In the past month, I have hosted three workshops and one talent prep weekend. I’ve seen many beautiful, talented young women come through our doors. But not all of them will be models or pageant winners.
Inspired by the new hit show The Face and what I’ve seen in my own studio, I’ve outlined five must haves to succeed as a model or pageant winner.
- Be Coachable. Do you watch the new modeling show The Face? Naomi Campbell, Karolina Kurkova and Coco Rocha coach a team of potential models through a series of tests. It’s not always the most beautiful girl who wins. It’s the girl who is coachable. It’s the girl who listens, learns and puts what she’s learned into action. It’s no different for you. If you want to succeed in anything, you must be coachable!
- Be an Actress. It’s not enough to step on set and strike a pretty pose. Or in the case of pageants, just stand in pretty feet! You have got to take a risk and let yourself go. Recently, Carolyn Miller shot a young girl in our studio who just started to move in untraditional ways, even scrunching up her face! When I looked at the proofs, these are the shots that blew me away; the shots that will end up on her comp card! Take an improvisation or acting class and let yourself become whatever character the client and photographer want.
- Stand Up! Good grief. Do I really need to include this here? Yes, I do! I cannot believe the number of girls who walk into our modeling studio with unbelievably bad posture. Whaaaaattttt? Sorry, I’m just so amazed. When you step onto the runway, or onto the stage in your gown, bad posture will disqualify you immediately. No question. There is no reason for it but laziness. Stand up. Look me in the eye. And go after this!
- Perfect Your Personality! In the movie When Harry Met Sally, Jess tells his friend Harry (who is setting Jess up with Sally), When someone’s not attractive, they’re always described as having a good personality. The thing is, often we see gorgeous girls who rely too heavily on their looks and they don’t have a great personality. To succeed in modeling and pageants, you must show some life. Clients, pageant directors and employers everywhere, don’t want to spend their day with someone who is boring! Quit looking at yourself in the mirror, cast off the fear of embarrassment and have some fun!
Coco Rocha teaching Springboard students at a Karen Lee Group workshop!
- Give Good Eye. I’ve written this over and over. In our last article, Karen Lee said the most important element to making a great photo is eyes that tell a story. At model camp last week, Sarah Stepanek was our guest. The minute she stepped on the runway or the photo set, her entire face changed. She showed the girls how to use their eyes…and their shoulders, hips, hands and feet! But it was her eyes that drew the girls in and made them all say WOW!
Agents and clients the world over continue to tell you all of this. Listen, learn, let go and just do it! It will be the difference between having a fighting chance at modeling or winning your pageant and not.
Good luck.
Tell us what readers should know about your agency. We are an exclusive boutique agency that focuses on the faces we represent. We represent kids to adults in their 50’s. We specialize in fashion and catalog print, but also have on-camera, product print and extreme sport divisions! We are also a placement agency, so we work with the top agencies all over the world so that models can make careers in this industry.
Where do you find your models? All over! We are always scouting faces at all types of events and locations. We have five scouts, plus our staff. We make a team game of who can find the next amazing face. (Springboard’s own Taylor Kreifels, at immediate left.)
invitation with an rsvp included actually respond? That is unacceptable. Can you imagine planning a beautiful dinner for 12 and 18 show up? Or ordering extra food, tables and wine for 60, but only 48 attend. It’s a nightmare for any host. Respond to invitations as soon as you receive them. If something comes up that you can’t attend when you said you could, simply call the host and let her know. She will appreciate the heads up before the special event.
yourself! If a toast is being given in your honor you do not drink but you do reciprocate by presenting a toast back to the host.
Start a gratitude journal. This sounds so touchy-feely, but it is one of the best things I’veever done. I list all those things that are right, good and blessings in my life. I add my challenges and desires too, so that I can go back and mark them with a big, fat P (for praise!) when they come to pass…or not! Expressing your gratitude in writing really does make you see all that is right in your life instead of focusing on the why isn’t this happening for me.
