Modeling Tips - How To Work It!

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Every model has her own way to psych herself up and prepare for a photo shoot. It really comes down to knowing yourself and every part and curve of your body. I'll explain and break down my routine in 2 parts: Physical and Mental.

1) PHYSICAL

It's so important to know YOUR body-not anyone else's, and how it responds to dieting. For me, it takes about 4 to 5 days of dieting to get as lean as I'd like for a shoot. I know some models who have to diet 7 days out and even a few who have to watch what they eat in just 3 days. Lucky biatches. More importantly, is knowing how your body respondsto certain foods. For example, I've learned that cutting out 70% of carbs, sugar, and salt for 4 to 5 days is all I need to diet. Having tried energy supplements, shakes, and protein powders, I've learned my body BEST responds with just eating eggs (with the yolk or not), chicken, fish, and green vegetables.

But there was a time when I didn't know all of this and found protein powders bulked me up, cutting carbs drained my energy to workout, and the lack of sugar made me grumpy. So you'll have to do a case of trial and error for your own personal diet. Because I love food so much, I've learned to maximize my dieting in the shortest and least painful way possible. In the gym, I run and do weights to workout. Running leans me out, while lifting weights tones me up and creates the definition and curves in my legs, arms, back, and abs.

In addition to knowing yourself physically, is to know every curve of your body. To photograph well is to know what poses are most flattering to your physique. Every model has a favorite side of her body...mine tends to my right side so you'll often notice a lot of pictures posed in that direction. I have a really small butt, so if I'm posing from the backside, I know to exaggerate the arch in my lower back and pull my shoulders forward, so that I can accentuate the illusion of a larger butt. It's not my favorite pose, though, so I rarely do it unless the Photographer requests it.

Most photographers will let you work the camera on your own because they prefer you to be comfortable. This is why it's important to practice in front of a mirror to see what's most flattering for you because they won't know. Ask yourself what your favorite part of your body is? I love my legs so I try to show them off whenever I can by straightening them out, or lifting a leg for a more flirtatious look. I'll also look through magazines for new poses, but you can guarantee I'll try them out in front of a mirror first, to see how it fits my body.

2) MENTAL

This is what I like to call 'the hype.' A great model has attitude and sex appeal. Contrary to popular belief, we don't feel sexy 24/7-hell, I'm in sweats and no make-up most days of the week. So in order to get in the right frame of mind to rock out a shoot, I'll listen to music based on the mood of the shoot. If it's a sexy/sensual type of theme, I'll listen to deep house or lounge type of music like Kaskade or La Roux. If it's more of an apparel type of shoot where the Photographer needs lots of attitude and aggression, then I'll blast hip-hop and rap. It definitely helps to have music playing in the background while shooting, so always bring your playlist on your iPhone or CD for them to use. I actually prefer just using Pandora now, but sometimes may download a CD for my car to 'hype it up' on the way to the shoot.

Sometimes, I'll watch music videos on YouTube before my call time. Specifically, I love watching old Janet Jackson music videos, The Pussycat Dolls, Madonna, and Ciara. It hypes me up to see these girls work it with amazing stage presence and talent. I'm a very visual person, so watching these videos lifts and inspires my mood. If you can intrigue the camera as if it's your boyfriend or current crush, then you can flirt with it, connect with it, tease it, and have lots of fun with it. Forget that it's an object, look at the camera as if it's a person that can feel and respond to what you're doing. This is a great exercise to do if you're shooting outdoors and have no music.

Hopefully, these tips will help you on your next shoot! Remember to keep practicing and just have fun. Don't take yourself too seriously-let your personality shine through because the best photos are often the ones where we're smiling and laughing. As they say, "it's beauty that captures the attention; personality which captures the heart."