Modeling Tips: How To Prepare For A Photo Shoot

As professional models, we don’t want to just show up in a photo shoot not looking our best. As much as it’s normal to have our bad hair days or bad skin days, we need to make an effort to look our best so we could at least be camera ready. Below, I’ll give you tips on how to prepare for a photo shoot so you don’t risk yourself getting mean looks!

To Sleep or Not To Sleep?

Not being able to have at least 8 hours of sleep can take a toll on your overall performance and appearance on the shoot. When you’re tired, your eyes look a little shiny and the red blood vessels on your eyes look more prominent. Not to mention that horrible dark under eyes and circles! Sure, there is a life-saving Photoshop trick that can reduce your blood-shot eyes and remove those puffy bags– but in my opinion, even Photoshop has limitations and it can only fix the minor details. When you already look your best before Photoshop, the graphic artist will only have to enhance your looks, not spend most of the time fixing the nasty details. Also, some people have a keen eye on Photoshopped images nowadays and they know which ones are manipulated and not. You don’t want to be that model who only looks good with re-touched photos. Plus, if you’re just a newbie in modeling, you wouldn’t want those photographers hating you because they think you’re too much work and a hassle to work with. If you’re just building your career, you have to be professional and you can’t really afford to show up in the set drunk or running with no sleep with eye bags that can pass on as a real luggage.

Chapped Lips & Dry Skin

We all get this sometimes, but surely you’ve read about remedies that you can easily do at home that won’t take about more than 15 minutes of your time a night before the shoot. Problems such as chapped lips and dry skin are things that your makeup artist can’t fix in a jiffy. It makes makeup look cakey and flaky on top of your skin. Again, you can’t expect those makeup artists to do wonders with your skin when your skin itself looks off!

For chapped lips, you can mix honey and sugar to create some sort of gritty paste. Simply rub it gently against your lips to remove the flakes and dead skin cells. Wash it off and don’t forget to top it off with your favorite lip balm. Do this at least a 1-2 times a week and you’ll see a difference with how your lips look like. Don’t forget to drink water too, because you can’t expect to address your chapped lips if you’re not taking care of the main problem–which is, you’re probably not drinking enough water.

For dry skin, you can’t really fix this overnight. You have to make it a daily routine and find skin care products that can help in reducing the dryness of your skin. However, for quick fixes, facial masks can be used the night before since most of those are infused with more potent ingredients that can really hydrate your skin and improve its appearance.

Meal or No Meal?

Let’s face it, being able to work properly usually entails having a good meal or snack before you strut your stuff. Although I’ve met a couple of models that don’t eat before a major photo shoot because they fear that they won’t fit into the clothes, then you do you. However, I highly suggest that you eat something before the shoot. Mainly because you will be in a better mood and you’ll have the energy to do your best.

Post-Shoot Clothing

Yes, you’re taking the post-shoot clothing off anyway, but that doesn’t mean that you should wear anything that you want. It is highly suggested that you wear something that isn’t tight fitting and is easy to take off. Save yourself the hassle of slipping out of your skinny jeans, thigh high boots, and corset top. Not only are these types of clothing hard to take off, but they will leave marks on your skin that isn’t going away for a while. This can be very annoying especially if you’re doing a lingerie or underwear shoot wherein you will be showing a lot of skin and you have these clothing marks. Not to mention don’t wear your most expensive jewelry when you know you’re going to remove them anyway. Don’t risk misplacing them!