Article not written by me, but found it interesting for 'em models and up coming models too. Read and enjoy;
My name is Amina and I amongst many things ventured into the modelling world because well, I am slim, tall and beautiful with a flat stomach and no backside and you could add straight long legs. I kind of escaped the broomstick look yet, the model scouters thought I was model material and well invited me into the business. I have struggled with a billion things since I stepped into this world. My first audition was horrendous. I was the only girl not picked amongst the other girls and I cried in front of everybody that day.
I believe that is where my heart began to break.Still, I hear a lot of young women my age and even younger with the same physical features as I have, dreaming of acareer in modelling. There are a lot of things I have learnt and mistakes I have made that I would not want any aspiring model to make.Do not tell yourself it is for fun.
You have to treat modelling as a profession.It is your business at least, for the main time you are doing it. If you do not take it seriously, how do you expect any true modelling agency or even the audience to take you seriously?
Do not go into it solely because you were told by a scouter that you have the body of a model.
I did that and it strongly affected the way I saw myself as a model. You have to personally want this and if this is how you started, make sure to find out if you really want to do this and not doing it for someone else or because you were told you have got the body so go do it.
Prepare your mind, you will not always be picked at auditionsfor different reasons and this is to newbies especially.
I told you I cried so hard because I expected too much from the ‘no knowledge’ I had, I embarrassed myself that day. It does not mean you are horrible as a model, it simply means you need to work harder and maybe, you were not the character they were looking for.
Invest in your heels.
Do not go to an audition with heels that are shaky, do not even do this with rehearsals because you will end up with a faulty walk plus, you are putting yourself at risk of losing the job. Also, this can negatively affect your confidence as you walk and if you do not know, confidence is everything in modelling.Do not even think of wearing a wedge heel. If you do not have a heel for rehearsals, save up and buy one. And you must have at least four of them, solid heels with two strictly for business not pleasure [weddings and the rest].
Practice, practice, practice.
When I mean practice, I mean walk on those heels everyday for at least an hour. Play differentsongs and walk to them, fast, slow, in-between, walk with big gowns, long gowns, short gowns, shorts, and all the different possible attires you could ever walk in. Practice in front of the mirror, take different poses and watch yourself, smile, wear a serious face, do all the turns you could, it will help you remember poses that will work for you on the runway and in front of a billboard. Read about you; the model. The dos and don’ts. Watch shows about it from Africa’s next top model to Africa fashion week,everything.
Treat you like a professional.
Do not show up late to auditions and rehearsals. If you must, tell your agency to convey the message to the company or do it directly if you can. Wear a model when coming for auditions;Tank tops and a leggings or shorts should be alive in your wardrobe. Never forget the heels. Do not wear deodorant and for god’s sake handle your hair. Whether you’re wearing a weave-on or an extension or nothing, keep it neat. Your nails should not look dirty, keep the jewelries at a minimum and above all, keep the make-up toned down, very important. Put your phone on silent once you’re in the room. Bring the necessities to the venue on the D-day; your straw for water so that you do not mess up your lipstick, a scarf for changing your dresses so that you do not mess up your hair, nude or black underwear so that whatever you wear, your underwear does not become part of the designers cloth in front of the camera. You are a professional so honey, act like it.
Be agency conscious.
It’snot all agencies that says work for me that you jump to. Take your time, check them out. A friend of mine paid 10k to a so called modelling agency and till today, she has not seen the fore walls of an audition. Ask other models about the agencies that are great in the business. Do not fall for scams because you do not want to be used. Be smart.
Yes, you might do some not so much paying jobs in the beginning.
The most important thing is that you strut that runway or get on that billboard but this should only happen a few times in either picture modelling or the runway thing. You want your face and name to get out there.
Listen at the rehearsals.
It does not matter if you have watched Tyra banks, Giselle blundchen Cara Delavigne and Oluchi Orlandi rock the runway and have learnt all their stunts. Listen to what the instructor is saying and do as he/she says except the command is kill yourself of course. Do not get all dramatic and do not claim ITK [I too know]. Listen and stay humble that is how Tyra banks and OluchiOrlandi made it to your mind.
Do healthy eating.
It is very important that you know that you do not have to look like a broom to be a model. Some of us are born that way some people just have a little more flesh. You need to eat right but reduce how much junk you take down, have a healthy exercise life focusing especially on the stomach. You just need to look healthy and enough to fit into a size 6 clothing.
Do not change poses a million times in a row
When it comes to posing in front of the camera, do not change poses a million timesin a row, start with one stay at it for a while and then gradually change into another. It gives the camera man a real chance to see you and get pictures of each pose well. Also, when on the runway, there is no one way to do anything. The designer decides exactly how he wants you to walk, pose I he wants that and leave the runway, his job not yours, your trainer or the most talented model in your agency.
We do not care about your religion and this is the hard truth.
You are going to wear a designer’s cloth as far as you have been hired to wear it. If it is too exposing for you then, hit the door. That is the way it is in professional modelling. You are either in or not. It doesn’t mean you do not have choices, it just means it is that grey in the industry.
Finally, believe in yourself.
I will not do it for you, the cameras will not, the instructor will not do it for you, your agency will not and neither will your fellow models you call friends. You have to believe in yourself. Like I said confidence honey is everything in modelling so, radiate it.
Culled from Onii Paige Magazine
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