My First Modeling Job

I had my first paid modeling job today! It was a cell phone campaign for HTC. When I went to the casting I didn't know what it was for, and to be honest I was unsure up until today (even though people who work at my restaurant have HTC phones...). I thought, "Well, I guess that's just how the modeling world is: You go to auditions with little information sometimes and just have to work it out."

The agency I'm working with, Jan Alpert Model Management, told me it was going to be a 10-hour day. I assumed it was going to be full of shooting, wardrobe changes and make up. While the day did include all of those things, the wardrobe and make up was played down and stylish yet casual, and the shooting portion was very relaxed. The trailer we got ready in was a beautiful , too. Two other actor/models and I went into a bar in an area of Brooklyn right under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass called DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass... yeah, I Wikipedia-d that...) and played pool, drank beer and had a blast. The photographer, Sam Robinson, was a really cool British guy who told us to act like we were at the bar on a Saturday afternoon relaxing and hanging out.

We did just that! He came over and said, "Choose your poison," and handed us three, ice cold beers and told us to act like the cameras weren't there. I was like, "Really? Hell yeah!" It was easygoing and relaxed; we were just three buddies in a sports bar watching a game and having a few brews. How could this possibly be my first modeling gig in New York?! It was full interesting, relaxed people who knew exactly what their job was and could execute it perfectly. While the feel for the shoot was relaxed the whole production crew was very focused and on point.

The shoot continued down to the bar where we sat on stools and hung out, talking and jovially joshing one another as if we were fans of rival teams. The whole idea of the shoot was to be relaxed and fun. It definitely was both of those things, because after that we ate a delicious (free) Mahi Mahi lunch and went back to the trailer to take naps. All three of us dozed off as the producer was shuffling in and out of the trailer, directing the staff through Walkie Talkies.

After our beauty rest, we had a few make up touch-ups and changed into our even more casual second look to go play video games in an apartment up the street that one of the crew offered. It was beautiful and eclectic, with knickknacks all over that must have taken years to collect. Deer horns laid on a shelf, a long banquet table marked the center of the apartment and the perfectly worn in couches and rugs begged to be sat on. We literally sat down, played video games and were handed a full cheese pizza. We ate and played video games and joshed each other for losing the game. I kept thinking to myself, "Is this for real?"

It was an incredible day. I can't believe my first paid modeling gig was so relaxed and easy. How did I just get paid over three times more than I've ever made in one day for sitting around at a sports bar, playing pool, drinking beer, eating pizza and playing video games? With that camera around, that's how.