Modeling & Acting 101 - A Model/Actor's Diary

For the past few days that I have been browsing Craigslist looking for the latest modeling gigs, I’ve came across more than a handful of posts from aspiring and established models seeking agency representation. My first question was, “If they’re looking for agencies, what are they doing posting on Craigslist?!” In case this is only obvious to me, let me say right now that if you are seeking agency representation, do not use Craigslist to find it. Craigslist is pretty good at offering modeling gigs and opportunities but when it comes to modeling agencies, this one doesn’t quite fit. While there are times when legit agencies, such as Ford for example, post on Craigslist looking for fit models, there are many fake modeling agencies who post looking for models to sign. If you respond to these ads, you do so at your own risk. That’s not to say that there aren’t legit agencies looking for models on there, but this makes it much harder for you to be able to find out anything about the

One of the first things that I commonly hear from shorter aspiring models that want to get into fashion and runway is, “Well, it doesn’t matter if I’m short, as long as I can wear really tall heels, right?” I hate to be a buzz kill but the answer is “NO.” Any time an agency asks for a model’s height they automatically mean “without heels or shoes of any kind.” So the height they desire is the one you are naturally standing in bare feet. It’s kind of hard to fake that. Agencies will measure you so it doesn’t matter if you strut into the offices wearing the cutest pair of heels—when it’s time to take your height, you’ll be asked to step out of your shoes. On many go-sees I’ve been asked my height, and they often add the following words to the question: “without shoes.” You would think that they would make an exception to the rule for shorter models that can successfully wear 4-inch heels as if they were tennis shoes but as much as I hate to say it, they do have their reasons for tak

So in this age of the Internet, it’s pretty easy to take other people’s content and use them on other websites, forums, etc. As my blog and articles on other sites gain popularity, I’m finding that there are those who are unfairly plagiarizing my work by taking original content word for word without mentioning my name, where the content is originally from or linking back. This is not okay. I’m more than happy to share my information with others for free. However, I do ask that if you can’t paraphrase my content and need to use it verbatim, at least have the professional courtesy of asking my permission or letting me know who you are and where you want to use my stuff. If you’re going to use content from my blog, please link back, mention my name and who I am or at least mention the name of my blog. I am also a writer for eHow.com and do a lot of articles related to the modeling industry. I recently got an email from a website designer who was interested in using my articles for his sit

Nothing is more nerve wracking than waiting to hear back from an agency. Whether it's via phone or email, the waiting can be torture, especially if you've interviewed with the agency already but have yet to be offered a contract. If you've already been out to see many agencies and have been promised that they will contact you soon, you're probably climbing up the walls by now. It helps to not take things too literally. If an agency says they will call you by the end of the week, they may or may not call you on Friday. They may call you Monday (no legit agency is open on weekends--no exception!) or they may call you the very next day. So while it may be great that they give you a certain time period, don't hold them to it because they more than likely may not contact you when they say they will. Don't take it personally, it's simply business. Most agencies are super busy on a daily basis and it is easy for them to lose track. However, if you impress th

As the photo accompanying this post illustrates, you may come to a point where you have to choose between two agencies...maybe even more. While they all seem the same, they aren't and you may be unknowingly comparing apples and oranges (or in the case of the photo, apples and--what the heck is that? A sandwich? lol). Anyways, to get to the point, having even just one agency interested in signing you puts you ahead of the other aspiring models. But if you find yourself with multiple offers, don't get a huge head just yet (although it'll be hard not to!) because you’ll be facing some important decisions. In the end it is ultimately your decision (and your parents) when it comes to which one you want to take the plunge with. In case you’re worried about finding yourself in this situation, there are a few things you should keep in mind to help your decision along: First, don’t just go off of which agency is more well known than the other. Using that alone may not work ou

Hey, all! For those of you who haven’t heard of Fashion on the Square (also known as FOTS), it is one of the largest outdoor fashion shows on the West Coast. Each year they have FOTS in San Francisco. For some time now I have always heard about FOTS in San Francisco from friends in the industry and other models I worked with. The surprising thing about it is the models that I talked to who did FOTS—a fashion runway show—were shorter than me! I thought, “What kind of high profile runway show uses us shorties?” So I figured they got in because they knew a designer. Well, come to find out that FOTS does not hold any size or height requirements. I knew I had to give it a shot. I got an email from one of the many casting networks I’m a part of, advertising the start of the casting phase for this year’s show, set for Saturday, July 19th in Union Square in San Francisco. So last Friday, May 16 I headed over to Brooks College of Fashion in Sunnyvale after work to try out. Luckily I arrive

While browsing through the latest modeling gigs online, I saw that Ford put up a casting call on Craigslist looking for fit models. I spoke about fit modeling a while back on this blog but I thought it would be cool to show you guys an example of what an agency looks for. It’s no fashion modeling gig but it is pretty cool to try on the designs that have yet to be seen by the public. I’ve done fit modeling go-sees for Old Navy and Banana Republic in the past (although I’m often too petite in size to really fit the garments haha) and it’s really fun and easy work that pays well. Here is the direct post from Craigslist that Ford put up a few days ago (note that they stress being able to stay at the same measurements). If you happen to be in the Bay Area and fit these measurements, now’s your chance so give them a call! Reply to: gigs-668988457@craigslist.org (it’s probably better to just call them instead of email) Date: 2008-05-05, 1:19PM PDT FORD Models is currently searching for female

So let’s see…for the past month or so I slowed down on taking modeling gigs because I was getting too busy and with the weather getting so beautiful, I wanted to sit back and enjoy spending time with friends and family. Of course the itch to get back to modeling came back soon enough and now I’m opening myself up for taking on more projects again. Although I am actively taking on projects again I am keeping the load light so that I don’t stretch myself too thin and exhaust myself, which I have the unfortunate habit of doing at times. This month I have a jewelry shoot on May 18th with a great photographer (David Quinn) and makeup artist (Rachelle Dalton) for my portfolio (you can search their names on the site www.ModelMayhem.com to see their portfolios of work). These are the first batch of images that I’ll be showing to Ford so that hopefully they will start submitting me to beauty and cosmetic-related gigs. Hmm…what else? Ah, I have an upcoming interview with a chef out of Marin, Cal

Sometimes if you feel that your agency should do things a little differently or if you are concerned about the direction they are taking your career in, then you should let them know. For a while now I’ve been hoping that Ford would start submitting me to different types of castings or find clients that are looking for ethnic models. I also started to wonder what the San Francisco market was looking like now that the weather is getting better so I gave my direct booking agent at Ford, Stephanie, a call. We talked about how the market at this point in time was cyclical and they literally have to take things week by week, since the clients and the range of work varied so much. Luckily, she did assure me that my look was in demand and that they were submitting me to everything they had. I also used this opportunity to voice my concern over my photos that are currently on Ford’s website (wish I could show it to you all but Ford requires a login name and password so the galleries of talent

I recently received a comment on my post, titled “ The Runway Walk ,” asking if I could briefly talk about how to walk with other runway models. While the comment wasn’t too clear what “walking with other models” meant, I’ll do my best to explain it in this post. In runway shows, you are one of many models, obviously. Most shows leave each model on his/her own to strut down the catwalk, pose at the end and come back. During this time, the next model is already on his/her way towards the catwalk and you may have to pass by them. Most of the time there is no interaction between two models passing each other on the catwalk. However, some fashion shows tend to switch things up a bit and may require that you play off of each other while on stage. In this case, you can do anything from giving a playful wink at each other, turning your head to “stare them down” in a playfully competitive way or even give them a hi-five (this is rare, though in high fashion shows). The majority of fashi