Seeking success as a performer or model isn’t easy, right? This international runway model and actress knows just how you feel — and she’s grateful to teach you her success secrets.
I truly believe that talent always surfaces; but it is up to you to showcase yourself in the proper arena to be recognized by those who can help you achieve your goals and dreams. As talent, you must understand that this business called “show business” is not any different than any other business. However, in this case, you are the product that is being “sold” or “bought,” then “packaged” for use in a film, print advertisement, commercial, or fashion magazine layout.
The trick is to become the person whom the people who do the packaging choose to use in their projects. There are several ingredients that help to make this happen: training, image, connections, networking, marketability, and talent. I believe in the adage that “image is everything.” Image does not have to mean gorgeous, but it does require that you project the look or style that could be marketed for particular projects.
I remember going on a big audition for a new Black Velvet liquor ad campaign. The advertising agency was looking for a new girl to sign a contract for two years. She had to be a blonde and she had to wear a slinky black-velvet evening dress and look sultry. I showed up at the audition, had my Polaroid taken and the photo attached to my size card, and waited my turn. As I looked the competition over, I thought, we all look like carbon copies of one another.
But, as I waited my turn, I heard “ooo’s” and “aaah’s” from the photographer and ad agency representatives and clients as they looked at the portfolios of the women who preceded me. They all had numerous published pictures (tear sheets) in their portfolios, while I had only a few test shots and one or two tear sheets in mine. I looked the part. I dressed the part. But... I didn’t have the credibility that the others were able to convey. Their portfolios showed more experience by being published in European magazines and print advertisements. They were not any better than me, but they had gone the extra mile to market themselves.
By studying the backgrounds of the roles that we’re playing and looking at the actual person, actors and actresses can gain an edge in developing their own uniqueness.
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