A Look into the Life of a Model

What is a shoot day like for a model? I'm going to tell you all about it! From pre-shoot all the way until wrap. So here we go, from start to finish this is how a shoot day goes for me. 7am: Wake up! I probably tried to go to bed at 10 last night so I wouldn't have bags under my eyes for todays shoot, but was stuck on TikTok watching videos until 2am, so coffee is a must on the way to work. 7:30am: Finally, I drag myself out of bed and take a shower then reread my call sheet for todays shoot. Most shoots give a list of items to bring that they will not have on set. These items are usually bras, pants, or shoes depending on what the shoot is for. I also pack foundation and other light makeup in case the makeup artist does not have something to match my tone. 8:30am: Leave my house and head to Starbucks before driving to LA for my 10am call. Yes, 99.999999% of my shoots are in Los Angeles and living in Orange County definitely causes me to have to drive during rush hour to work and home, every. single. time. But it's okay because I love my job! 10am: Arrive on set for said brand. Immediately meet with producers, photographer, and makeup artists. Models are almost always given forms to fill out that are usually NDA's, Photoshoot Agreements, and/or payment sheets. So we almost always start with the paperwork. 10:30am: Time for hair and makeup! Every shoot has a distinct hair and makeup look that the director has chosen per model, so I always show up to set with a bare face and natural hair. It's always so exciting to see what look they have in store! 11:30am: Time to try on todays' shoot looks! When I shot for Puma last month, they gave me two super cute track suits to shoot and three sets of sneakers. If any adjustments are needed for each outfit, they make them at this point. 12pm: Begin shooting! Per the Puma shoot I did, we started with outdoor, lifestyle shots. Hair and makeup comes out with the model and photographers while we shoot to do touchups during shots. On average, the photographer will take about 20-50 shots per outfit. 1pm: Lunch break! One of the best parts about being on set is the delicious meals they have catered! It always varies, but on higher profile shoots, we have had actual chefs come and cook talent and crew meals before. 2pm: On sets like Puma's, we will have a second portion of the shoot for studio shots. These shots are taken inside a studio in front of a backdrop. 3pm: Final touchups and photos, followed by any other paperwork needed to be done. Then we wrap! After this I drive home and usually shower then sleep for the next 10 hours. Being on set is always an experience. I am given the opportunity to meet some of the most talented individuals and network with amazing people! Being a model is so much fun and I recommend it to everyone. Anyone can be a model, brands love unique faces! If this is sounds like something that interests you, go for it. Believe in yourself, you can do it. :)

Creating your own personal brand can be much more difficult than you think. Well, at least for me it was. Choosing what direction I wanted to go in was extremely difficult. My best advice to you would be to find something you are passionate about and roll with it. This does not mean that you have to ONLY stick to the one genre, you can always stray a tad. This keeps you interesting, but it definitely is important to find what your niche is so that you can cater to that target audience. My niche on Instagram is fashion. I have decided that the majority of my posts will be catered to fashion and the majority of my brand deals are with clothing companies. Once you find your niche, I recommend finding a few pages that cater to it. Draw from those pages and use this as a roadmap for how you would like to format your own page. Remembering to make it your own is so important though! You have to stand out as your own person while also providing the type of content that your target audience enjoys. A while back, a friend of mine told me that he will make two posts catered to what his fans enjoy, then one catered to himself. Keeping that "two for them, one for me" mindset has helped me continue to enjoy my social media instead of allowing it to be solely a job. While you brand yourself, you will find out that exposure is everything. But is all exposure good exposure? It's hard to tell. This is something I am still trying to figure out for myself. When I began modeling and acting, I would take any and every job that was offered to me. This really has come back to bite me in the butt. I have done Youtube video's that are SO embarrassing and even a Snapchat series that exposed many things I would never have wanted to share. While this was all embarrassing and not the best look for my brand, it actually helped me grow. The embarrassing Youtube video has over 20 million views and I reached a brand new audience I would have never reached on my own, and the Snapchat series episode I did received over 15 million views and attracted over 70 thousand people to my Instagram account in a single day, causing me to gain over 11 thousand followers in 24 hours. So back to the question, is all exposure good exposure? It depends on what you want for yourself. If you are okay with a little bit of embarrassment that will help you reach new fans and inevitably grow, then yes it is worth it. But if it isn't something that you want for yourself, then I would recommend sticking completely to your own niche. From my experience, branding myself has helped me figure out who I am and where I want to be in this industry. It has helped paint a roadmap for what part of the industry I would like to be in. Do not stress about figuring your brand out immediately though, there are so many different directions people can go in and figuring out which one is best tapered for you can be hard. Take all the time you need, theres no rush! Just always remember to be yourself and stay true to who you are. 

Being 5'2 (on a good day) in the modeling industry is not easy. We grew up in a society where models were known to be the tallest, skinniest girls in the world. Today, thanks to changes in societies view of what a model could be, men and women of all shapes and sizes are able to model. Sure, most agencies still have a height requirement of 5'7 and above, but many agencies are now making exceptions and freelance modeling is becoming much more popular.My biggest advice to petite men and women who aspire to be models is to not give up if you are turned down from agencies. Just because runway modeling isn't an option for you, doesn't mean you can't be a model. Petite models are used for beauty, commercial, digital, social, and so many other forms of modeling. The way I went about becoming a model is a bit different than others, but I'll explain it for those who are curious and interested in taking the path that I did. I am a freelance model. I began my career through Instagram. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, I never saw myself as a model, this is something that I sort of fell into. I grew my social media account in order to get attention from major brands. How did I grow my social media? COLLABORATIONS! I collaborated with so many smaller photographers and smaller brands. This gave me free content, and free advertising of myself on other peoples social media accounts. This got my face out there. While doing this, I made connections. NETWORKING IS KEY! Every photoshoot I went to, every brand I went in and met, I networked with. I have booked so many jobs through connections I've made at previous shoots. After growing my social media, larger brands started to reach out to me. I began the transition from Insta-model to real life model. By networking with certain brands and photographers, I was able to become a published model for Forever 21, Papaya, and True Religion. After working with those brands, I created an account on ​lacasting.com. This website is used for models and actors to self-submit for castings. Yes, it costs money to be on this website. But you know what? Investing in yourself and your career is so important! I paid off the first years subscription to this website with my first job I booked through them. Through this website, I booked a Versace campaign, countless music videos, a Puma campaign, and so much more. So, what I am trying to say is, there are so many ways to get booked as a petite model. You do not have to be signed with an agency to be a model! Freelance modeling is just as successful. I have given you my two major ways of booking jobs as a petite model, social media presence and self submitting through casting websites. I'd love to hear any other methods anyone may have!

Instagram models should be taken so much more seriously than they are. They have turned social media into a career. If it were never for that initial dm I received two years ago, I would have never found my passion. I would have never realized that I wanted to pursue modeling as a career. I am so grateful for every opportunity that I have been given due to social media and being an “Insta-model.”