Many aspiring models are always wondering how to make more money, especially when they are going the freelance route. Given that there are more models available to shoot then there are paid shoots, being able to showcase your own value as a model is very important if you would like to be selected for the shoot.

There are hundreds of thousands of exceptionally beautiful girls who are competing for those paid modeling jobs. Therefore, succeeding as a freelance model takes much more than just being pretty. Realistically, very few girls ever get to the point where they make a full time living just modeling.

Below are a 11 tips on how you can increase your own value as a model and make more money.

1. Improve your reputation. Reputation is very important. If those who are hiring know that they can rely on you to show up prepared and on time, then you will have more chance than if you are someone who flakes out on shoots. Reputation takes a lot of time to build, but once you build it, it’s very important to maintain. People must be able to count on you. When it comes to paid gigs, people are investing in you and you have to show them that you’re worth the investment.

2. Learn a new skill, such as how to do your own make-up and hair. If you know how to do your own make-up/hair, then those who are hiring will see that by using you at the shoot, they will save money on additional team members. More often than not, projects are budgeted. Therefore, the better the deal you offer in terms of your skill set, the more likely you will get chosen.

3. Know your target market. Look at the companies, publications and photographers who shoot the types of models that are similar to where you fit in and pursue them. If you are a fitness model, start by going after smaller fitness clothing companies and photographers who shoot your style. If you’re a glamour model and fit the criteria, then work with people who shoot glamour. When you know your target market, you will be able to effectively build a portfolio that best represents the type of work that you are well-suited for.

Photo by: IMS FotoGrafix

4. Decrease your demands. When people are hiring you, they don’t want to hear all of your demands. Therefore, keep the “I have to bring my boyfriend/husband/fiancé to the shoot” and “I must have the copyrights to all the pictures taken” to yourself. There are many more models who don’t have these demands that will get hired for the jobs that you want.

5. Build a good online presence. If you have a lot of real fans/followers, then photographers and companies will be able to see that working with you can help them build their own online presence. If a model with a huge following and another model with no fans are competing for the same job and they both fit all the other criteria, then the one with more followers usually wins.

6. Improve your communication. Many models will miss out on paid work as a result of not reading and replying to emails from people who would like to work with them. How do you expect to be hired for a shoot when you don’t even reply to people who are interested in working with you? Yes, sometimes you will get offers that you don’t want to take part in, but once in a while you might miss a great opportunity if you don’t respond. Let people know if you are available. Even if you are not, but are still interested in working with a person, it’s best to let that person know, in case if future gigs come up.

7. Have a great selection of wardrobe. Given the limited budgets of some projects, you will not always have the privilege of a wardrobe stylist at the shoot. Therefore, having your own high quality wardrobe, which doesn’t have to be expensive, will put you ahead of models who require a wardrobe stylist.

8. Take care of your skin. Most photographers are busy and they don’t have all day to remove your acne in Photoshop. In addition, many photographers, who would be paying you to shoot, would prefer not to have to do too much retouching, especially if they are newer. The truth is, the easier you make another person’s job, the higher the likelihood that you will get hired.

9. Keep your body in shape. Being toned opens up more opportunities for shoots. Whether it’s lingerie shoots that you’re after, or bikini, or fitness, there are many more paid gigs available for models who are in shape. Realistically, there is not a big market for models who are 5’0″ and 200lbs, except for some fetish work.

10. Represent yourself with honesty. This ties back to reputation, although there is much more to it than that. It’s best to display, or have available, un-retouched snapshots which show what you look like without make-up, styling and Photoshop. It’s also best to honestly display your height and measurements because sometimes people are looking to hire models with specific stats. Additionally, lying about your measurements and deceiving people about how you look will come back to haunt you later. This is a small world and bad news travels fast.

11. Ask for testimonials and display those. It’s one thing to talk about yourself and say how great you are, but it’s completely different when other people are praising you for your look, skills, punctuality and professionalism. So, if you’ve had a great experience working with someone, ask them to leave you a testimonial for your website or social media profile.   

