Modeling as a shorter girl is tough, that's for sure, but I am a big believer in making things happen for your self, and for a shorter girl that is the way to get ahead as a model. Here are five tips towards getting ahead as a shorter girl.
Spend on your goals, invest on your pursuits.
When ever I made money in modeling I always put it right back into my pursuits. With new compcards, printing new portfolio prints, getting a new portfolio, and much more, especially the beauty and body up keep. A shorter girl has to get her comp card together and marketing tools to get ahead, it is NUMBER 1. P.s: A comp card will get you further than a website when it comes to working with an agent, real brands and attending real castings, focus on having these marketing tools as your first step.
Number 2, it doesn't matter if you know the latest trends in fashion or every top models name and story by heart but you do have to have an understanding of your own self. Understanding where you fit into this modeling industry is a big part of finding opportunities when you are not giraffe tall. The more your know your self and focus on realistic goals, the better. There is more to modeling and working as one than just fashion, the runway, and having long limbs, but make sure you know your assets. If you do not know your assets you should consider thinking about and knowing what type of products you could see yourself realistically modeling for.
Because Number 3 is creating photos that sell you and if you know what you can realistically model for you can create photos that will better target the areas you can get ahead. Commercial print modeling is the area for a shorter girl. Focus on getting the shots you need by understanding what you do not need. You don't need:
-Shots that involve a lot of makeup on your face. (even for beauty and cosmetic ad opportunities you want to focus on a beauty shot that has a natural look, not heavy cakey makeup.)
-You do not need a high fashion shot. You do not need a shot that shows you pouting or with a still face, instead flaunt your personality, show your smile, and observe ads that show models smiling in them to get inspired.
-Skip the glamour shots, and watch out for overly sexy glamour photos because these are the type of shots that turn off a commercial print modeling agency. If you want to model swimwear make it look like a catalog or magazine editorial you'd see in Glamour, Marie Claire, or Allure.
Although it is a hustle and a lot of work to get comp cards, get a portfolio, get photos and mail your comp cards out to agencies, it is the way for a short girl. Working non-exclusive with agencies is the lifestyle of a shorter model, however you can work with more than one agency non-exclusively. Shorter models do not typically find exclusive representation.
The 4th step is self promotion and marketing. Getting the attention of an agency usually doesn'thappen over night. It might take more than one submissions to an agency to get a meeting, sometimes it takes 3-4-5-6 submissions to even the same modeling agency over the course of a year to hear back, at last! Many girls go through months and years of submissions before hearing back at all. So be aggressive with your mailings, update your compcards, mail them out, try again, but also strive to get some experience on your own through approaching aspiring brands and designers (especially accessories designers), attending tradeshows, and networking with those who are ambitious. Strive to only shoot with professional photographers, and even if it takes a bit longer, stay true to your goals and focus on getting them achieved. After I gained a few tearsheets in magazines through photographers that worked with magazines and after I had experience modeling for aspiring brands and designers, it was easier to market myself to modeling agencies because I had proof that despite my height I had been hired and modeled for a national magazine. It takes a very careful, focused, skeptical and ambitious mindset to self promote in the proper ways.
The Fifth step should really be a part of the first step. Skip the Internet all together for model promotion. The Internet is only amateur for modeling. Get rid of your model-site hosting profile, and get rid the amateur. Focus on the professional and you get more.
Also see this post based on five jobs where height doesn't matter and some self promotion tips:
http://petitemodelingtips.blogspot.com/2010/01/five-modeling-jobs-where-height-doesnt.html
http://petitemodelingtips.blogspot.com/2008/10/improve-your-model-marketing-for-small.html
Isobella
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