Models Be Professional!

So this post was inspired by my boyfriend/photographer. He was going through one of his recent shoots with a model and was looking up her personal info that was listed on her model release form. He told me her email was "sweetcheeks@..." This not only made the both of us laugh till we cried, but it made me realize that this was a topic that I haven't really touched on yet.

I always talk about being professional as a working model and maintaining business relationships but how you present yourself is a whole 'nother part of the industry. Many people don't think twice about even the littlest things but those can be the ones that make or break you. Excuse me if I come across as anal but I take my modeling career seriously and for those who really want to become a part of this industry, they should take it seriously as well.

When it comes to marketing yourself, regardless of whether you have agency representation or not, it is important to keep in mind how other people perceive you. That being said, when it comes to contact information and allowing other people to get a hold of you, please, please, please be professional about it! What I mean by that is don't have cutesy, stupid email addresses or corny, teeny-bopper voicemail intros. It is so unprofessional and can come off the wrong way. Even if you are a young model, there is a way you should present yourself when it comes to your modeling career. You are dealing with people who want to do business and it can be discouraging or hard to take someone seriously who has an email address like: sexymama14 or missnewbooty. That's just tacky, tacky, tacky. By all means, keep whatever email address you want, but when it comes to modeling gigs, bookings, networking with photographers, etc., create a special email account that is simple. Stick to your first and last name or whatever your model alias is, if you have one.

The same goes for voicemail intros. Sure, it's funny to have some random movie clip, song, or silly and random introduction to your voicemail, but I can tell you right now, many professionals in the modeling field will be less likely to leave a message. If it's too overwhelming for you to change your intro or you can't bring yourself to take off your favorite song, then you may not be as serious about your career as you thought. Honestly, it isn't going to kill your social life to have a regular voicemail intro, especially when it betters your chances of getting hired for a gig. Your agent especially will expect you to have a decent looking email address and voicemail intro.

When it comes to growing up and assuming responsibility for what you enjoy and want to do in your life, making these small changes can make all the difference between being taken seriously as a working model and being passed up for someone who presents themselves as a professional model. Just food for thought.