I hope that the above points were helpful to newer models who would like to make money freelancing. What else would you add?

In the past little while, there have been several news articles, such as this Daily Mail Article, that have been scrutinizing online modeling portfolio sites. This is because three young Colorado women who had online modeling portfolios have disappeared and have not yet been found. I am very sad for their friends and family who are dealing with their disappearance.

After reading all these articles and doing further research about whether or not online modeling sites are safe, I have come up with my own conclusion.

I often get emails from young girls asking me how to get started as a model and how to be safe when using online modeling portfolio sites to find modeling jobs and other talent to work with. I feel like it is my duty to write this article to not only give models some tips on how to be safe but also let them know that modeling portfolio sites themselves are not dangerous.

Asking if an online modeling portfolio site is safe is like asking if driving a car is safe. When you think about it, there are far more fatal car accidents than there are aspiring models who go missing.

Online modeling portfolios are valuable tools, which, when used properly, can yield good results.

Any time you use a social media platform where you are interacting with other users, there is always a chance that you will run into a bad person. When you start a public Facebook profile, you take that chance too. Also, any time that you are out at a downtown club late at night, you have about as much chance of running into questionable characters, if not more so.

In order to be truly safe, do nothing that has any sort of risk attached to it. If we all did that, nothing would ever get done. So that’s not a really good solution. What I want to say is that with modeling sites, just like any other means of communication with other people, there are precautions that you have to take when interacting with other users. Keep reading to find some tips on Internet safety for aspiring models.

Sure, people can take the “Oh, she’s an aspiring model with a modeling portfolio on the Internet” and “Now she’s missing” and automatically weave those things together. However, I disagree. I don’t think there is a linear correlation between having an online modeling portfolio and disappearing. As a user of modeling portfolio sites, I find many of the assumptions about online modeling sites wrong.

With that being said, I’ve come up with a few tips for aspiring models on how to be safe when using the Internet to find work:

1. If the offer is too good to be true, it probably is. If someone contacts you on an Internet site and promises to make you rich and famous quickly, you should understand that it’s not real. That person most likely has ulterior motives and is looking to either take your money or take you.

2. What does their portfolio look like? If they claim to be a photographer and their portfolio is full of poorly shot images of girls barely wearing any clothes and looking scared, then this is not someone you should work with. Just say no. It doesn’t matter if they offer you money to shoot, because honestly, you don’t want to have such images of you out there, especially if later on in life you change your mind about wanting to become a model.

3. How do they conduct themselves in email correspondence? If they are sending you inappropiate messages and sharing unwelcome off-colour jokes with you (about sex, etc) before they even met you, then I don’t think you want to find out what they are like in person.

4.Who else have they worked with? Let’s face it, if they have been logging on to the site for several years and they still only have 4 photos from several years ago up on their site, then you should wonder why they haven’t worked with anyone else in that time and why they are contacting you now.

5. Check references. If you can, don’t just ask for references directly from that person, but find their references yourself and contact those people. For example, if it’s a photographer, find links to the models that they worked with and contact those models asking them what the photographer was like to work with. If the photographer is not posting any links to people they’ve worked with, then ask yourself why.

6. Meet the person in a public place prior to the shoot. Although some people on the Internet may claim this is a waste of time, I don’t necessarily think so. If someone doesn’t have  enough references and is not established as a photographer, then it’s best to meet that person in a public place to see what they are like. If they insist on meeting in a more private place, don’t go.

7. Google their name. One of the easiest ways to check if someone is real is to Google their name along with “scam” “fraud” “review” etc. in the search.

I hope that the 7 tips on Internet safety above are helpful to you as an aspiring model. Good luck and stay safe!

I have had a few girls emailing me asking me how to get started as a model. Instead of writing the same thing each time, I finally decided to write a post about it, which I hope that aspiring models will find useful.

