Two days ago, someone contacted me that she wants to be a model and she wanted to know how to start. I gave her some good advice which included looking around for a good photographer who would be willing to do a test shoot with her. She explained how this might not be easy, I told her to try and gave other options.. *hold this thought*.
Yesterday, I was chatting with a model already rooted in the industry. By rooted I mean, walked the runways of top shows in Nigeria and all that. He said that he didnt have terrific pictures because the top photographers he knew were hyper expensive!? I'm like "SERZLY!!"
So here’s an aspiring model and an already working model having the same issue. Its nothing new!
My younger sister wanted to delve into modelling after her Bachelor's degree at Babcock University and I laughed pretty hard because she was on the "big sized" size in the modelling world. Trust me, I know because I have worked closely with a few models in the past. Anyway, point is she emailed a few "fake" agents she found on facebook and asked for their charges..
FAIL!!!: The agencies did not have a correct drafted agreement and demanded she paid 20,000 for agency money. Thats the number one way to determine a fake agency. There has to be a drafted agreement that YOU HAVE TO READ THROUGH or have a lawyer friend look at. Do not fall for fakes or be a pawn in the hands of corrupt individuals.
Another advice is to begin uploading your great pictures to blogs like mine, Linda Ikeji and lots of other blogs out there. For one, we bloggers love good pictures and will give credit to that come in. We appreciate great stories because we constantly look for something to give out. So getting fab pictures from a model will definitely go on our pages.
Eventually it will all be worth it.
-Never be afraid of rejection!! It comes with this territory. If your picture meets rejection by loads of bloggers or modelling agents, keep pressing on and check yourself while at it. It’s a crowded market(every Tom, Dick and Harry is a model, with the coming of "cheap" cameras lol), so you have to be proactive and contact people you want to work with. Sitting back and waiting for people to come to you is living in fool’s paradise .
