I recently got the following question from an aspiring model (let’s call her Joyce) via email. She writes:

“With the oversaturation of the market I don’t see many people getting discovered these days. So how does a determined lady go about taking her career from the amateur level to actually working without pulling a Cubana Lust if you know what I mean.”

I think what Joyce is actually asking is, “how do I become a working model in the industry without resorting to booty shaking videos or doing something I might regret later?”

That’s a difficult question, because supply greatly exceeds demand right now in the urban market, which means that even qualified models have to work harder and resort to more drastic measures to get noticed.

The first step is to be really honest with yourself about where you stand compared to the competition. I don’t think a top notch beauty will ever have to turn to booty shaking videos to get noticed. It may take longer, but quality always rises to the surface. Of course, not every girl can be Melyssa Ford. So where does that leave the moderately attractive model with a nice figure who still wants to retain her modesty and excel in the industry?

Well, there are other ways to stand out besides doing booty shaking videos. Model/actress Claudia Jordan is doing quite well right now because she has a gift for gab and has made a name for herself in radio. Rosa Acosta is using her ballet training to produce videos that mix eroticism with classical dance. Today’s urban model has got to be inventive if she wants to set herself apart.

As just one example, some aspiring models are gaining a fan base by making Youtube videos talking about controversial subjects (often times quite passionately). The pretext is the speech, but what viewers are really interested in is how beautiful the girl is. For instance, check out terra904’s speech about the backhanded compliments women of darker complexion often get. Notice the low cut top she has on and the overall aesthetically pleasing quality of the video? Not a mistake. Today’s vixen will have to be clever in ways like this to get noticed.

Another way to set yourself apart from the crowd is through your photos. If everybody else is shooting glam in the studio, take natural light shots at the beach. If everybody else is oiled down in a thong, wear a one piece. Your styling also plays a part in this. Amber Rose stood out because she had a blonde buzz cut. Now she’s Kanye’s girlfriend.

Finally, you’ve got to buck up and get ready for the long haul. It simply isn’t going to happen overnight for most girls these days, and especially the ones who want to maintain their integrity. But if you understand that going in, you won’t be discouraged. Just remember, before there was urban modeling, women of color who wanted to model simply got an agent and went out on castings for things like TJ Maxx catalogs and McDonalds commercials and continued to improve themselves through strict diet, exercise, speech and acting classes, etc. -- none of which are degrading -- until something hit. That's the traditional way to break into the market, and it still works.

Tags:Getting Ahead Without Degrading Yourself, How To Stand Out

The steps are fairly simple, but a few of them require more discretion, sophistication, and grace than a lot of girls can muster.

Step 1: Get Quality Photos - It’s possible you could just be walking around somewhere and a major casting agent for music videos or a magazine editor spots you, but the odds aren’t great. Barring that scenario, the main way to create buzz for yourself is with quality, striking photos. We're not talking iPhone pics taken in your backyard, but professional pics that cast you in the best light possible. Also, it’s important to stand out of from the crowd, so forgot about doing booty shots oiled down in a thong. Everyone is doing those type of pics now. Be sexy without giving everything away. Again, this is where discretion comes into play. Do you have what it takes?

Step 2: Get yourself noticed. This means putting yourself out there on sites like Model Mayhem and One Model Place and submitting to castings for magazines and music videos. It’s easier to get a break in a music video than a magazine. The music video circuit is not as “political,” for lack of a better word, as the magazine circuit. If a casting director like Anissa Williams sees a hot model for a music video, she is not going to condition submission on whether you get “friendly” with her. Her main goal is to get the hottest, freshest talent to the artist for the best price. So if you can't catch a break with the magazines, start submitting for music video castings. Ajia Nicole will probably be the next face you see in the urban mags because she did the Hurricane Chris “Halle Berry” video. Dollicia Bryan also got her break in Joe's music video long before getting magazine exposure.

Step 3: Be humble. Be professional. The number one reason urban models lose their footing in the industry is that they become divas upon even the slightest success and get labeled “difficult to work with.” Even if you book a magazine cover or a Kanye West video, it does not entitle you to romp around like you’re Megan Fox. Get some perspective! Most people don’t even know about the urban modeling world, let alone you, but you'd never know it from the way a lot of these girls act. Being late for a shoot, showing up with bags under your eyes from partying the night before, being overly demanding on set, etc. - these are all things that are considered diva-like behaviour.

Again, this is an area where discretion and sophistication come into play. If you need an example, watch how Lauren Conrad behaved in her initial interviews with Teen Vogue during season one of “The Hills." Everything about her was understated and humble. And yeah, the cameras were rolling and she comes from a pedigreed background, yada, yada... Don’t make excuses. The behavior can be studied and emulated.

That’s it for now. I'll expand upon this article as thoughts come to me.

Tags:How To Stand Out, Getting Quality Photos

I was talking to a friend today who is considering hanging it up from urban modeling. Her reasons? There's no money in it; the market is saturated - no one can shine; 90% of the "offers" she gets on Myspace and through her website are bogus, etc. Which led me to this conclusion: today's urban model has to view this as a hobby, like an aerobics class on the weekend, and nothing more. With the closing of KING magazine, a recession that is darn near a depression, and hip hop in a slump, gone are the days of models getting $5,000 or more to host or back-to-back SSX issues (how many of those have you seen this year?). Sure, a few of the top tier girls like Melyssa still probably make decent money to host, but by and large the money isn't there in hosting. Also gone are the days of the lead model in a music video making $1,500. It just doesn't happen anymore. Lead models are lucky to get $500 for the day.

Which narrows the money making opportunities for video vixens down to pay websites, modeling in a magazine, and dancing professionally (aka stripping). And fewer models are making big money off websites these days. In other words, the industry has reverted back to what it was pre-2002 (except there was still money to be made on the internet). Back in 2000, if a girl made it into the Swimsuit Edition of BlackMen magazine or Jet magazine -- remember, there was no Smooth, KING, or SHOW back in 2000 -- she got her little check and maybe did a music video or a calendar and that was it. But girls still did it, because it will always be cool to pick up a magazine on a newsstand and see yourself in it.



And that's pretty much where we are today. With the proliferation of prospective urban models on Facebook and Myspace, the best a girl can hope for is a magazine spread or a decent music video. Chances are it won't go much beyond that. Back in 2000 it didn't go beyond that because the career trajectory for urban modeling hadn't yet been formulated. Now it won't go beyond that because supply exceeds demand, discretionary incomes are shrinking, and print magazine are becoming a thing of the past as the internet takes over.

So my advice to the really hot wannabe models out there is that if want to do this, do it. But manage your expectations. Be realistic about where this can take you. You probably won't be the next Buffie because there may never be another Buffie or Melyssa Ford. Those times are over. But there will always be a reigning eye candy model. And it may just be you.

Tags:Getting Ahead Without Degrading Yourself, How To Stand Out