When it comes to getting started as a model, you must first recognize that everyone’s situation is unique. If you are young, tall, fit a size 2/4, and live in a big city, then the best way you can try to get started is by sending your photos to a bunch of legitimate local agencies or attending a lot of casting calls to see if anyone is interested in representing you.

However, if you do not fit the fashion model criteria, then you will most likely not be signed by agencies like Elite and Ford.

Don’t fit the agency criteria? Not a problem. I know several models on Model Mayhem who have successful careers without being signed by agencies. Those models have been published in magazines that many aspiring models only dream of and have landed amazing gigs. They have had success on the Internet and there is no particular reason why you can’t either.

1. Set realistic goals as a model. If you are under 5’9″, then you cannot be an editorial fashion model but you can be a glamour, promotional, nude, or fitness model. Establish your limits in terms of what types of shoots that you want to do. If you are not comfortable shooting nudes, then don’t do it. Get a friend to take a few photos of you so that you have some photos to show to potential photographers or to upload on networking sites.

2. Once you know the types of shoots that you can and will do, you can find a photographer who takes the type of photos that you are looking for. To find a photographer, join a networking site like Model Mayhem where you can browse the profiles and portfolios of many photographers in your area that you could potentially work with. Some will do trade shoots (ie. you don’t have to pay for the shoot) and some won’t.

3. Select the best photographer in your desired genre that you can find. Images are what sell you, therefore it’s best to have great images to begin with. If you have great images, better quality photographers are more likely to work with you.

4. Your portfolio. Do not put up a bunch of snapshots, pictures of your boyfriend and your party crew on your online modeling portfolio. Only post photos from professional photographers and also a couple of images that show what you look like without make-up or retouching.

5. Continue to work on yourself. Make sure that you take care of your skin, get enough sleep, workout and eat healthy before you start looking for people to work with. If you don’t look like the images in your portfolio, photographers will not like it (ie. show up weighing 30 lbs more than what you look like in your photos)

6.  Work hard. Just because you signed up and got approved to be on a networking site for models, does not mean that modeling jobs will come to you. Most likely, they won’t. There are hundreds of thousands of models on the Internet who are looking for the same thing that you want. Therefore, you should be proactive and go after the jobs yourself. There is a saying “the harder you work, the luckier you get” and truer words have never been spoken when it comes to freelance modeling.

7. Your reputation. In the modeling industry, just like anywhere else, your reputation is important. If you show up late, don’t show up at all or show up tired and hungover, people will talk. However, if you show up on time ready to work, have a good attitude, look great and show that you truly care about the outcome of the shoot people will like working with you and you will get more modeling jobs.

8. Don’t quit your day job. Once you start getting paid to model, keep your day job, unless of course you begin to make more per month as a model than you do working at your day job. Very few people ever get there. If you are lucky enough to go full time, realize that you will have dry spells therefore it’s very important to have your living expenses covered.

9. Watch out for scams. Scam artists love to prey on young girls who have high hopes and dreams of being a model, so be aware. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. I wrote a post on how to avoid modeling scams, so give that a read as well.

10. Don’t get discouraged. If you do not get selected for a modeling gig, do not take it personally. Just because someone said “no” does not mean that the next person will also say “no”. It just means that there was a different model that was more suited for that particular job. Keep on putting yourself out there for people to see and keep on networking. A lot of times, modeling is about who you know and that your reputation is like.

I hope you found it helpful. 🙂

Wishing you all the best,
Aviva

I was so thrilled to learn that an article that I contributed to the Model Mayhem EDU section a while ago made “The 10 Most Popular Articles of 2012” list. It was the 2nd most read/viewed article in the entire MM EDU section in 2012.

The article that I submitted is called Model Rates: Advice for Freelance Models. In this article, I outlined some things that freelance models should consider before setting their rates.

Factors such as the quality of your portfolio, your look, location, the competition and whether or not you have any additional skills (like hair and make-up) that make you worth the money can all affect your rates as a freelance model.

Whenever I contribute an article to the Model Mayhem EDU section, my goal is to be helpful to aspiring models and to provide them with useful information about the world of freelance modeling.

