MODELING WITHOUT MONEY: Do It Yourself Digitals

Welcome to the next article in my Modeling Without Money series.

I get so many emails from aspiring models telling me that money is the only thing holding them back. Because of that, I decided to write a whole series of articles to crush that limiting belief of yours.

You do not need money to be a model.

This is a lie you are telling yourself because you are either scared to start and go for it, afraid of what people may think of you or you just don’t want to put in the extra work.

You can break into the modeling industry on your own!

Reread the above sentence out loud to yourself one more time.

The only person holding you back is usually yourself.

Now let’s get started….

Many of you may know what “digitals” are, but if you don’t, pay attention.

As a model manager I get sent thousands of photos from models and aspiring models. The problem is, some of you know what you’re doing, but most of you don’t.

Have you ever sent your photos to a modeling agency or manager and never got a response? Well, there can be many reasons why agencies don’t respond, one of the biggest is based on the ‘digitals’ they have received from you.

“Digitals” are unedited, raw photos of a model.

They are best taken against a white background in natural lighting.

Digitals are important for you and a model manager like myself to have on file.

Why?

Because I need to know what the model really looks like, and so does the brand or company that may want to book you. You also need to have an honest representation of what you look like on file.

For a better shot at getting signed with a manager or agency, start with taking some “do it yourself digitals”. Even if you don’t have a phone with a camera on it, you can borrow one of your friends. No excuses.

Here are some “do it yourself digitals” tips...

ONE: Find the best natural lighting in your home/office/friend’s house. When I say natural lighting, I mean sunlight coming in through windows or skylights.

TWO: Wipe your face of all make-up. I want to see your real face not a cartoon-like image.

THREE: Dress appropriately for your model type. If you’re a swimsuit model, wear a swimsuit. If you’re a fashion model, skinny jeans and a tank top work well (HINT: Google “model digitals” to see examples).

FOUR: Have your friend, mom, boyfriend, girlfriend, or dog take your new awesome digitals with the natural light shining in front of you, not behind you. If you don’t have anyone to take your photos, set the timer on your phone and go for it yourself. No excuses!

FIVE: Shoot one full length photo, one close up photo from the waist up, and one profile photo. Make sure to have at least 3 good shots, but no more than 4 or 5 for submissions. If your pictures are done right, and you’re what the modeling agent is looking for, they’ll reach out to you. No need to blow up there inbox with 10+ pictures! Less is more.

Please keep in mind these photos are meant to be submitted to agencies, they are not your permanent digitals. If an agency likes what they see and wants to bring you in, they’ll take more digitals of you “in house” if they are interested.

SIX: Look exactly like you look in your digitals!!!!

No faking or lying about your look because if you’re called in under false pretenses, you’re wasting everyone’s time. We want to see what you really look like!

If you’re wearing make-up when you show up to the modeling agency, I have seen them make the models wash their face right then and there with make-up removers. I’m not saying to not wear a little make-up if you get called in, I’m just saying to be prepared to wash your face if they ask you too.

The one thing you never, ever, ever want to do is submit overly filtered photos.

Please for the love of God, stop submitting Snapchat filtered photos, or selfies looking trashy. No one wants to see that and they go straight to the trash. I’m actually annoyed that an aspiring model would not take the time to do research before submitting something like that. They’ve wasted their time, and mine.

Ok. Thats enough to get you started.

Now that you know how easy and free it is to take your own digitals, i’m excited to see what you all do! Although I may not be able to respond to everyone, I’d love to see your new digitals! If you’re following @TheModelAdviser on Instagram, tag us in your photos and I’ll comment if I can!

If you need more modeling help, be sure to subscribe to my email list and download the free modeling guide on my website to get my next free article or, when you do start making a few bucks, sign up for my monthly model coaching calls here.