How to Become a Model

Series Summary

Modeling is as old as art, but in the advertising-driven culture of the West, modeling has recently made a place for itself as a fresh, high-profile career. In simple terms, models wear the fashion and accessories of designers for runway shows and in print ads, but in a culture where big names mean big money, some models become brands of their own. These supermodels not only strut and pose along the catwalk in new fashion, but become icons themselves, earning fame and renown as the models every designer wants to hang their clothes upon. In this free video series, a talent scout provides information on fashion modeling, including becoming a model and finding jobs. Start with finding an agent or agency and try to break into child modeling, teen modeling, hair modeling or plus-size modeling. With these tips and techniques, any number of modeling outlets will seem much more approachable.

Video Transcript

"Have you ever aspired to be Americas next top model? Hi, I'm Jena Hartman, with PromoZone Life here in Florida. We're here to talk to you about, how to become a model. First and foremost, you want to go to a local agency in your nearest city or town. Because obviously, local modeling you don't have to travel, and fly anywhere, so you can actually do it from home to get started. When you go to a local agency, they're going to ask for a parent or guardian if you're under 18, and if you're over 18, then obviously you can sign for yourself. You fill out your own application, it's a general application, as for, just saying that you're a independent contractor. And you want to make sure that you would be independent, and you're non exclusive, if you want to work with multiple agencies. You want to include a head shot and body shot, a very clear, nice image, that shows your personality. Along with that, many times if you're under 18, you don't have a lot of experience yet, but if you're already in the industry, and you're looking to expand to other agencies locally, or nationwide, you want to include a resume. And on there, it has your experience, if you've done promotional modeling, fashion modeling, runway, general school experience, where you kind of want to get a feel for your personality, and what it is that you've done previously before coming to the agency. Along with that, once you get into the field, you want to make sure you got a business card, it shows your- how they can contact you, whether it's your name, e-mail, telephone number, to name a few. And once you get into the industry, and you get a feel for taking photographs, and being with photographers, you want to have a very well rounded portfolio. Now this one here that I brought along, is a head shot, and you see how there's personality and color in the photo, it's not just a very dull looking photo. And I'm just going to browse on through here. This shows at the time, this model was a waitress, so they dressed her up in her own personality, and what she's use to doing as a career, in her career field at the time. We'll just browse on through here. You want to make sure you have some sportswear, some swimsuit photos, once you get into that, once you get a little bit more experienced in the field of modeling. And it's very competitive, don't get me wrong, it's very competitive, a lot of people are trying to break into the industry. Here you can see there is a photo of this model, she's a doctor looking at X-rays, and some lingerie wear, if you're over 18. So that's your portfolio. You want to work with several photographers to get different images, or a different look. A few different websites that you can actually check out, that are very beneficial are, craigslist.com, modelmayhem.com, and onemodelplace.com. So get out there, and become Americas next top model. I'm Jena Hartman, with PromoZone Life."