Posted on

“I don’t fit the casting description, should I still go?” – #ModelTipTuesday #ModelAdvice

Another #ModelTipTuesday post for ya! These posts will be dedicated to your questions about modeling. If there are any questions you have, send them to me via any of my social media sites, or email me your questions. I will either respond to them directly or respond to you and post the question as a blog post for others to learn from. So, Here I go!

 

I recently had a comment on one of my posts asking this very question. The reader basically said that there was an audition that she was going to go to but she didn’t fit the height requirement for one of the characters that she was auditioning for. She wondered if she should go…

 

My advice?

 

I don’t think she should go or at least audition for an other role where she fits the description.

The casting directors put out the requirements for the roles or the booking a certain way for a reason. It could be that the clothes for the shoot or show are a certain size or the height of the model has to be a certain height in order to fit into a particular set setup with a model or actor of a complementary height.

There aren’t too many chances that you not fitting the requirements are going to change the director or the agent’s mind in regards to you winning the role just because you showed up and auditioned for it, simply because its not what the role calls for.

 

And that’s my 2 cents!

Posted on

“How do I know if its a scam?” Part 1 #ModelTipTuesday

Day 4 – Still kickin it on Alex Beadon’s Blog Challenge and today’s challenge is to answer a frequently asked question in a blog post. I think that this is something that I;ll add to my blog on a weekly basis. #ModelTipTuesday will be dedicated to your questions about modeling. If there are any questions you have, send them to me via any of my social media sites, or email me your questions. I will either respond to them directly or respond to you and post the question as a blog post for others to learn from. So, Here I go!

One of the constant questions that I get asked about is scams. This modeling business can be shaaaady baby! I like to think that most people are inherently good but the ones that aren’t make it hard to decipher the good ones from the bad. I know it makes it hard to know who to trust and who is really there for your best interest or theirs, but there are a few things that you have to look at in order to really understand if something is a scam or not.

Check this out

Signs this might be a scam (according to Alean):

  1. If they contact you by email
    1. They are speaking in is broken English, or text message slang, or slang period
    2. The email address that they are emailing you from is non identifying (ex: 7394xytty@gmail.com) OR it doesn’t match the name of the person sending it (ex: Im Lisa Johnson but my email address is MartinElizabeth@gmail.com)
    3. They tell you they work with a well known brand or designer like, Ralph Lauren or Gucci (No high fashion brand is booking models sight unseen via the internet)
    4. They tell you that you have been selected to work for that big name client and want to pay you a large sum of money for your work but part of it will be paid upfront. (NO AGENCY WILL PAY YOU UPRONT AND ASK FOR THE MONEY BACK!)
    5. In order to you to be paid you have to provide them with a ton of personal information and your bank account information (ALL THAT INFO IS NOT NEEDED ESPECIALLY BANK ACCOUNT INFO)
    6. They leave no contact info (phone number, address, etc.) for you to contact them if you have any questions or want to look them up.

Take a look at this email that was sent to a model friend of mine.

 

Hello,

 Good afternoon to you over there and hope you are doing fine today?

thanks for your response, Presently the company (Ralph Lauren)

needs a model to advertise their new outfit and i am one of the

favored supervisor for the project coming up next month in your state.

Subsequently,The date is between 28th and 29th of June (NOTE THAT ON

YOUR CALENDAR) and the shoot location will be somewhere very close to

you and i will let you know it after details have been received…

 Beside how much is your charge for 4hrs in a day (WE PAY $250 TO

MODELS FOR PER HOUR SHOOT) and you are gonna do that for 2 days (Total

$2,000 for 8hours).

Transportation allowance will be included as we continue to work

together,you could be invited over to the company to sign a contract

with us if you pose pretty well. In order for this effect i would

implore you to provide me with your statistics (SIZE) as soon as

possible? so that what you need would be taken care of asap…

 You will first receive $300 to start with,which will be sent to you

immediately,this is for your transportation allowance only (NOTE: This

payment is for your transport ONLY and your full payment for the job

will be paid to you in cash immediately after the shoot in the

location).

 The photo shoots will be taken and sent to the company and it will be

display on our online web and magazine (worldwide).

 The company have personal photographers and makeup artist,so we have

made all necessary arrangement for your good looking on that day and

also our photographers are available to give you best directive. They

will be contacting you for proper

arrangement of time and location after payment has been made.

Bonus: The cloths you will be wearing for the shoot.

ESCORT:As matter of choice,you can bring along any one of your choice

to the shooting venue. All traveling Expenses, Food and

Accommodations/Hotel would be covered by my company. my company will

cover all the expenses on your escort.

