How to get signed up for modelling with a lads magazine
After a recent conversation with a model the question came up of how to get signed up with one of the lads magazines for modeling.
She had sent in some pictures to several magazines in the past but never had a response from any of them. These magazines receive literally hundreds of letters and emails from wanna be models on a monthly if not weekly basis.
My initial reaction was that her portfolio could be better but it’s may also be a case of getting in with professionals in the right circles as it can often be a case of who you know rather than what you know. She asked if I could help out further, so I decided there is is nothing like getting the information from the horses mouth so I rang a couple of magazines’ picture editors this afternoon.
After a couple of calls I got through to the picture editor of Nuts to get some advice from him. He was very friendly and chatted for a couple of minutes about what is required to become a model with a magazine like Zoo.
They are very different from the fashion industry that relies heavily on modeling agencies to find their models. With modeling agencies a good portfolio will be very important but the lads magazines aren’t necessarily looking for established models and are not concerned about height or looking for size zero models. In some respects this makes it easier to get a lucky break as previous success is not important but on the other hand the competition is much greater.
Nuts assured me that although they receive hundreds of applications they assess every picture set they receive and determine whether they think the girl is appropriate. They are not looking for blondes, brunettes or busty girls in preference over any other type of girl. Reading between the lines I think they are looking more for girls with lots of charisma and that come across as being very confident in front of the camera.
It is not important to have a professional portfolio either.
They are more that happy to receive amatuer pictures. And it does not matter whether they are prints, on CD or sent via email – they will all receive be given equal consideration.
However it is possible to improve your chances of success with a little planning:
- Research your target magazine to find out what kind of images and models are featured.
- Find out who the picture editor is and the contact details for submitting images, which could simply be an email address.
- Put together a portfolio of images that are suitable for the publication. If you have not got professional quality images ask a friend to take some pictures of you in a similar attire that you would expect to be published in the magazine. If you can get professional help with your portfolio, so much the better as this will also help with building some experience. The only caveat though is to be sure you hire a photographer with the appropriate experience and consider taking a chaperon.
- Send your portfolio to the publication along with a cover letter and vital statistics could also be beneficial, such as height, bust/waist/hips, eye colour, hair colour etc.
If you would like any assistance with your portfolio please contact me with the details of what you require. There is not much information on this website yet as I’ve had a complete change around to separate my wedding photography from fine art female portraiture through Inner Beauty Photography. Model portfolios are also a new area for PatB Photography however I have several years freelance experience working with models in glamour and fashion and you can see a small sample on Model Mayhem, while I get more content added to this site.
Pat
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