Hi!
My name is Zdenka and in today’s video, I will help you answer your question “how
to become a model”?
You will find out what you need to get started, recognize your market and category, how much
do you need to spend on your first photos and how to approach an agency.
And today I will also share my story how I started as a model.
Now you are all wondering who is that woman I am listening to?
My full name is Zdenka Darula and I work as a professional photographer.
I am a former model with 16 years of experience.
I was represented by agencies such as Velocci, Next and Elmer Olsen.
I also briefly worked as a modeling and talent agent in Toronto.
Now that you heard my brief introduction, let’s focus on you and making your dream
of becoming a reality.
Step 1.
- Knowing who you are!
Knowing who you are will lead you on your way of becoming a model.
Are you tall?
Are you petite?
Are you skinny, or are you curvy?
Are you more of a fitness model, commercial model, or fashion model?
You need to have an honest look at yourself.
There are many modeling categories such as editorial, fashion, commercial, lifestyle,
catalogue, runway, showroom, beauty, fitness, plus size, I don't know what else, and film
& TV and promotional modeling.
Most of the time you hear that you need to be the height you know 5’9” for women
and 6’0 for men.
That only applies to runway and high-fashion.
There is tremendous amount of work for the rest which doesn’t meet the requirements
or height.
So knowing myself, you know I am 5’9” tall, I am quite voluptuous, you know I have
big chest and big hips, that means I am probably very good for lingerie, for swimsuit, perhaps
for bridal.
I don't think I might be a very good fit for high fashion.
And knowing who you are will help you decide what agencies you are going to contact.
There are many agencies out there.
Some are high fashion agencies, other concentrate on commercial and TV work.
Some agencies represent petite models, others plus size, and you know older models or lifestyle
models.
So do you know who you are?
Step 2.
- Measurements
Now grab a piece of paper, pencil and measuring tape.
It's time to find out the truth and I know exactly what I am talking about.
As a photographer, I met so many different models.
Many times has happened that I received their information their comp card or they filled
out my information sheet and their sizes and ages exactly didn't match.
For example, I had clearly 40 years old model coming through the door and I looked at her
information sheet and there was age 31.
So the same happens quite frequently with measurements.
You know it is not about “oh my I put on little bit of weight, and you know I am going
to loose it later.”
It's actually something else.
To tell you the truth as soon as you meet your agent which will be representing you,
they will for sure measure you and they will compare those measurements with whatever you
put down on the paper.
And you know when you meet your agent for the very first time, you want to create a
great relationship right from the beginning.
Problem with that is that once you land a job, where the client is going to be preparing
outfits for you, they might not fit and there goes the biggest embarrassment for you and
the agent.
And to be perfectly honest, I think I’ve done it in the past and yeah, I was kind of
embarrassing so don't do it.
…
All right, so, what you need to put down is your age, your height, your chest size, your
waist size , your hips size, your inseam, shoes size, your hair color and eye color.
So now, that we have those numbers, let’s move on….
Step number 3.
- Photos
And this is the big one.
Lots of people approach me and they ask me how much money we should be spending and what
type of photos we need to get started in modeling.
If you are brand new and you’ve never done this before, my answer would be: you don’t
need much to get started.
All you really need is a perfect headshot, you need a clear bodyshot and I would say
you also need a profile.
Your photos should be very simple, you should be wearing very little makeup, you should
be wearing very simple wardrobe which shows your body very clearly.
And maybe all you need is just a friend who can help you, you know take some very basic
photos in natural light with his camera or her camera, and it just be a face, body and
profile.
Or if you are thinking about modeling as a very serious career and you want to make it
a career I would probably approach a professional photographer such as myself, this is what
I do right?
So why I say that?
You know there are many people just like you, perhaps with the similar look or they are
similar type which are trying to also to become a model and they are your competition.
And you know, it's a business you are basically building your business, your are building
your brand.
So when I have somebody new coming through my door and my suggestion would be don't go
with the big package, all you need to do is just get a small package you need only few
photos to get started.
And what I mean by don't go with a package is you don't know how your agent will see
you and what category you will be placed.
So if you are doing a big photoshoot it might be a waste of money in the future, because
they might have completely different plan.