EXPECTATIONS: You must have positive ID.

You must have a nice pedicure and manicure.

You must have nice smile and humble personality.

You must be willing to pose very well and good.

No hairy armpits.

 Reference and other forms/documented papers will be send to you via

courier service a week before the shoot.

 Guess the arrangement is understood? In order for payment to be made

to you on time,i would need you to provide me with the following

info…..

 

Name in full:

Residential address:

City:

State:

Zip-code:

Phone number(cell and home):

Age:

Charges $2,000(8 hours):YES/NO

Transport allowance $300:

OCCUPATION:

AGE:

ATTACH 2 RECENT PICTURES:

 

Measurements:

 

Best Regards,

Rick McNeil.

 

This kind of scam is a variation of the Nigerian Email scam. You know those emails that say they are a random Prince from some unheard of land and  they want you to claim your inheritance left by a distant relative, and they want to send you a check for the amount but you have to pay them money back once you cash the check… Yeah they took that to modeling. Check out this link that details more red flags you should be on the look out for if you happen to get a random email like this one – http://www.newmodels.com/Nigeria.html

 

Good luck out there in model land! and remember a Good Model is a Smart Model!

 

Be smart lovelies!

 

xoxo, Alean

Posted on

Before you start (or restart) your modeling career, you NEED to ask yourself this first!

I’ve been a little under the weather and super busy since my last post. But I’m back ready to continue where I left off and get back to Alex Beadon’s Blogging Challenge. This post is my response to the Day 3 prompt and I hope you enjoy it. Feedback and questions in the comments is HIGHLY encouraged!

 

About 11 or 12 years ago, I started my journey as a model. Over the years I learned a lot and there have been many times that I have revamped my brand, my image, and my strategy. This year I will be at my 12 year mark in regards to my modeling and I have been thinking about the work that I have done and the goals that I haven’t achieved and how the hell I am going to achieve them! One of the things that I realized is that I never asked myself (and you should ask yourself this too) the most important question in regards to starting a modeling career:

 

What kind of modeling am I best suited for?

 

I know most of you would like to think that you can book any type of campaign or you should be able to get any type of work just because you are the fabu you! But the industry doesn’t quite work that way. Like Meek Mill says “There’s levels to this” in modeling, there’s categories to this. And you shouldn’t waste your time shooting and building imagery (your brand) if you don’t fit into a particular category. Of course there are exceptions to that but these that are the exceptions have already established themselves in other areas and can easily move into other categories if you get what I mean.

Some examples of various types of models:

 

  • High Fashion Model
  • Commercial Model
  • Alternative Model
  • Parts Model
  • Glamour Model
  • Hair Model
  • Urban Model
  • Promotional Model
  • Spokes Model
  • And the list goes on…

Once you have figured out what type of modeling you are best suited for, you should do one of 2 things. Find an agency that specialized in the type of category that you are suited for or you should begin to develop your portfolio and other model marketing materials (comp cards, business card, social media, websites, etc.) in regards to the categories that you fit into. (If you sign with an agency they will assist you with developing the proper portfolio and materials to best “sell” you.) If you are 5”4’ and 125 lbs, you are not a high fashion model, don’t try to develop a high fashion image. You would most likely be a commercial model but not high fashion. Your pictures should reflect commercial imagery and not attempting to be a replica for editorial ads. For example, if you are a commercial model your pictures should look like this:

Source – Pinterest

And not like this:

Image Source – Pinterest

When building your portfolio and looking for some inspiration for the type of look you should be shooting for, get onto my FAVORITE inspirational app – PINTEREST! When you look on there, search for categories as it relates to you but end it with photography or photoshoot, for example, for myself and a beach shoot that I am currently planning on executing I searched “beach fashion photography” or “beach photoshoot” and it turned up thousands of examples that I could use to put together for my shoot, as well as taking note to the poses and angles that the models were doing to make those swimsuits, and clothes looks so great.

 

Some factors to consider that will play into what type of modeling you should be pursuing:

  • Your age (Not your actual age, but the age that people perceive you to be, you can be 30 but look 18, modeling is about the look not the actual age)
  • Your body type (if you are slim, thick, muscular, etc. it determines they type of modeling you should pursue)
  • Your height
  • Your personality (if you aren’t comfortable talking to strangers, promotional modeling or being a spokes model would not be the best thing for you to pursue)
  • Your look (do you look high fashion aka a unique/strange beauty, or do you look commercial aka Your face is relatable and friendly for consumers)
  • Your location (your location will determine the type of work that is typically available to you, for example, NYC known for high fashion models, some acting. While in LA or Miami they are known for commercial models, acting, and glamour models.)
  • Your overall goals

 

Ok, I think this post is getting a bit too lengthy so I’m gonna stop typing now! Lol

Next post, I think I’ll address scams! Stay tuned!!!

