Phocus Point Spring 2015 | Page 40

This page Model: Hannah Snider Hair and Make-up: Tori Springfield express yourself Practice your emotions In almost every modelling assignment, photographers need their models to convey some kind of emotion through their facial expression or body position. You can work on facial expressions by practising them in a mirror. Everything you feel is reflected in your face, and models need to be adept at projecting all the major emotions. Make a list of key emotions (love, hate, sorrow, joy etc.) and practise expressing each emotion in front of a mirror. After you have practised for a while, try out your skills on a friend and see if they can tell what emotion you are conveying. They also must have excellent skin, great hair and a unique beauty. These requirements are bad news for many aspiring models. The vast majority of young women aren’t built like this, don’t look like this and never will. It is a fact of life. I am not going to talk about the fairness or validity of the requirements in this article but I’ll save that for another issue. Sometimes there are exceptions and people are very quick to point out the exceptions. I would never try to convince someone to not pursue their dream. If being a runway model is your dream then I encourage you to go for it. Just go into the journey with a strong sense of your limitations. If you are willing to work harder, network better and devote your life to pursuing your dream then you may just be the next exception. Go for it. But after hearing how strict the requirements are for runway modeling and you don’t even get close, do you just give up? Absolutely not! Remember, I 36 PHOCUS POINT