So for example, you might be a lifestyle type of model and you come to the agency with high
fashion photos the photos will land you the agency but then the photos will not land a
lifestyle shoot.
So, go small… and small shoots like that can be somewhere from $200 - 400, 500 dollars
depending on photographer and what is included in the package.
I also strongly suggest a professional makeup artist because they are trained for camera.
They know their contouring and they will help you to make your face more photogenic, I would
say to make your face more camera friendly.
If you do your own makeup and you don’t know the tricks, it might actually do the
opposite, it might hurt you.
And you know looking back all those years, how did I get my first modeling photos?
Well I am from Czech Republic originally, I am from very tiny village so local photographer
you know he helped me out and he took some snapshots of me.
I didn't have a professional makeup artist at that time because there were just none
in that area so I did my own makeup and you know the photos looked you know very basic.
Step 4.
- Contacting the Agency
Let's just say there are few ways you can work as a model.
You can do freelancing or you can work with an agency, or you can do both.
If you are very new and starting out, I strongly suggest to go with an agent.
Finding the agency should do your research online depending on where you live.
For example, I am from Toronto, so I type in google “toronto modeling agencies”
and I would find out for example very nice site I think it was fashion incubater where
there was a list of Toronto modeling agencies, there were their phone number, address and
email address.
And I will share the list of what I found on google.
there are some amazing lists of modeling agencies.
There are some international and there are some Toronto and I will be sharing those links
in the description of this video below.
So once you find the list of the agencies, you should visit their website, find out what
type of agency they are and what type of models and talent they represent.
And here you are going to apply step 1 which is knowing who you are.
So if you are very tall, you might want to try to land yourself into high fashion agency.
And if you are petite and you are maybe curvy and you find another agency which represent
that kind of type of model and talent, that is where you need to go.
Now, biggest mistake most of the beginners make is to make and appointment with only
1 agency.
Now, you need to see at least 5 different agencies to get the right one.
It is also very time sensitive, so you have to decide as soon as you can so the best is
to see all agencies in 1 or 2 days…maximum 1 week.
Don’t plan on seeing 1 agency this week and maybe another agency the next week.
It is not going to happen.
If you get an offer and you wait for too long, someone else who might be the same type as
you or might look like you, might actually take your spot.
And it did happen to me before.
Now, How to contact the agency?
Very simply, you make a phone call or send an email.
I am just joking.
It's little bit more then that.
Actually, you want make the first impression on the agents, you want to do it right.
You will fill out their form on their website, you will send them email or you simple make
them a phone call and ask them when their open call is.
Some of the agencies usually hold their open call 2x a week, they are usually at the very
same time as the other agencies so you can see all the agencies at the same time or on
the same day.
Step 5.
What to wear and what to bring?
Agents prefer simple tight fitting clothing where they can see your body very well.
I usually was wearing black tight or black short skirt with black top or tight you know
short dress and high heels.
When it comes to make up, no makeup or very little makeup is the best.
So you should bring your measurements, your photos printed and also bring USB or flash
card with the same photos in digital high resolution format.
I would also suggest bringing bikini as they might want to take a polaroid just wearing
those.
And now I can tell you my story how I started modeling.
There were actually 2 times I started.
Once was back home in Czech republic.
I was 16 years old and I sent some of my photos to a beauty contest where I did really well.
There was one photographer, actually famous photographer at that time, his name was Jadran
Setlik, he was one of the judges, he was also picking most photogenic girl which happened
to be me and that's how it all started.
He was the person who discovered me and pushed me through.
Second time I had to start all over again was when I moved to Canada.
Because coming from European market, Canadian market is completely different.
So when I brought my portfolio and I went to see the agency, they were kind of .... ditch
those photos girl, you are not gonna to get any work with those.
Which pretty much means I had to start all over I had to go from the agency to the agency.
So that is it for today’s video how to become a model and I would love to hear from you
how you are becoming a model or how you became a model so please don't be shy and comment
below or if you would like to see a video on a certain topic or if you have questions
for me, please comment below as well, I would love to answer.
Feel free to share this video, don't forget to give it thumps up and subscribe for more
videos.
The next one coming up will be “Choosing the right agency” so again subscribe to
my channel so you don’t miss this video.
Thank you for watching Cau…
Ahoj…