Industry Secret Top 10 Modeling Tips By North West Model Agency

Top 10 Secret Modeling Tips

At North West Model Agency many new models ask us for modeling tips. While there are literally hundreds of questions, we’ve picked the essential tips to help you get a head of the competition and grab not just your first assignment, but a constant stream of work!

1. Motivation and Reputation

They say you’re only as good as your last shoot. There’s a lot of truth in this. Unlike a shop you have no off the shelf product to sell. You are literally ‘selling yourself’. This is your reputation, and it needs to be looked after if you’re going to succeed.

This means you have to be on your best behavior at all times. The top supermodels may be able to get away with the paparazzi lifestyle, but while nurturing a modeling career this simply will not be the case if you hope to succeed.

North West Model Agency advises you to never bad mouth anyone, no matter how much they annoyed you. Simple…? Nope it is really hard but that is why it is important.

You will just sound bitter, and you never know who you are talking to. There is a reason why the term “small world” was coined; you’d be surprised as to how interconnected people can be. It’ll only take one bad word against someone’s wife or brother who’s in the right position in the industry and you might suddenly find people are not returning your calls or giving you work. Reputation is everything in this game.

While not saying anything bad about other models, agencies and photographers is a must always remember that motivation is what drives success just as much as talent. A happy, highly motivated individual is more likely to be hired than someone who’s grumpy and has a bad phone manner. Be polite, be happy, and most of all enjoy what you’re doing.

If you are not enjoying it at the start, are you really in the right career?

2. Should I pay to sign up for a model agency?

North West Model Agency does not charge to sign up models. The choice is yours at the end of the day though it is worth thinking about a few points. What guarantee of modeling assignments do you have considering your outlay? This is known commercially as a “Return of Investment”. A return of investment of zero is not an investment at all.

Remember that YOU are the model agencies source of income. Placing you on assignments is how they are meant to make both you and them money. Simply put, it is a risk the modeling agency should be taking as business men and women, and not one which you should be underwriting.

Look at it another way, do football clubs charge potential Premier League players to sign up? If they did, what sort of statement would that make about the quality of the club or the quality of the players?

3. Should I do modeling shots for free?

Modeling is a very competitive business. The catch 22 situation which North West Model Agency sees all the time is a model wants to sign up for an agency to do modeling, but the agency wants to see example of work the model has done.

As mentioned above, you really should not be paying agencies for a portfolio instead you should be approaching the agencies with your portfolio.

The easiest and cheapest way to do this is to complete a couple of model shoots for free, with the proviso that you will be allowed to use the shots for your portfolio. It is common for the agency or photographer to retain copyright, but grant a license for you to use the photos for self promotion.

This way you have professional shots, at a fraction of the cost. If you would like to get involved in this ‘time for prints’ North West Model Agency would love to hear from you as we can organize this type of work.

4. Modeling Portfolio - quality and market

Having some sort of portfolio is a real advantage. Look at it from the other side of the fence. You have two models, both have the look you want and one has a set of photos showing you what they’re capable of.

All things being equal who would you pick? You would obviously go with the known quantity i.e. the one with the portfolio.

Having a portfolio is linked to point 3 above. It is pretty much essential, but you need to know your market. Most people will never be “high fashion” models. It’s something you need to accept. If you do not fit into the “sample” size it’s not going to happen.

North West Model Agency suggests that when you turn up for an interview, or are submitting photos remember to make sure they are the best you have and they are relevant.

Avoid using poor quality images at all times. North West Model Agency sees applicants using mobile phone images which are just not good enough.

Images should be clear and show you at your best. Unless it is a highly stylized image make sure your face is clear (no hands or hair in the way). It does not take much effort to have a friend photograph you in neutral surroundings such as a well lit bedroom or outside (natural light in the mornings or evenings are the best).

Avoid submitting photos where you are in a group of people. Will the agency know which one you are? What if your friends are chosen by the agency? You would feel pretty stupid.

If you have a special feature (good skin, hands, legs, bottom etc) make sure you show it off subtly in the photo. Hiding an ‘asset’ will not get you work.

Sending in a poor quality photo or one which is not very well taken implies laziness on your part. It does not look good if an agency is considering whether it should invest time and money in promoting you.

North West Model Agency will be providing future articles on getting the best photos to send to agencies.

5. Safety First

An obvious tip, but a lot of models (both men and women) do not always see the potential dangers involved in taking on an unknown assignment.

One of the advantages of using an agency (such as North West Model Agency) is the agency will have looked at the projected and made a call about its validity.

