Modeling tips – How to work it!
Each model has their own way of getting psyched up and preparing for a photo shoot. It really is about getting to know yourself and every part and curve of your body. I will explain and divide my routine into 2 parts: physical and mental.
1) PHYSICAL
It is very important to know YOUR body, not anyone else’s, and how it responds to the diet. For me, it takes 4-5 days of dieting to get as lean as I’d like for one session. I know some models who have to diet for 7 days and even some who have to watch what they eat in just 3 days. Lucky bitches. More importantly, is knowing how your body replyto certain foods. For example, I learned that eliminating 70% of carbs, sugar, and salt for 4-5 days is all I need to diet. After trying energy supplements, shakes, and protein powders, I’ve learned that my body responds BEST to simply eating eggs (with or without yolks), chicken, fish, and green vegetables.
But there was a time when I didn’t know all of this and found that protein powders bulked me up, cutting carbs took away my energy to exercise, and lack of sugar made me cranky. So you’ll have to make a case of trial and error for your own personal diet. Because I love food so much, I have learned to maximize my diet in the shortest and least painful way possible. At the gym, I run and do weights for exercise. Running helps me, while lifting weights tones me and creates definition and curves in my legs, arms, back, and abs.
In addition to knowing you physically, it is knowing every curve of your body. To photograph well is to know which poses favor your physique the most. Every model has a favorite side of his body… mine tends to my right side, so you’ll often notice a lot of photos posing in that direction. I have a really small butt, so if I’m posing from behind, I know to exaggerate the arch in my lower back and pull my shoulders forward, so I can accentuate the illusion of a bigger butt. It’s not my favorite pose though, so I rarely do it unless the photographer asks for it.
Most photographers will let you handle the camera on your own because they want you to feel comfortable. That is why it is important to practice in front of a mirror to see what favors you the most because they will not know. Ask yourself what is your favorite part of your body. I love my legs, so I try to show them off whenever I can by straightening them or raising one leg for a flirtier look. I’ll also look in magazines for new poses, but you can guarantee that I’ll try them out in front of a mirror first, to see how they fit. my body.
2) MENTAL
This is what I like to call ‘the hype’. A great model has attitude and sex appeal. Contrary to popular belief, we don’t feel sexy 24/7; I’m in sweats and no makeup most days of the week. So, to get in the right mood to rock a session, I listen to music based on the mood of the session. If it’s a sexy/sultry track, I listen to deep house or lounge music like Kaskade or La Roux. If it’s more of a clothing shoot type of thing where the photographer needs a lot of attitude and aggressiveness, then I’ll use hip-hop and rap. It definitely helps to have music in the background while recording, so always bring your playlist on your iPhone or CD for them to use. In fact, I now prefer to just use Pandora, but sometimes I can download a CD for my car to ‘pep’ it up on the way to the session.
Sometimes I watch music videos on YouTube before my call time. Specifically, I love watching old music videos of Janet Jackson, The Pussycat Dolls, Madonna, and Ciara. It excites me to see these girls work with amazing stage presence and talent. I am a very visual person, so watching these videos uplifts and inspires my mood. If you can intrigue the camera as your boyfriend or her current crush, then you can flirt with her, connect with her, tease her, and have a lot of fun with her. Forgets that she is an object, looks at the camera as if it were a person that can to feel Y reply to what you are doing. This is a great exercise to do if you’re shooting outdoors and don’t have music.
Hopefully these tips will help you in your next session! Remember to keep practicing and just have fun. Don’t take yourself too seriously, let your personality shine through, because the best photos are usually the ones where we are smiling and laughing. As they say, “it’s beauty that captures the attention; personality that captures the heart.”
