April's Modeling Blog

Starting a modeling career at the age of 49 is probably not thought of very often. But for Cindy Joseph, that’s exactly what she did!

Cindy was working as a make-up artist for 25 years. She had 2 children and was looking at retiring from the fashion industry, moving out of New York and into the wilderness out west.

In 2000 Cindy was approached by a casting agent on an East Village street of Manhattan. He asked her if she would like to model for a Dolce and Gabbana ad.
Cindy was 49 years old, starting a modeling career was not in her plans.

Shortly after, Cindy signed with Ford Models and worked with famous photographer Steven Meisel on the Dolce and Gabbana ad. Since then her career has taken off. She has graced the pages of O’, More, The Oprah Magazine, Glamour and Real Simple just to name a few. She has also been the face of Garnier, Olay, Aveda and Nivea beauty campaigns.

Cindy is 60 years old now and is still in huge demand in the fashion industry. She says the secrets to her to success and beauty is keeping her natural beauty. She keeps her natural silver hair and wears very little make-up. Cindy also say, “If we are excited about who we are and what we are doing, if we’re thrilled about being alive, we can be just as beautiful and vital as when we were young”.

*Do make sure you return your agents phone calls asap! You may miss an opportunity if you don’t!

*Do bring a book or coloring book and crayons to auditions and bookings. You may be waiting for awhile.

*Do bring a small snack and something to drink.

*Do leave early for appointments. This will give you ample time for getting lost, finding parking and/or traffic.

*Do be prepared with having your child’s measurements at all times.

*Do bring two comp cards and two resumes with you to auditions.

*Do allow your child to answer questions for themselves to casting directors (if they are able to).

*DO NOT BE LATE!! (Especially for a booking) this can cause the client to have to pay hundreds of dollars just because they are waiting for you to show up!

*DO NOT allow your child to run around in the waiting room.

*DO NOT ever assume that it is okay to redirect your child while he/she is on set! That is the directors job. If there is something that you are concerned about, approach the director.

It’s very useful to sign a contract with an agency
but you want to do your homework first!

Check out the agency to make sure they are
legit and reputable. Also, read through the
contract thoroughly.

Get clear on if the contract is exclusive or
non-exclusive. An exclusive contract means
that you can only work with that agency. If
you book your own work, you are entitled to
give the agency a cut of your pay (usually
20%)! And you can not have a contract with
any other agent (unless specified)….

Find out the territory that the contract
covers. For example: if you sign an exclusive
contract with an agency in Ohio, it may only
cover Ohio and Pennsylvania. Therefore,
you can have an agent in Indiana and/or
NYC, etc…

A non-exclusive contract gives you more
freedom. You are able to work with any
other agency if you wish.
And any work that you book on your own,
you get to keep all of your pay!

FASHION AND BEAUTY TIPS USED TO EMPOWER GIRLS

Fashionably You

CLEVELAND, OH- Fashion industry veterans, Frenchye M. Bush and Samantha Oblander of the fashion event production company, Style DNA presents Fashionably You at Beachwood Place mall every first Saturday of the month from 9-11am.

Fashionably You is a two hour workshop that teaches girls ages 9-15 how to find their personal style, identify their body type, how to dress for their body type, personal care and beauty basics, healthy eating and lifestyle habits, and self awareness and acceptance.

Style DNA also provides outreach opportunities and can present the Fashionably You workshops at schools, churches, and other civic and social organizations. Customized programs are available including birthday parties, girl scout programming initiatives, and fashion runway workshops.

The cost of the Fashionably You workshops is $65.00 and includes fashion workbooks, gift bags, lunch, and retail discounts. Early registrants can bring their best friend for free.

Fashionably You is currently enrolling for the following 2011 dates:

February 5th, March 5th, April 2nd and March 7th.

To register or for additional information, visit:
www.style-dna.com or call 216.333.0959.

How do you spot scammers from the real deal?

