The most important thing for a model to do is show up.

Hopefully that sounds a little strange to you. Who in the world would make an appointment and then not show up? They’d at least call if something came up.

Sadly every photographer has at least one, and probably multiple, stories about models that didn’t show. Normally without so much as a phone call. Sometimes they’d talked to the photographer the night before and been excited about the shoot. Then at the appointed time, nothing.

And don’t think this was only on TFP shoots. I have a friend who bought a model a plane ticket, talked to her the night before the flight, and when the plane arrived, the model didn’t.

Don’t think you are so pretty you can do what you want. No model is that pretty.

While being pretty is a necessary trait, it isn’t everything a model is. Modeling is a job, and like any job you have to show up and you have to do your work. Work hard and you’ll succeed.

If you are new to modeling, the idea of meeting a stranger in a strange place is probably a little scary. That’s understandable. Photographers are a little nervous about meeting you and inviting you into their studios. But it’s part of the job, and once you get there you’ll enjoy yourself. Focus your thoughts on the good things. The fun of the shoot. The prospect of having great pictures for your portfolio.

This rule is so important that I talked about it before explaining how the internet modeling scene works. That’s in the next article in this series.

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