People get into the modeling business for all sorts of reasons. Some people want a career, some people want to travel… some people just want to make some “money on the side” and think modeling would be a convenient way to do that. So the question you want to consider if you think you want to be a model… is “why?” Why do you want to be a model? Your answer is important because it will shape all of your business decisions and help you to focus on what it is that you want.
For example, a friend of mine’s seventeen year old son Dan… we’ll call him Dan, because his name is Dan… came to me recently for advice on “how to get into modeling.” My first question was “Why?” His answer was… “I want to buy a car.” So Dan’s motivation for getting into modeling was that he wanted to earn some money in the short run. He didn’t envision himself being featured on billboards, or traveling around the world (at least not yet anyway) he is a high school senior and is in need of some wheels. Luckily for Dan his mother was in full support of his need for transportation and was ready to support him. So, they made a few phone calls, Dan shot a few head shots and he went in on some open calls. Three weeks later he had an agent, his first print booking and $2,500 down payment for his car. 
In my case, my “I think I wanna be a model” moment came the summer before I graduated from college. I was a textile design major and I had been hired to intern as an assistant designer for a swimwear company in Manhattan. I was lucky and grateful to have been given the work opportunity and admired the designer I worked for, but I couldn’t envision myself doing her job for the rest of my life. That left me with the huge question of “what to do?” and after many teary discussions and frozen margaritas the answer came to me… “I needed more information about the fashion industry.”
During my summer as a design intern we hired many models to do everything from “fit” modeling, to “runway”, to shooting glamorous pictures for the companies’ advertisements. These women were coming in and out of our office regularly. They were all tall, they were attractive, they had impressive portfolios and they came in and out with a kind of confidence that I totally admired but I wouldn’t have described them as all being “beautiful.” They also made in an hour what my take home pay was for a week!
Near the end of the summer we did a photo shoot where we had cast two models. One was Kathy Ireland, who years later went on to do the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Magazine and the other model was someone I came to recognize for years to come but don’t remember her name. She had a wonderful body for swimwear (which basically boils down to having a very long torso) but had a slightly odd looking face unless it was turned just off camera. Her book was filled with incredible pictures that looked nothing like her. She was amazingly photogenic but again, not what I would call “beautiful.”
At this point a window opened in my mind. I was the right height, right weight and right size to become a fashion model. Who cared if I was “beautiful” or not? I loved New York and wanted to move back to the city after I graduated from college. If I could get an agent and do what these women were doing I would learn an enormous amount of information about the fashion industry. I could get in and out of showrooms, ad agencies and manufacturers. Armed with such inside information, I figured I could decide what I wanted to do with my design degree and the rest of my life.
So, that’s where I started about twenty five years ago. I made a few phone calls (this was before the instant age of the internet) went on a few “open calls” and found an agency that was right for me. Was it that simple? Well, almost…
When considering a career as a model it’s important to remember that the common sense rules that you would follow when interviewing and starting any new job, apply to starting this one as well. So brush up on your interviewing skills and arm yourself with as much information as you can.
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