Tip l: If a company that claims that they are an agency and asks you for money upfront, run for the door! The only fee you will have to pay is the fee to be on the agency’s website if you choose (and I highly recommend it).

Tip ll: They are smooth talkers! They will tell you how beautiful you are and that they have a lot of clients looking for someone with your look. That is good, as long as they aren’t asking for money up front.

Tip lll: A company (calling themselves an agency) may tell you that there is a fee and it’s for photography work. False! You choose and hire your own photographer. A legit agency has nothing to do with transferring fees from a model to the photographer.

Tip lV: A company (calling themselves an agency and/or modeling school) may tell you that you need to take classes for modeling and charge you money. False! You do not need to take classes to become a model! And I have yet to come across a good modeling school yet. I don’t recommend spending money on modeling schools.

There are also a lot of scammers on the internet. Once you launch some of your work on the internet or answer some modeling ads you may receive emails for offers.

Tip V: They will tell you that they want to hire you for work and the pay is X amount of money. When you answer there email they will reply and want your personal information. DO NOT give anyone your personal information. They are people up to no good!

There are a lot of people that prey on the people that are hungry to get into the modeling industry. Be smart and do your homework. There is an abundance of legit modeling work out there!

It’s no wonder that the movie “Sex and the City” made record breaking history with an estimated $57 million in sales this past opening weekend.

Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha exemplify the modern day multidimensional woman that has it all, including a super- fierce body that is confident, sexy, strong and fit!

And let’s face it ladies, when you look good, you feel good! If you feel like “Sex” has left your “City” it’s time to BRING YOUR SEXY BACK with The Fitness Model Program™

The Fitness Model Program™ will help you lose that darn ugly fat, blast cellulite and allow you to build feminine sleek and sexy muscle tone with only 4 short workouts per week! Some women are even experiencing the enjoyment of getting their hot body back and not only looking, but feeling years younger and even reporting having higher sexual energy with the help from the
Fitness Model™ Program!

Bring Your Sexy Back with my www.fitnessmodelprogram.com

The Fitness Model Program™ is a scientifically proven fat burning and muscle toning program which is endorsed by elite trainers and top female fitness magazines. It has been used by hundreds of women of all ages to gain that Fitness Model™ look! Most importantly it does not rely on hours of training; you DON’T have to live in the gym and work out 3 hours a day!
It is the ultimate Bikini Body Program that will give you a round butt, toned arms and flat abs!

Most importantly, it will help you get those flat abs that you have always wanted!
Summer is here- Are you bikini ready? Here are some of my favorite tips for six pack abs:

CRUNCHES: Don’t Count-Just “Burn” Them!

Abdominal exercises are your arsenal at sculpting and toning your tummy. I am strict when it comes to these, almost always exercising my abs until exhaustion. My militant mantra is “If you are not burning, you are not earning”, meaning you have to work for your washboard and a good indicator is that post work out soreness that sets in on the abs after my workouts.

Here I have highlighted my 3 top favorite abs exercises guaranteed to give you a run for your money!

A. BALL BUSTERS: Lay your back on a yoga ball with your knees bent 90 degrees and your workout buddy holding your feel down. Lean all the way back holding a small 5 pound weight behind your neck crunching up and actually curling your torso inwards towards your belly button and at the same time turning your pelvic muscles up.

B. THE PENDULUM: Lay on the floor while holding your work out partner’s ankles. Bring your legs up and have your partner push them down to the floor and then snap your legs back up-the key is to use resistance when your legs are being pushed down.

C. HANGING KNEE RAISES: When I first put myself into these arm straps, I thought that it was some kind torture device! But know I only have my abs thanking me! Hang in 2 arm slings with elbows bent and locked, and gently raise your knees into your chest.