Comment below if you have any questions. Your answer may be addressed in my upcoming posts!

Posted on

How I got started as a model…

The header pic, is a pic from about 10 years ago, maybe more an 10 years, of my first swimsuit shoot in Atlantic City. I thought I was DOOOOOOING IT! lol Thank goodness that was the beginning and there was a lot of improvement to be had!

 

Day 2 of the 7 day blogging challenge by Alex Beadon, and the challenge is to write about how you got your start as an entrepreneur. Since my modeling is how I got my start as an entrepreneur, I decided to detail that. If you want to know how it got me to start my business, I’ll be detailing that in the future on my company’s blog, “The Pour”

 

Here Goes!

 

What initially drew you in to become a model?

 

I have a cousin that was a model when I was a kid. I remember looking at her pictures in her portfolio and some of her tear sheets from the ads and print work that she had done and thought to myself, I want to do that. The pretty, perfect, and polished look that she portrayed was what initially sparked my interest in modeling. I think I was around 9 years old when I realized a model is what I wanted to be.

 

What challenges did you face?

 

Well, the number one challenge that I faced was getting started. I didn’t know how or where to start, who could point me in the right direction, how to get work, what did I need to be a model, what was a scam and what was worth pursuing? And so forth.

My first comp card. Thank the Lord for growth lol (that email address, I no longer use by the way)
My first comp card. Thank the Lord for growth lol
(that email address, I no longer use by the way)

How did you overcome them?

 

I did a lot of researching, back when I was starting there were a few ‘urban’ models who had websites that displayed their portfolios and resumes and also gave a lot of tips on how they got started (before blogging was popular) so I took some of their advice from their sites as well as other modeling advice sites and started out on pursing my career. A lot of what I have come to learn has been from trial and error and research to figure out what path would be the best path for me to try. Through my research, I learned that pictures are the main thing that will get you booked and without them you won’t be taken seriously as a model. SO I set out to do a photo shoot. I found a few social networking sites dedicated to models and photographers and I put a few pictures of myself on there that opened myself as looking to shoot in order to build my portfolio and I had a number of photographers respond willing to shoot me and a few even for free! I decided to shoot with one photographer (I paid him) and ended up learning a TON from my initial shoot and used those pictures to book more shoots in order to perfect my posing and my port, and thus I began to seek out work and the bookings started to come.

 

How did you get your first booking?

 

My first booking was fashion show that I was referred to do by the same photographer that I did my very first shoot with. It was for a local designer, I can’t remember her name, but I was booked for that show based on the pictures he showed her that he shot of me. I didn’t even know how to walk the runway I was a PURE newbie, Lol But I booked it!

 

What has been your biggest lesson as a model?

 

The biggest lesson I have learned as a model is the vital fact that pictures and your network can and will take you places. Without the pictures and without knowing people you won’t get far. It’s like the saying goes, “Its not always what you know, its who you know and who knows you.”

Posted on

Rihanna Demonstrates How She Rocks a Photoshoot (Video) | Complex

Rihanna is Queen of taking a bunch of pictures with not much on an making it look so effortless that “regular” people think that they can attempt the same looks (not successfully tho, lol). For the recent Complex Magazine cover shoot, Rihanna demonstrates how she works the camera for the shoot, taking “selfies” aka camera phone pics and holding the camera taking regular pictures of herself. Take notes, she may just show you a thing or 2!

Rihanna Demonstrates How To Shoot A Selfie (Video) | Complex.

Posted on

Hair Trend Alert: Feather Hair Extensions

I came across these today and I thought I would share. These are feather extensions that clip into your hair and you can style them with a flat iron and curl them with a curling iron and everything! Just as if it was your hair! I like the concept of these feathers, but being that I have natural afro-textured hair, I don’t see how I can wear this without having a straight sew in weave. Either way, I decided to share because I thought this was pretty cool, and with the right styling it can be really unique and cute. Check out the feathers in action in the video below.

If  you have his product or you have tried it let me know what you think of it. Maybe I’ll get these for my next photo shoot???!?!?!?! (Any Photogs in jersey, philly, maybe nyc wanna try for it? Im thinking beach scene but rugged…)