MODEL SAVINGS

Hi, my name is Andrea Pascalau from Corsei Photography. 

I am so honored to contribute to this wonderful blog that will definitely help models get organized and get through their daily lives as they try to pursue their dreams and passions!

Model: Lauren Dod
Hair: Kailah Krutsch
MUA: Roxanna Monica Alexandru

To start let me tell you a little about me.
I currently live in Chicago, born and raised. I do love this city very much, even though I see my future in New York!

I am a fashion and beauty photographer and I work with model's on their portfolio's development. I currently work with adult female models and children models.

I began photography just a year and a half ago and I have been doing retouching for a bit over half a year now. I always loved art, in all forms, music, painting, plus more but the strongest love is photography.  

I found my passion in a dark place in my life. I struggled through a tough relationship and was not happy with what I was doing at the job I had. 

I was good at it and I worked hard, but I knew that I wanted to work for myself. 

I thought about pursuing a singing career but I will be honest, I don’t have the confidence to be in front of a crowd of 2 or more people, so clearly that was not the route for me. I always painted at home when I had the time but that still didn’t feel like it was going to become my career.  

Well my father had a Nikon camera that I loved to play with, whenever family was getting together, I wanted to shoot, I was the one to grab the camera and capture everything I possibly could. When I got to share those moments and see how happy it made my family, I began wondering about photography.

Model: Berkeley Clayborne
Concept / H&MUA: Yvonne Wallace

So with no hesitation, I jumped in full force, with nothing holding me back except my full time job, I purchased my first camera and lens. It was scary investing into equipment with no assurance of success but it felt right. I started off with my own family doing little jobs, and progressed to co-workers families and Christmas sessions and babies, events and parties… And although I was making people happy with their photos, it still didn’t feel 100% right.

As I was going through these sessions, I started to “advertise” on craigslist offering photos and searched for people to shoot with. I came across my first models (Berkeley along with her siblings and another model, Lauren).
That’s when it began, the passion to work with subjects who would express the emotions I wanted in my images. I started searching model mayhem, with a large fear of never getting anyone to work with me, even on trade projects but I met amazing people who helped me progress and grow. The list is too long for me to really name each individual who has been part of my career this far but I am so thankful for them.

I struggled along the way and I continue to struggle with different things, studio lighting, difficult models, people who flake on a shoot, never thinking I am good enough, all sorts of moments in my own work that I may not be happy about but I keep working and every time I fail I find the desire to push myself to do better. And with the wonderful people who surround me and the fans that follow my work and encourage me every day, it only makes me fall in love with photography even more.

So really I just want to encourage you, when you have a passion or desire for something (and this applies to everyone), just go for it! Follow your passion, because should you fail, you will never have to wonder, What if I had tried...


Through the last year or so I have learned some great things I would love to suggest to you as a model.
 
1. Just cause it's trade work, don’t sell yourself short. Be selective with who you work with. Just because it’s free doesn’t mean it’s good. Trade work should be beneficial to you. Learn the insides of the type of modeling career you pursue. The retouching and lighting is very important too. You need to build your portfolio with work that is strong, not large. Quality over quantity! I am rarely interested in working with models whose portfolios are weak, unless I see a strong potential in the model as an individual so why not make it easier for the photographer or other artist to select you.

2. Paid work. I would say some of the same things apply as in trade work. Be careful what you are doing for pay. You have to keep in mind, those are images that will forever be out there so you want to make sure they will not bring you down or even worse ruin your career. Respect yourself as an artist. We are all different artists with different taste. You would never go buy something you didn’t like so don’t sell yourself to someone who won’t respect your talent or look.

Model: Sheila Love Nicholas
H&MUA: Yvonne Wallace

3. Study up on the photographer you will work with. Make sure you are always putting yourself in a safe situation. If you are not comfortable going alone, you are probably right so bring a friend, and let someone else know where you will be. I can’t stress this enough how important safety is at all times!
Yes some photographers prefer that you do not bring someone, and sometimes that’s because they don’t want that “friend” to be a distraction during the shoot (but that’s not true in all cases). So make sure you advise the friend you are bringing not to bother you and make sure the photographer you will work with is aware as well. Your safety is most important, so if they don’t understand that, then there is a larger hidden issue.

4. Respect the people you work with. I can’t say how many times a makeup artist, hair stylist, model, photographer, etc. has destroyed their reputation because they are careless or flake on others. Be honest with yourself as well as the people you plan to work with. Respect their time and effort for what they do. Because when you don’t respect them, you don’t respect yourself.

5. Prepare for your shoot, even if everything will be provided. Bring your basics: black heels, nude heels, jeans, tank tops, nude and black strapless bras, your foundation, lip gloss, mascara, blush, etc. So that in a worst case scenario you’ll have something prepared if someone / something falls through. Make sure your nails are always clean, manicured (nude or clear polish). I hate having to photo shop nails that are chipped or the wrong color for my project. And keep your eyes fresh because correcting redness or bloodshot eyes are a waste of time and if it can be prevented on your end, then you should be doing so.

6. Take care of your body. I can’t say I am the best at taking care of myself, but when you are the subject, when you are the selling point in the image, you have to look your best. Care for your skin as this also gives your photographer / makeup artist / retoucher less work. And of course when you eat and drink healthy, besides looking great, you will feel great. I don’t care what anyone says about modeling, it’s a career that is a very demanding, especially for those of you who have other jobs on top of it or going to school.  

Model: Brooke Boerman
H&MUA: Roxanna Monica  Alexandru

 7. Keep your ideas organized. Whether it’s a journal or Pinterest or another social media format, keep your ideas together. Posing, images you want to recreate, images that inspire you, models you look up to, and so on, keep track of these things because there will be times you will wish you could remember that one thing but have no idea what you did with it.

8.  Update and refresh your portfolio. You always, always need fully body and head shots. This is the most common requested type of image from other artists, agencies, or possible employers. Variety is great as well, beauty, high fashion, lifestyle and so on. Just know the type of modeling you want to do and stick to building that type of portfolio with an extension of some different styles, because as I market myself as specific type of photographer, you market yourself as a certain type of model.

9. You Better WORK! As Britney says it in one of her latest songs, you can’t expect for things to fall in your lap, you have to work for what you want. Whether it’s going to castings, researching for jobs in your area, social networking, you have to work! Yea some people get to go far by doing almost nothing, but those are few and rare cases. Don’t sit on the hopes that you will be one of those. Trust me when you work for something, the reward will not only feel greater but it will be BIG.

10. Fail. It sounds scary but you can’t be afraid to fail. Failure is part of what makes a person. We grow because of it. I see that most people have become even more successful after a failure or obstacle. These are just challenges, they won’t ruin you, they are just something we have to work over and push through. They will only make the end result even sweeter.


I look forward to hearing from any of you, if you are looking for advice or hey, maybe you need a photographer... I’m here! :)
You can follow my work on: www.facebook.com/corseiphotography and www.500px.com/corseiphoto

Contact:
andrea@Corsei.com
www.Corsei.com