Fashionably You

A fashion focused empowerment workshop for tweens located in
Cleveland, Ohio

TWEENS EMPOWERED THROUGH FASHION AND STYLE

The Fashionably You Empowerment Workshops Helps Tweens to be Confident, Respectful, and Stylish Decision Makers

CLEVELAND, OH- Style DNA presents the Fashionably You fashion workshop to empower girls between the ages of 9-15 by arming them with fashion, style, and beauty basics as well as encouraging them to have self respect, to increase self esteem, and to love and embrace their individuality. The two-hour workshops are held at Beachwood Place shopping mall the first Saturday of each month from 9:00-11:00 a.m.

Each workshop teaches tweens how to find their personal style, identify their body type, how to dress for their body type, personal care, beauty basics, healthy eating and lifestyle habits, and self awareness and acceptance. ?Through fashion, the Fashionably You empowerment workshops aims to help tween girls build confidence and increase self love and respect?, states Samantha Oblander, of Style DNA.

Style DNA also provides outreach opportunities and can present the Fashionably You workshops at schools, churches, and other civic and social organizations. Customized programs are available.

Fashionably You is currently enrolling for the following 2010 dates: November 6th and December 4th. The cost of the Fashionably You workshops is $65.00 and includes fashion workbooks, gift bags, lunch, and retail discounts. Early registrants can bring a guest for free. To register for Fashionably You or for additional information about the workshops or outreach programs, send an email to info@style-dna.com or call 216.333.0959.

Style DNA, the brain child of fashion industry veterans Frenchye M. Bush, M.A. and Samantha Oblander, Ph. D., is a fashion event production and promotion company that focuses on creating high impact fashion events and fashion-focused empowerment workshops.

Contact: Frenchye M. Bush
Phone: 216.333.0959
Email: frenchye@styledna.com

Fashion designer, Vanni Wang to manufacture couture label in Cleveland, Ohio.

Designer Vanni Wang has formed Lucio Vanni LLC (luciovanni.com), an independent couture clothing manufacturer to be headquartered in Greater Cleveland.

Vanni has been part of the Shanghai independent fashion business for years, designing and manufacturing private-label haute couture for leading European and American Designers.

Vanni experiments in fabric textures and fine detailing and her haute couture dresses are often exclusive, smart and seductive originals. The Lucio Vanni brand is as much art as fashion and on October 30th, Vanni launches her collection in the first stage of her east-meets-west style.

Vanni Wang hopes to revitalize and bring clothing manufacturing back to Cleveland. As an entrepreneur, she sees great potential with the skilled local workforce that can manufacture high-quality, American-made couture garments that compete in the evolving global fashion landscape.

Remember to always take safety precautions when you are modeling.
Just because someone says they are a photographer, they have a great camera and they show you the great pictures they have taken does not mean that they are legit or safe to work with.

When I hire a photographer that has not been recommended to me by a colleague or an agent, I do research. I will google search their name and their work and I ask the photographer for references from other models that I can contact. I then contact the models that he/she has worked with and ask them what their experience was like to work with the photographer and if they recommend the photographer.

I also will only shoot in public with a photographer that I do not know (unless he/she was recommended to me by a colleague or agent).

And always bring someone with you to the shoot. If the photographer does not allow a buddy to come along, think twice about shooting with them. Also, let someone else know as many details as you know about this person and where you are shooting before you go.

Lastly, NEVER do anything that you are not comfortable doing!

Enjoy your shoot and have fun!

TFCD stands for Trade for CD and TFP stands for Trade for Print. And you may ask, “what does all of that mean”?

Simply put, it’s when a photographer and a model trade there work. Nobody pays money.

This is a great way to build your portfolio with out spending a lot of money. For models, hiring a photographer for a shoot can be pricey. And vise versa, photographers hiring models to update there portfolio can also cost a good chunk of change.

When a model and photographer agree on doing a TFCD or TFP, both parties get copies of the work. It is a win win situation for everyone.

If you are an aspiring model or even a professional model, I always recommend bringing someone with you when you go on a shoot. It is a safety precaution. ALWAYS ALWAYS bring someone with you! And always let another person know where yous are shooting!

Happy Modeling!