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.
Recently I have been getting a lot of questions about modeling and going to castings, but this one I decided to share because it seems to be a recurring theme, especially among teenagers who want to pursue modeling. Check out the reader’s question below and my response.
Reader’s Question: I have casting this coming Sunday. However my face has some scars and white heads and I’m just wondering if they’ll look at all my white heads and all because I’m sooo not flawless…. But I’m still growing. I know I’ll have clean soft skin if I don’t have these pimples. So I’m wondering if they don’t really care about the scars because makeup artists are able to do makeup for me next time, or do they really want clean face girls? I planned to cover up with foundation and concealer but you said they want to see you as you are. So I’m really not sure. What if I cover up and next time they are shocked to see my face scars?
My Response:
Your skin condition will be looked at when you attend a casting, you are being judged on your appearance, it’s the nature of the business. They may ask you about it, they may not, but you should be honest about its condition if asked about it. With that said, if you attend the casting, you should wear makeup to cover the scarring and even out your skin tone. Makeup won’t cover the pimples from being seen it will just take away the color of the scarring or redness, which will still allow you to be seen as a blank canvas. Should you get booked for the job, you should communicate your condition with the person who booked you so they can prepare for production.
Will your skin count against you? It’s possible. It takes more work/resources ($$$ for editing, makeup artists, [which isn’t always provided], etc.) to work with a model with problem skin compared to one without them. People in business like to control costs and stay within budget and time constraints and problem skin could hinder that. To increase your chances of being booked in the future, I strongly advise adapting a regimen that will help you achieve smoother skin. Usually a pimple here or there most agents look past it.
*The reader’s question has been edited.
So what do you think, am I right? What advice would you give to this reader? Do you have a question that you want me to answer about modeling? Comment below and I’ll do my best to get back to you ASAP.
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)
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.”
New York Fashion Week comes around but twice a year and every time its filled with the seriousness of FASHION and STATUS (insert glitter sprinkle here). I personally did not attend any shows this season but with my poppin Instagram Feed, Chef Roble, and Nicki Minaj, I caught all the hilarity without having to hop the train the NYC.
With that, here are 3 moments that occurred during fashion week that I found funny. If you don’t laugh, chuckle, or crack a smile…drink some prune juice 😉
The first annual show of its kind, The Reality of Fashion, The Reality of AIDS; kicked off from what I hear, a grandly successful event. The Fashion show featured about 25 Reality Show Stars as Runway Models to raise awareness about the AIDS disease and the people it affects and to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
Broadway Cares funds more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations across the country. In New York, Broadway Cares funds more than 60 AIDS and family service organizations, and an additional 420 around the country, from rural Mississippi to downtown Detroit.
The Celebrity Model list included:
1. Deena Cortese- The Jersey Shore
2. Janice Dickinson – Americas Next Top Model
3. Ramona Rizzo –Mob Wives
4. Drita D’Avanzo- Mob Wives
5. Sheree Whitfield – Real Housewivs of Atlanta (Did not appear – Flight was Cancelled due to Winter Storm Nemo)
6. Lil Kim –Dancing With the Stars
7. Courtney Robertson – The Bachelor
8. Tracy DiMarco- Jerseylicious
10. Carissa Rosario- ABC’s “The Big Time”
11. Elizabeth Vashisht – Tough Love New Orleans
12. Leslie Birkland- Big Rich Texas
13. Alex McCord -The Real Housewives of New York
14. Brittany Brower – Americas Next Top Model
15. Nikki Rae Walker –Big Rich Texas
16. Briella Calafiore – Glam Fairy
17. Jessica Romano – Glam Fairy
18. Tiffany ”New York” Pollard –I Love New York
19. Michelle Money –The Bachelor
20. Ramona Singer – The Real Housewives of New York
21. Keenyah Hill – Americas Next Top Model
22. Courtney Robertson: The Bachelor
23. Leslie Birkland – Big Rich Texas
24. Karlie Redd – Love and Hip Hop Atlanta
25. Rachel Truehart – The Bachelor
The featured designer of the night was Dominique Auxilly, of which her collection features various styles of women’s couture. From what I see, the clothes were really nice and flowy in the right places and it was refreshing to see these reality stars using their stardom for a great cause. These ladies carried it well and looks like they had a fun time doing it! Check out a few of my favs from the show.
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Tweet me or Follow me on Instagram – (@CompleteBeauty) for more pics from the show! 🙂
I know I’m probably going to look really bad for just posting this but, things have been really busy lately for me and I couldn’t put this post off any longer. So here goes!
I attended the Stop the Runway Against Domestic Violence Fashion show benefit dedicated to the late Vanessa Banks of Philadelphia. I have never met Ms. Banks, but from what I have heard and read about her online she was a model from who was murdered by her boyfriend in a domestic violence incident. When I heard about the event, I knew it was something that I had to attend and support. Domestic Violence is an undercover issue especially with our young adults and it needs to be brought to the light. Its a shame that she had to die in order for this cause to have garnered attention on this level but for me, I’m glad it did. Everyone knows of someone who has been or is a victim of domestic violence. They may not have told you about it but you can bet that out of every 3 people that you know, 1 of them is or has been in a domestic violence situation. This was one of the stats that was mentioned at the show by author Brenda L. Thomas who is a victim of domestic violence. She gave a brief account of her experience of being in an abusive relationship and how she eventually came to the point she is at now. What stuck with me the most is when she mentioned that she did not want others to go through what she went through and that is why she tells her story. The key to everything in this life is knowledge, when you don’t know something it leaves you at a disadvantage. When you know what domestic violence is and how to identify it, you are more than likely to survive and hopefully help others to do the same.
NOW comes the Show RECAP!
What I wore:
With all of the running around that I have been doing lately, I opted to keep it simple, professional, and cool. I’m so used to dressing “modelly” so I decided to look like the cute young business owner that I am, that’s out for the night lol. Sho here’s how I achieved that look:
Hair
My trademark Cinnabun Hair do with my Flower in my hair.
EcoStyler Olive Oil Gel
a bunch of bobby pins
a black shoelace to tie up that ‘froliciousness 😀
Makeup
Foundation L’Oreal HIP
Fashion Fair Pressed Powder
Hard Candy “temptation” pallet eye-shadow (inner corner)
Clinique eye-shadow palette in copper-mine (highlight/brow bone)
Maybeline Mascara in blackest black (that trademark pink bottle with the green cap)
Too Faced Eye-shadow primer
Salon Effects Natural lashes #53
NYC Lipstick in Blue Rose
Outfit (nothing fancy)
Dress – Ya Los Angeles (bought it at Plato’s Closet)
Jacket (had that thang so long IDK where I got it)
Shoes Grey pumps from Bakers
What do you think of my look?
Show Details and Pics!
The Purple Carpet started off with local radio personality Kendra G hosting and interviewing the talent and VIPs of the night…
Kendra G interviewing Designer Carmelita Martell of Carmelita Couture on the Purple Carpet
While everyone mingled and settled into their place to watch the show…
…While the the models looked great as they showcased a few designs before the show started. they all donned loosely curled hair that was smooth at the roots and teased towards to the ends creating a what looked like a semi-afro for most of the models. Makeup looked lovely as well, Im a lover of a RED lip and it was done spectacularly (is that a word?! lol). It was glam enough that the eyes weren’t competing with the lips and achieved a very balanced face.
I did have an opportunity to meet the makup sponsors for this event but I can’t remember the name of the company, or the name of the woman I spoke to. If you happen to read this please reach out to me with your contact info, I’d love to find out more about your products! 🙂
But I digress, next up the clothes……….BABY, the clothes! lol
