Meeting with other people in your industry

Meeting with colleagues in your industry is a well-known way to develop professionally, exchange experiences, and gain valuable insights.

However, for freelance models, this is not as straightforward. We don’t have a shared agency where we regularly meet, nor do we attend casting calls, which often involve a lot of communication and exposure to various perspectives. Conferences for art modeling haven’t been organized yet, and there are no industry awards for art modeling achievements. As a result, the only way for me to exchange experiences is through photo events, retreats, and workshops, where a larger number of models are usually invited.

Recently, I returned from such a retreat, where there were not two or three but eight models from around the world, from America to Australia.

There was a lot of work. We would wake up at 6 a.m. and work until 9 p.m. But despite the physical demands, I’m delighted and fulfilled professionally because interacting with people in my line of work is just as important as expressing myself creatively.

For example, although it may not be very polite to watch someone else pose (at least it seems that way to me), when I caught a glimpse of new poses and interesting ideas, I gained a lot of inspiration.

Moreover, it’s very useful to occasionally observe how other models organize their office work, discipline, rest, and so on. There aren’t any life hacks here, because nothing is really unique about these approaches, but it’s interesting to see how different people manage their work in different ways. Office work is, after all, a significant part of working as an art model.

Another delightful aspect of meeting with other models is exchanging gossip and contacts. It’s helpful to know which photographers behave unprofessionally and who, on the contrary, can offer support or a place to stay.

While working on the aforementioned shoots, I found myself once again thinking how wonderful it would be to organize an art model convention. It would be a place to do all of the above, but on a much larger scale. Over the next three years, this could become one of my new projects, alongside publishing art books :) Wish me luck and to not lose the spark of motivation!

Does your profession have meetups, conferences, networking events, or other ways to socialize?