5 Steps to Becoming a Model and Finding the Perfect Model Agency in London
With the modelling world growing more and more diverse, aspiring models don’t have to fall under a strict set of requirements to sign with a model agency in London. With the right look and a good amount of confidence, you can catch the eye of brands, magazines and agencies just by being yourself!
But how do you go about becoming a model? As one of the top photography studios in London, one of the most frequently asked questions that people send us is “How do I get started as a model?”.
If you are taking your first steps towards looking for a model agency in London, we’ve compiled a list of five things to keep in mind when embarking on your journey to modelling stardom:
1. You Do You!
The first thing you need to know is who you are, what your favourite qualities are and how you want to be portrayed. What’s special about you? Sit in front of a mirror and really inspect yourself. Do you have a unique eye colour? A face full of freckles? A signature tooth gap? What is it that can make you truly stand out to a model agency in London?
It doesn’t even have to be something physical - if you don’t have a single defining feature to work with, maybe you have a quirky sense of style, a charming smile, a unique accent, anything!
Defining something about your look or personality that stands out to casting agents will give you an advantage. It makes you more memorable and can increase your chances of getting a callback.
It also helps you become more familiar with yourself, your look and your strengths and weaknesses. If you know where you excel, you’ll be that much more confident when flaunting it!
2. The Three P’s: Photography, Portfolio, Preparation!
A portfolio is an absolute essential! Nowadays, this consists of both a social media presence and a traditional hard portfolio you’ll be lugging into casting calls.
Hiring a professional photographer will provide you with a diverse set of photos to use in your portfolio and on your social media profiles. After your first professional photoshoot, you’ll pretty much have everything you need to start preparing your portfolio.
For your hard portfolio, you’ll need a set of 8”x12” high-quality images featuring your best looks alongside a “model CV” of sorts describing your previous experience and anything else you want to portray. You’ll want to include an alluring headshot, a full body shot, and the rest you can play around with.
You want to express your versatility and ensure that casting agents or model agencies know what you’re capable of. Try to include a swimwear shot, commercial looks and editorial-style photos...the more diverse the better!
You should also mirror this portfolio online- there are many platforms available on which you can create a digital portfolio, such as Wix or Pixpa, and they’re super easy to do!
You should also make sure to get some more informal images for your social media pages. This can also be done with the professional photographer in addition to taking your own photos on your phone when you’re out and about.
You can set up pictures on pretty tree-lined streets, against the backdrop of colourful houses, or in the photography studio with an array of outfits and scenes.
Get as many pictures as you can so you always have content to post! Consistency is key. This will help you build a social media following and will give any model agency in London something to work with when promoting you.
Also, it's a great experience! The photographer will give you your first taste at professional modeling: they will talk you through different poses and give you that “all eyes on you” feeling in preparation for your first casting call!
3. About Social Media…
Your social media profile might be the first stepping stone into a modelling career. Having a strong social media presence will give any model agency in London something to work with when promoting you.
As we mentioned above, it’s crucial to make sure you have enough content to post as much as you can. This will help you build a social media following and increase your chances at visibility, either to model agencies in London or brands directly.
Your profile is also a great chance for you to portray your character to the world. Whether you want to stick to a certain brand or try out something new such as vlogging, Instagram and TikTok are great platforms. Don’t be shy, explore new things and show the world who you are!
Engagement is also something you should try to keep in mind on a daily basis. Follow the hashtags that are relevant to your style or goals, and make it a point to like posts or comment on images that pop up on your explore page. This will increase your status in the algorithm and increase your chance at visibility when you go to post something. This will also help you keep up with trends happening in your favourite hashtags, and jump on with a relevant post of your own.
Keep in mind that in order to be successful on social media you have to keep doing it. Even if you are not getting as many likes or followers as you had hoped in the beginning, there are countless stories of people shooting to fame from just one video. You will never know unless you try!
4. Find a Model Agency in London
This is one of the more difficult aspects of starting a modelling career only because there are so many out there! Not all agencies will sign every type of model, but finding the one that suits your look and goals is important.
Research is crucial here as the agency that signs you will be in charge of representing you. This will dictate the quality of castings available to you, and you will have to rely on their connections in the industry, communications with brands, other agencies and the like. A model agency in London might have more connections than an agency based in Leeds, for example, so picking the right agency can help kickstart your career in the right way.
Some agencies are more traditional and require you to apply, go in for an interview and more, but others have campaigns on social media that allow pretty much everyone to have a shot at representation based on their profile. These agents will usually have a hashtag that allows their recruiters to filter through applicants without a tedious process.
If you make sure to include hashtags for agencies that recruit this way in your posts, all it takes is one great photo to catch a recruiter's eye and the rest is history! It never hurts to use their hashtag and you never know, you might find a message from one of them in your inbox one day!
But be warned: You have to be careful of agencies that require you to pay large amounts to get signed. These won’t always provide for the best opportunities, but if you’re having difficulty finding an agent on your own, going with a reputable company that charges a reasonable amount and comes with benefits can be a good option.
5. Don’t Give Up
As we have mentioned time and time again, never give up! If this is something you are truly passionate about and want to pursue, stick with it and keep going. Not everyone will make it on the first try, but if you make the right moves and keep working on it, eventually you will get somewhere!