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Modelling advice? Anyone? Nervous wreck
Elimination
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey guys i've been out of work here (Well, under-employed is the more correct term.) For a while now. I have a friend from back when i was in high school who went on to become a model, shes been really successful at it. She is from Canada here where I am, but works often out of New York. She comes back every holiday season to see family ect and I usually get to have a short visit with an old friend.
Well we were chatting and going on and I was talking to her about how under-employed I was and how it sucked. And she mentioned taking a few pics with her and contacting her agency, she has bugged me about this very thing for probably 2 years now but I guess I always thought it was nonsense and just her being nice. Well I humoured her over the holidays and did a few basic pictures and she sent them in.
Now low and behold they actually contacted me. With a serious offer, asking me to come to Vancouver (A very close major city to where I live.) where their agency is based. They said they are "very interested" in meeting me and that they believe I would be a good fit for them. I responded back with a kind of "Well what do I do now?" thing, and they offered to pay for my trip and lodgings in Vancouver if i choose to come over, and that they will see where it goes from that point. This is the same agency my friend works for.
Now I have never ever ever in my life ever even considered this and I don't really even know if I want to do it at all. I'm am actually a very shy person 90% of the time and don't really move far out of my inner circle of friends and my personal space. I've had women/friend comment on things like this in the past "Oh you should be a model" kind of things and "Oh you don't like like other guys who come shop here" when i go into the geeky local d&d/game shop. I mostly took it as a grain of salt and i honestly never really cared that much about this kind of thing. I admit i am a bit of a "pretty boy" i keep fit, well groomed, and dress well, was raised by only my mother and grandmother, no father so that may have something to do with my tendancy toward less "manly" and rough persuits. But anyways...im blablering, because I have no idea what to do !
Is there anyone on here who has any experience with this sort of work? My friend is being really encouraging, but I also know in the past that this work has taken a toll on her and she almost quit a few times over the past couple years. I also dont know if I like the idea of moving away from my "comfort zone" here where my friends are and where things are familiar. I'm not really super outgoing or super social.
Also: Please try not to troll me or call me out or something. This is real and I only want real advice. Also theres always the offchance I won't get past the initial "meet and greet" stuff in Van so there is that to. But i want to decide if I should even try at all, I want a second opinion other than my overly-excited friend.
Well we were chatting and going on and I was talking to her about how under-employed I was and how it sucked. And she mentioned taking a few pics with her and contacting her agency, she has bugged me about this very thing for probably 2 years now but I guess I always thought it was nonsense and just her being nice. Well I humoured her over the holidays and did a few basic pictures and she sent them in.
Now low and behold they actually contacted me. With a serious offer, asking me to come to Vancouver (A very close major city to where I live.) where their agency is based. They said they are "very interested" in meeting me and that they believe I would be a good fit for them. I responded back with a kind of "Well what do I do now?" thing, and they offered to pay for my trip and lodgings in Vancouver if i choose to come over, and that they will see where it goes from that point. This is the same agency my friend works for.
Now I have never ever ever in my life ever even considered this and I don't really even know if I want to do it at all. I'm am actually a very shy person 90% of the time and don't really move far out of my inner circle of friends and my personal space. I've had women/friend comment on things like this in the past "Oh you should be a model" kind of things and "Oh you don't like like other guys who come shop here" when i go into the geeky local d&d/game shop. I mostly took it as a grain of salt and i honestly never really cared that much about this kind of thing. I admit i am a bit of a "pretty boy" i keep fit, well groomed, and dress well, was raised by only my mother and grandmother, no father so that may have something to do with my tendancy toward less "manly" and rough persuits. But anyways...im blablering, because I have no idea what to do !
Is there anyone on here who has any experience with this sort of work? My friend is being really encouraging, but I also know in the past that this work has taken a toll on her and she almost quit a few times over the past couple years. I also dont know if I like the idea of moving away from my "comfort zone" here where my friends are and where things are familiar. I'm not really super outgoing or super social.
Also: Please try not to troll me or call me out or something. This is real and I only want real advice. Also theres always the offchance I won't get past the initial "meet and greet" stuff in Van so there is that to. But i want to decide if I should even try at all, I want a second opinion other than my overly-excited friend.
PSN: PA_Elimination 3DS: 4399-2012-1711 Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/id/TheElimination/
Elimination on
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Just 2 things, don't do any drugs they may try to give you, be careful what you sign and make sure that people know exactly where you are. In fact call a non emergency police line (I don't know if they have these but I have to assume they do, I know someone who does this on first dates in the US) in Vancouver before you hop in just to inform them where you are going, and to call you back in an hour after you call them to make sure things are alright.
Yeah my friend has been doing it for 4 years now. And I know she has almost quit several times due to being over-worked and such. But the pay is really, really good so she says. But theres the whole "Work to live, not live to work" factor, I dont know if i have the gumption to actually dedicate to this kind of thing.
I guess what I am trying to say is, try not to be so afraid of the moving out of your comfort zone thing. What's the worst case? You don't like it after 6 months and resign? It's not like you are resigning from a job in your dream field to do this: you're under employed.
Origin: KafkaAU B-Net: Kafka#1778
Another thing to consider, too, is that while the work is crazy if you are with a good agency you can have opportunities to travel and experience the world. my old roommate got to travel through Europe for free in his teens! The workdays are really intense and stressful, but you don't work the whole time!