Using some of the free sites out there you can be left wide open to abuse as literally anyone could be posing to be a photographer. From simply not being paid (financial safety) to assault and worse (physical safety) it is always advisable to take someone with you, or at the very least let a relative or friend know where you are going and what time you are due back.

North West Model Agency always recommends a chaperone no matter what the project, age or sex of the model. This is not always possible but make sure you do not carry large amounts of cash (always take some for a taxi) and stick to well lit streets and car parks.

North West Model Agency says if in doubt, talk to the photographer or agency and never risk it. It only takes one mistake to end a career.

6. Punctuality

In the commercial world everything revolves around stability and relative predictability. It might not always seem like it to the outsider but think of simple things like you know the shops will open at 9am and your employer will pay you.

When organizing a shoot North West Model Agency guarantees there has usually been quite a lot of people and time involved. In business time is money, and turning up to an assignment late may mean not all the photography gets completed as planned in one day.

So what?

Well if the shoot time is doubled so can the price. Photographers and equipment do not come cheap – always bear in mind that being late is wasting someone else’s money and that someone else is the person who pays your wage be it directly or through an agency.

At the very least if you have relied on public transport call the person who has organized the shoot to let them know where you are and when you will arrive. If you cannot contact the photographer or location manager at least call the agency. It might be possible with enough notice for them to move the schedule about and so not disrupt the shoot.

In short, being late or not turning up is a really easy way for people not to use you. It will affect your reputation, your motivation and any future prospects of work.

7. Travel

Expect to travel while you’re a model. It’s part of the business. Being in the right place at the right time helps, but chances are you’ll be going up and down the country. If you’re lucky you may even travel abroad.

If using public transport make sure you check ahead to see if there are any strikes or problems.

If you’re driving, check your car is roadworthy and make sure you know where you can park on arrival and if there are any motorway delays.

“My car wouldn’t start” or “I couldn’t find anywhere to park” just will not wash if you disrupt a major shoot. North West Model Agency can help you plan your journey and in some cases even offer transport to the shoot and back.

When parking choose a well lit car park and remember that in winter it gets dark early. Do you want to be walking through an unfamiliar city at night? Regardless of gender, this is not fun let alone safe.

Never put your safety at risk to be punctual though. Always let someone know where you are and what time you are due back.

8. The assignment

As with just about every other industry communication is essential. Never take anything for granted.

Ask plenty of questions about the assignment and never do anything you are not comfortable with. Generally an assignment will have been planned for quite some time as it may be seasonal.

North West Model Agency will always obtain a comprehensive brief from the client before assigning you to the work, but some assignments are quite spontaneous. Sometimes this can be the fun part and one which separates the models who succeed and those who fail.

Always take your own make-up even if you have been assured that there’s a stylist on hand. Sometimes stylists do not show or run out of time. Do you want to be blamed for not looking decent? Makeup does cost a lot, but go for one of the cheaper brands such as Collection 2000. Keep it in an “assignment bag” with other details (agency phone number, spare taxi money etc) that way you will never forget it.

Remember that modeling is not easy and it IS a commercial venture for most people. It is how they pay their mortgage and put food on the table. Be prepared to discuss money and rates before you go to the shoot.

North West Model Agency has standard terms and conditions so you do not need to worry about the embarrassment conversations on money can cause; it’s what we do every day.

9. References

References go hand in hand with your portfolio.

What potential model employers are looking for is a combination of all the positive aspects of the last 8 points.

If you can get these right and your referees are prepared to agree to it, you’re going to be well on your way to impressing people. North West Model Agency suggests you print out this list and tick off the points as you achieve them. It is too easy to just gloss over your bad points. Tackle them head on.

Always make sure you have the permission of the referrer before using them. An irate referee is unlikely to give you a positive reference when disturbed by a photographer or agency.

10. Model agency

A lot of men and women attempt to go it alone in modeling. Few get over the initial hurdles of managing to get assignments.

Think of modeling as a parallel to acting. How many successful actors and actresses out there do not have an agent to take care of the boring stuff and let them get on with the fun work?

Modeling agencies do make money but they are there to help you along. At the end of the day, YOU are the model agencies asset and any model agency worth its salt will nurture your talent.

A decent model agency, such as North West Model Agency will help you avoid the pitfalls mentioned above meaning you do not have to go through the same painful learning curve as those going it alone.

Conclusion - North West Model Agency Modeling Tips

The top ten tips are a guide. They’re not set in stone and they certainly do not cover everything. It’s taken as read that any model who is interested in progressing their career will look after themselves (both physically and mentally), but the common sense aspect of modeling mentioned above is rarely talked about as those in the know, don’t want new models competing with them.