10 Steps to Modeling Success

To paraphrase the great filmmaker, Robert Rodriguez, if you want to be a model, stop reading this and model. Basically, it boils down to this...

1. Decide what area(s) of modeling you want to do (glamour, sports, fashion, etc.)

2. Decide what your limits, constraints, restrictions and requirements are (such as, only paid work, must have an MUA, no nudity, but will do implied, etc.)

3. Work with the best photographer(s) you can find to build the best possible portfolio (do TFCD, paid work, group shoots, etc.)

4. Network. Be on as many modeling and social interaction web sites as you can (ModelMayhem, OneModelPlace, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, etc)

5. Keep it fresh. Constantly update all your contact points with new pics, news of events you will be at, etc.

6. Go back to step #1. Constantly refine what you are doing.

7. Luck is for rabbits. You make your own luck. Don't think that your big break will come to you -- you have to go find it by being in the right place at the right time.

8. In art, it's all about money. Whether it's show business, the music business, the film business, etc., the "art" is the adjective and "business" is the noun. My primary camera bag has more than $10,000 of equipment in it, so I want to put it to good use and figure out how I'm going to make money with it so I can replace it all every couple of years. I need to do work that is going to get noticed. My time as a photographer is valuable. When I work with a model, she has to be on time, not be a diva, and look great, otherwise I'll get someone else. Real photographers are pros. Regular photographers are guys with cameras.

9. Make hay while the sun shines. The average "working" model has a 2-3 year run. Models and athletes have a limited professional lifespan. It's about fresh faces and fresh looks. Unless you are prepared to reinvent yourself every year or two, the clock is ticking and you're about to be a footnote in history.

10. Never ever let your b/f, g/f, spouse, or parent(s) act as your manager, unless you are also willing to let them perform brain surgery on you. They don't know how all this works and they will screw it up for you in ways you can only begin to imagine. It's okay to ask their advice, but that's it.

  I am a member of the Photographic Society of America and a published photographer with credits in print ads, TV ad stills, corporate and industrial print work and web sites, gallery photos, postcards, CD-ROM and other media, including Maxim Online (7 submissions accepted for publication) and Easyriders magazine. I shoot between 50,000 and 100,000 images a year and more than 10 million people have viewed my work. I've worked in the recording industry as a producer and have done backstage/recording studio shoots of Ted Nugent, Scott Stapp (Creed), Tim "The Ripper" Owens (Judas Priest), Billy Morris (Warrant, Quiet Riot, The Breakfast Club) and others. I also produce and direct videos, DVDs and TV commericals.

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