Uncanny Magazine!
The Mad Writers Union
Go do it. It will be a good experience either way.
edit: it'll be a good time to work on social skills too.
but they're listening to every word I say
Magazine covers, million dollar contracts, partying in Monaco on private ships.
I definitely fall in the dont know category. Since i've never thought about it in the past.
this is good advice though. I think my big thing is trying to get out of my comfort zone. But I guess the least I can do is go to the meeting in Vancouver and talk to them first and see how i even feel from there. I'm also paranoid about signing anything. From what I was told by my friend its standard practice that they take a commission percent or something? I don't really understand what it would be a commission of...
So lets say you are getting paid $50 an hour (no idea if this is accurate, just a number), the company is probably getting paid $55 an hour (although 10% seems like a large commission), keeping $5 for themselves and then paying you the $50.
As another example, in my current job I was hired by a recruitment agent. They were paid a fee by my company, who make a profit off my hours worked (i.e. difference between what they pay me and what they charge clients for my time) to recuperate that initial expenditure.
If you are concerned about the contract ask your friend if she wouldn't mind you seeing a copy of hers. You can then ask some questions about things you don't understand.
Origin: KafkaAU B-Net: Kafka#1778
But, it really can't hurt to give it a shot, and you'll get some pretty memorable/cool photos of yourself in the process! Suit up!
I'm a male clothing model, so it might be a little different than what you'll be doing, but mostly the same. I've been doing it since sometime around May last year and i've learned a lot since then. I've never seen America's Next Top model, but what Ihmmy is saying is pretty spot on. Practice moving around in front of the mirror and practice "looks." Practice holding those looks, get about 15-20 down and then practice moving from one pose to the next slowly. While you're doing that the photographer's job is to catch you in the perfect moment.
Also, don't neglect practicing side shots too. I feel like when I first began, I only practiced the straight on front shots and it made side shots a little hard.
Do you know what you'll be modeling? If it's clothing, like me, the majority of places will want a "plain" look. So you don't have to do really ridiculous poses like you might imagine. Practicing using props too. Get a bag, watch and a bracelet and play around with them. It'll help a lot.
Also don't be surprised if the first shoot you're super nervous and you feel like you fucked up everything.
Second shoot you feel more confident and have a lot of fun.
Third - fifth shoot, you feel comfortable.
sixth - eighth shoot - you start hating it.
ninth shoot and after - You're sick of it and don't want to do it anymore.
There ya go, if you have any other questions, feel free to ask
Im not sure yet what I am supposed to be doing. My friend though does commercials for make up/hair dye and stuff, like Mabelline or however its spelt that you see on TV. Has done a few commercials for asia mostly, I suppose because shes half asian. I will send them an e-mail tomorrow morning asking what they have in mind, i never did ask.
This is really good info, i was hoping there would be someone here who had first hand experience with the industry.
The only things I would absolutely caution you about is:
a) Make sure you understand what you are getting into - fully - with any contracts you sign with the agency. You don't want to put yourself in a situation where you are legally obligated to work as an model for this agency (exclusive or otherwise) for years to come, particularly if you are not sure you even want to model.
b) Don't give them any money to produce your book or whatever. That shit is a scamtastic as far as I'm concerned. I mean, I am sure there are some agencies that legitimately produce a portfolio for an aspiriing model after the model shells out some cash, but by and large those are scammy services. Now, it doesn't sound like you're in this situation. It sounds like your friend is vouching for this agency and that they are shelling out money for you to meet with them. I only write this as a general caveat, so if it doesn't apply all the better. But if they fly you out there and ask you to shell out a ton of cash or whatever, my advice is to fly back.
You could also make a ModelMayhem account perhaps and post about this on their forums. Though I'm not sure you can make a forum-enabled account without making a modeling profile which requires pictures, so that may not be feasible. There may be other model-advice-oriented forums out there. I would recommend trying to find one. Some other sites that pop off the top of my head are ExploreTalent and OneModelPlace, but I am not too familiar with them, or even if they have forums.
Can you ask your friend for more information on how the agency sets up a new, prospective model? If there are any fees associated and what kind of modeling jobs they do? I mean, "modeling" can mean a lot of things. It can mean doing shows, like car or technology expos. It could mean doing street promotions. It could mean doing photo shoots/print work. It could mean runway work. It could mean all of these, or any combination of these.
See what you can find out from your friend.
Go for it. You literally have nothing to lose. Just don't feel beholden to them. They are interested in you. Even if you take this trip you don't owe them anything except to hear what they have to say.
Considering this is his friend he's been in touch with that talked about the modeling for 2+ years (as was mentioned in the OP), and that's the type of work she's been doing for years, and presumably he's already seen some sort of confirmation of her job, and she never mentioned anything like that when urging him to get a job there... no. I sincerely doubt the friend would be pushing the issue that hard if the job would be anything... excessively adult, at least not without telling him. If it weren't somebody he knew reasonably well encouraging this, it would be a legitimate concern, though.
No she is a real model. No porn lol. I've known her for years, since highschool.
In any case, i e-mail them last night asking a few questions, it's the weekend now so i don't expect a response until monday...