Model of the Week

Modeling for Girls

So you want to be a model? Do you have what it takes? Many pretty-in-person girls make terrible models and sometimes the plain Janes just take your breath away on film. It takes much more than just a pretty face and a slim figure to make it as a mainstream model. You need to have the total package, a mix of genetics and personality, in order to thrive in the modeling industry. So what traits does a successful model need to have? Some of the qualities of a mainstream model are obvious but the others may surprise you.

What is a Mainstream Model?

When we talk about making it as a mainstream model we are talking about the models you see in magazines and advertisements. There are specialty models, models with a specific look or talent, but that is not the type of model we are talking about here. Plus sized models, niche models, body part models and models with unique skills are some examples of specialty models but we want to tell you what agents look for in the average model. The base line parameters are very small, models need to have a specific body type, be within a certain height range and have good bone structure.

What do Modeling Agents Look for When Signing a New Model?

When agents look for new models to sign they look for a very specific set of physical criteria. How you look is definitely the first thing agents see. First and foremost models need to be tall and slim; for the most part they need to be slimmer than the average girl. This is the reason that the modeling industry gets such a bad rap, because the call for slim models could be seen as promoting an unrealistic body image.

The fashion industry’s love-affair with skinny girls is not part of a conspiracy against average sized bodies. Slimmer figures are important on the runway but they also photograph better. Why? Pictures are two dimensional and for this reason the body loses some of its angles in photographs. Without the proper angles even slender girls can appear heavy in pictures. Lighting plays an important role in counteracting the flattening effects of photography but it can’t correct for all the effects of transferring a three dimensional object on to a two dimensional piece of paper. Using a slim model also helps eliminate the problems associated with losing the all important angles.