By Tata Rossi 4 days ago, Photography Tips
To become a successful fitness model, a person should meet a huge list of requirements. Having a good physical form, good health and an attractive experience are not enough. To start a career in this field, newcomers should know how to pose and prepare a high-quality portfolio. In this guide on how to become a fitness model, I share the most useful tips for novices, explain the algorithm of working with a fitness model agency, and show how to compile a cool online portfolio.
If you’ve decided to pursue a career in fitness modeling, your body is the key to success. The standard of beauty is a slender and fit figure with defined muscles. To meet these criteria, it is important to keep a healthy diet and do physical exercises every day. Creating a menu for each day, you won’t face problems with cooking meals.
Beyond having excellent physical shape, you need to meet other standards. For instance, 5’4 to 6’0 height is ideal for female models, whereas men should be 5’10 to 6’3 or taller. Besides, agencies are always looking for someone with a commercial "look". A model that interests masses can bring sizeable income.
A unique look is sure to make a great first impression, so devote enough time to preparing for a photo shoot. Also, discuss all the organizational questions like the arrival time, exact location, and your posing ideas before a photo session. It is also recommended to share your concepts with a photographer so he/she understands how you want to look in an image.
It is better to arrive at the location twenty minutes earlier to get acquainted with a photographer and assistants and feel more relaxed when posing.
Here’s the list of tasks you need to complete before the shooting:
In order not to get lost in front of a camera, it is recommended to practice a bit in advance. You can watch videos, look at images, and try some poses in front of a mirror. Another handy tip is to ask your friend to photograph you while you are practicing fitness photoshoot poses. This will help you grasp how your body looks in this or that position, and select those that will allow you to demonstrate your strong sides.
Contact a local photography studio, fitness club, or athletic brand and offer them your fitness modeling services for free. By doing so, you can enrich your portfolio with interesting shots and get more experience in this field.
Here are some posing tips for beginners:
The newcomers to the fitness modeling industry should make friends with professionals. These are photographers, make-up artists, hairdressers, or casting agents. Working with people who know how to highlight all the advantages of your body is very important.
Make-up artists can accentuate your muscles. Fitness photographers know well what poses can demonstrate your body in the best light, and stylists can select the most suitable clothing to make you look even more attractive. You can start your search on freelance platforms like Thumbtack. Besides, you can get acquainted with such people at thematic events, in gyms and swimming pools, as well as on social networks.
If you are serious about becoming a fitness model, work only with professional photographers. They can help you create an impressive portfolio and recommend you as a model to one of the agencies they cooperate with. Jason Ellis, Noel Daganta, NYC Photographers are among the best candidates.
Fortunately, there are many excellent portfolio website builders to choose from. Nowadays, Format, Wix, Squarespace, SITE123 are very popular services among fitness models.
When selecting a site, you should check several things. First, make sure that templates are modern and fresh so that your fitness modeling pictures look gorgeous. Website builders that offer Instagram integrations should be your priority, as they allow importing the photos you like from your social media page to present them in your portfolio.
A built-in online store is another crucial aspect. Here you can sell branded products to your followers. The novices will also appreciate the intuitive interface and handy toolkit for customizing any option of your website in a jiffy. Moreover, opt for services that do not require any coding skills.
Add a set of Polaroids, which are also known as ‘digitals’, to your album. These are quick snapshots taken to showcase a model from every angle.
Decorate the cover of your portfolio with a Composition Card, which is a set of your best shots that demonstrate your physical condition and your beautiful body curves. Here you should also provide some personal info like age, height, measurements of your body, and describe your eye and hair color. Also, indicate your special features like tattoos and complement the top of your portfolio with contact info. Remember to write a couple of words about your specialties and talents.
Working for modeling agencies will allow you to move up the career ladder in the fitness modeling field faster. First, inspect the market to find a reliable agency and send your eye-grabbing portfolio there. If they think your candidature is interesting, they will reach out to you shortly to offer a modeling job.
Check out this list of popular agencies you can address:
Before contacting an agency, study its requirements to make sure that you fit. Note that some agencies welcome all models and open the door to new talents at any part of the day without any meeting arrangements. Others do not accept candidates without prior scheduling.
Look at the shots of the best models in sports photography and the fitness industry to get inspired for your next photo session. Jennifer Nicole Lee is one of the most demanded models nowadays. She has released multiple workout DVDs and books, and her images were featured on the covers of famous fitness magazines.
Other popular female models are:
As for male models, check the portfolio of Lazar Angelov. He is a basketball player with 10 years of experience. He became engaged in sports in the army. With a fantastic body, Lazar often appears in famous magazines and has already signed plenty of advertising contracts. Find Chris Bumstead, Ulisses Jr., Simeon Panda on social media networks to get more motivation.
Fill your feed on various social media sites for photographers and models with your most appealing shots and do not forget to post there regularly to be in the spotlight.
When publishing your images on Facebook or Instagram, make sure to mention what brand made your outfit. If the brand you’ve tagged likes your pics and finds them professional, the chances that it posts them on its account are quite high. By attracting new followers and increasing the popularity of your page, you have more chances to be noticed by a modeling agency.
Nowadays, fitness brands and modeling agencies post calls out for new models on social media. They also organize photo competitions where you can participate to capture their attention. Nike Women, Lululemon, Fabletics, GNC, New Balance are among such brands so make sure to subscribe to their accounts. Send them your most original shots and provide the link to your portfolio, and your chances to find the job of your dream will ratchet up instantly.
Once a photo session is over, think of photo post-production. You need to smoothen the skin and get rid of defects. Here these free tools will come in handy. With their help, you can give a special mood to your fitness photos, remove imperfections & flyaway hair, and refine skin. Besides, they are suitable to improve colors, delete shades, and tweak tones. Use them to improve RAW and JPG images.