I’m very familiar with it because I’ve made quite a bit of money as a freelance model and I have also interviewed models who are far more successful in the industry than me. In fact, the income I made modeling helped me get through university and for that I will always be thankful.

I wanted to take this opportunity to say “Thank you” to everyone on Model Mayhem who has read my article and passed it along.

I’m looking forward to contributing more articles to MM EDU in 2013, which I hope will continue to be useful to the readers.

Happy New Year!
Wishing you continued success!

Over the last few years, I started seeing some patterns of mistakes that aspiring models make. Such mistakes could range from poor business practices to certain bad habits that prevent them from getting work. Below are, in my opinion, the top 10 mistakes that newer models make:

1. Not showing up to shoots/meetings/appointments/fittings, and then giving every excuse in the book for doing so. That is a no-no. Shoots take a lot of organizing, from getting the whole team together to planning the theme of the shoot. So, for you to not show up is a poor business practice and very presumptuous. You will be labeled as unreliable, and thus not worth working with. If you want to impress the right people, then treat their time as valuable.

2. Showing up late. Again, the reliability factor is at stake here. When you are late, other people on the set will start to wonder if you are even going to show up at all. The whole world doesn’t wait for you, so why should the creative team wait for you while you think up excuses for why you weren’t on time? If you will be late, call the photographer immediately to let him/her know that you are still going to be there and give them an estimated time of arrival so that they can get other things done while they are waiting for you.

3. Badmouthing other models, photographer, and other industry professionals. People will think that you are a drama queen, and no one wants to be around that. If you have nothing nice to say about someone, then don’t say anything at all.

4. Complaining about your make-up/hair and wardrobe in front of the team who took part in the shoot. You won’t always like what you are wearing, or the job that a make-up artist/wardrobe stylist/hair stylist did, but if you get snotty about it on set…people will think…well…you’re a diva (among other things).

5. Thinking you will instantly be a star and/or full-time model. It’s a nice thought, but the chances of that happening are slim to none. VERY few girls make a living at modeling and most models have other, more stable streams of income for when the modeling jobs don’t come in. Be very realistic with your expectations, and be aware that getting to a point where you make a living is a LOT of hard work. So, be prepared to respond to countless ads looking for models, attending hundreds of auditions, going to casting calls, submitting to several magazines, and networking your butt off with seemingly no apparent results.

6. Letting yourself get out of shape. Just like other people, you are not always motivated to work out. However, what happens if next week there is a shoot and you are in your worst shape ever? Always be prepared and be in your top shape. Girls who get into magazines are usually in their top-notch shape.

7. Waiting for opportunities to come to you. Sorry, but that just won’t work anymore. Gone are the days where you can be walking in a mall in a small town with your mom and all of a sudden a scout from a huge modeling agency like Ford or Elite approaches you, flies you to New York, and you are rich and famous. That is history! Currently, there are millions of girls competing for the scarce modeling jobs. If you want to work as a model, you need to be realistic about what you have to offer the client/company/photographer/etc and aggressively market yourself on the basis of that. Agencies and clients do not look for their models on the Internet because they receive hundreds of submissions/applications from aspiring models who are chasing their dreams.

8. Having too many demands. This is often the case with new models on the social networking sites for models and photographers. The model asks the photographer to sign over the copyrights to the images for free, that the photographer pays her a ridiculous amount of money, that the photographer covers all the costs of the make-up artist/hair stylist, and other demands. People don’t want to work with someone who will be a pain in the butt to deal with. This does not mean that you should be a pushover, but understand that you can’t make crazy demands on people you’re working with.

9. Coming to a shoot unprepared. Forgetting different clothing items, shoes, make-up, or other props that you agreed to bring is just one part of being unprepared. If you say you are going to bring something to the shoot, take extra care to be true to your word. People don’t like to work with someone who always forgets important things…and if you can’t get organized for a shoot…then consider a different hobby/career.

