that time. How many I take and how many you will end up with for your portfolio will depend totally on how good you are. (That's your part of the bargain). Although even if you turn out to be terrible I'll still give you all the pics from the shoot, so you can decide for yourself what and if you want to use from it. All it's costing you is the time to get to me, do a shoot and then go home. I don't guarantee anything. After all I am only part of the equation in getting good pics, the other part is you. Still I have never done a shoot that the model didn't come away from it with something for her portfolio. There was one girl that was much too overweight and very plain looking. My son remarked, "Why are you even shooting her? She is just 'plain'." Well I couldn't use any of the pics but she found at least a dozen that were much better than what she had before and she was thrilled.

STEP #3

I'll give you a CD with all the pics on it. I go thru every pic and I'll take the ones I like and put them in a separate folder, crop the better ones and I’ll even resize them so you can use them on the web, right away, and add them to your site on OMP. Of course, how many you will get will depend on you.

There was a special done on TV about supermodels. They mentioned the important things in making a model good and even great. The one most important thing besides the models own ability is the photographer. The photographer and the relationship that happens between the photographer and the model is the difference. There becomes a kind of understanding of movement and look and expectations. It causes a flow to happen and then you can end up with magic.

The portfolio will get you in the door. (I needed a portfolio to even get into school to learn how to be a photographer) But then it's up to you and a little luck, to be the right look and the right model for the job.

There are a few things you can do to grab the viewer and I'll show you how to do that. I'll show you how to "work the camera" I don't mean physically use the camera... but how you can look good to the camera...and make the camera work for you.

Start out doing the mirror things I mentioned, and put together clothes in "ensembles" so they look good and look like they belong together.

Think in terms of what a job may look like. What kind of jobs you would like to be doing. So bring something as an accessory... like a hand bag or something you can "model" and show off bring some jewelry that you can model too. And maybe a hairbrush or something to put in your hair to show off your hair. Bring these things and you have just done 3 ads. We can shoot them as if they were an ad for a magazine. This will make it look like you have actually worked as a model. It doesn't matter if the ads were ever actually for anything.

You want the person who is looking for a model to "see" you modeling their product. If you have already done some jewelry and they like your look, then they can imagine you in their jewelry.

If you decide to do a shoot with me or with someone else ...look in magazines and see what the models are doing. See what poses they do, especially in the realm of accessories. Then choose something that will work like what they are doing, in the magazine. Imagine yourself doing it ...and practice it in the mirror. (Practice in the mirror even if you don't shoot with me). then bring those accessories so we can shoot you with them. Look at the pics of Alysa on my web page. There is one where she has a handbag. It looks like it was for an ad. That's what we want to do with you. Make you look like you are doing an ad. It doesn't have to be a handbag like that ... But find 3 things we can shoot that way.

AGAIN REMEMBER RULE #6

Never sign a contract with anyone other than a standard model release. (You’ll have to at least do that if you want the photographer to give you pics back too).

(I don't mean to sound harsh here) But a new model is simply not good enough for anyone to want to manage. If they say they want to, they are just taking advantage of you in some way. I have seen agents do that and then any good jobs coming in for their "newbe" part timer model ...they give to their "favorite" full timer saying the “newbe” girl is busy that day, so they'll send them over an even better model. The better model probably demands higher pay too ...so his percentage goes up as well.

Don't sign anything unless you have a lawyer OK it, or at least someone trusted and knowledgeable.
And always bring someone with you to the shoot. That way if a photographer has any ulterior motives you are protected.