Your Best Face Foward

I have seen THE most beautiful girls with hair to their hips be told on their first visit to a modelling agency, "Well you have to change your look and cut your hair short before we can take you," and that would be my very first point for you to negate.  Don't change anything about your look if you feel it works for you.  Do not make yourself into a cookie cutter version of everyone else.  I've always felt that: "What makes you different sets you apart...  and what sets you apart will make you known." That has certainly always worked for me.

As far as your photos go, well, if it's on a z card:

1.  Make sure the shots have different "looks" on that card.  1 glamour, 1 casual, 1 high fashion, and 1 cutting-edge or sexy.

2.  Make sure these shots are taken at different locations as nothing looks worse than a z card with 4 different looks all with the same backdrop.

3.  Let the photographer pick the shots for you.  Chances are you will pick photos where you think YOU look the best, not necessarily what might be THE BEST SHOT or THE BEST IMAGE.

4.  Make sure you don't go to a friend who can merely "take photos" becasue he happens to have a camera.  I am always cleaning up horror stories like this where the model paid someone who was not technically profficient at photography to take their photos and what they got was garbage.

5.  Make sure you SEE THE WORK either on a website or in a portfolio before you hire anyone to shoot you.  When my studio was in LA, I was not the highest nor the lowest photographic price but people came to me for headshots because I had a history of getting people more work with my headshots than any other photographer in town.  I would urge you not to go toward the lowest price as the work will most generally be a lower grade that you probably wont be happy with.

A lot of what I'm telling you here is:

Use your head.
Research people, their habits, & their work before working with them.
Don't give up.
Follow your dreams and just watch how wonderfully they will lead you.


Justice Howard is a veteran photography legend reguarly photographing Dave Navarro, Marilyn Manson and many
more with a yearly calendar and exhibit to her name.  Learn more at justicehoward.com.