10. Showing up to a shoot tired and/or hung-over. Late nights and partying the night before a shoot are a “no-no”. It WILL show in the pictures, and the photographer will not be very happy, since those probably won’t be his/her best pictures. So, if you’re a big partier and a night owl, save it till after the shoot 🙂

If you are an aspiring model and have done any of the above, it is a good time to re-assess your goals in the industry and change some habits.

What are some other mistakes that new models make?

I wish you all the best! If you found this helpful, please share 🙂
Aviva

The Internet is filled with scammers who prey on young girls (and young men) with big dreams of becoming rich and famous. With that being said, if you look hard enough, you will see that there are also many legitimate modeling opportunities available on the Internet. The key is to be able to recognize the difference between a scam and an opportunity. I will tell you a few basic ways how to spot a modeling scam. You worked hard for your money and there is no reason you should give it away to other people for no value for you.

1. Scammers go after people who appear to be desperate. Usually, when a person is desperate, he/she is less likely to make rational decisions or use their sense of judgment. For example, if you are a young model desperate to get famous, and someone emails you offering what appears to be the opportunity to skyrocket your career if you pay him/her $X, then you might not do your due diligence because at that moment you don’t want to believe anything other than the fact that it’s real. When you are desperate for something to happen, keep in mind that this is the time that you are most vulnerable to scammers and take extra precaution when responding to anyone who asks you for significant sums of money.

2. Modeling agencies don’t charge “enrollment fees”. Legitimate agencies make money when they book work for you and take a percentage of your earnings. Usually, agencies can legally take a 20% commission on every job that they book for you. There may be some costs associated with portfolio development but sometimes the agencies will front the costs if they believe that they can later deduct portfolio development fees from your future earnings. Also, legitimate agencies may have a list of photographers that they recommend, but they do not necessarily tell you to choose any one specific photographer. Additionally, they do not charge a fee up front to represent you. If an agency could convince you to pay them over $500 per year to represent you, then what incentive would they have to book any work for you when they have thousands of hopefuls being tricked into paying them?

3. Big companies and big magazines do not book through the Internet nor do they promise to make someone rich and famous. If someone emails you and tells you that they have chosen you to do a photoshoot for Guess, Sports Illustrated, Vogue or Maxim because they saw your profile on Facebook, Model Mayhem or Myspace, chances are it is definitely a scam. Big companies and big magazines have access to agencies which can provide them with quality models, so why would they go to Facebook to find a model? Also, if the email address of the person who contacted you is regularjoe@gmail.com (or hotmail, or whatever) as opposed to name@guess.com or name@maxim.com then it is definitely a scam. If the email did not come from a company email, then it is bogus. You should always do a google search of the email just to see what comes up; you will most likely find that the person is not in any way associated with the magazine.

4. Models are not overpaid up front before the shoot. A person claiming to represent a major fashion brand or an internationally published magazine emails you and tells you that you have been selected for a shoot. They will also tell you that you will be paid $3,500 (or more) up front, but then you have to send some of the money back to the hairstylist/make-up artist/etc. First, they will milk you for a bunch of personal and banking information. Then, they will send you the check, but it will not be real, and you will be out the amount that they told you to send back. Why would a company pay a model in advance without ever meeting the model before the shoot? Which company would send a large sum of money to someone they never met before the service was provided? Again, this goes back to #3, where companies will book through agencies for higher budget projects.

5. Legitimate agencies do not email Internet models out of the blue and tell them that they want to represent them. To have a chance at being represented, a model had to submit her photos and stats to the agency, whether it’s online or by snail mail, or attend one of their open calls. Real modeling agencies get thousands of submissions on a daily basis from girls who would potentially fit their criteria, so it wouldn’t make sense for them to look for models on the Internet. Unless they’re already famous, models come to the agencies, not the other way around.

Please be aware. Do not get tricked out of your hard-earned cash!! You worked for it, so therefore it’s yours to keep.

I hope this helps 🙂

Cheers,
Aviva