First Photoshoot

As you would probably guess, I was pretty nervous for my first photoshoot. But Maral (photographer and owner of JANI) and Darcy (Model Scout) were very welcoming. (Darcy had scouted me) I had to bring my own clothes and do my own makeup.

Maral put some more makeup on me and turned on some music. Before the shoot she had sent me some videos to watch on how to pose. So when I went into the room and stood in front of the grey backdrop she simply said, "Show me what you practiced." Good thing I did practice. :) It made me feel really happy when she would say mid-pose, "Great, hold it right there." Yay! I was doing something right. There were a lot of lights burning down on me, so I was really excited when she turned on the fan. Let me tell you, fans are really fun. It was fun posing with my hair flying all around me. It made me feel so pro. After a few poses I was already feeling more comfortable. After many shots we switched to a new outfit.

JANI Model Management 2012
Photo, Makeup and Hair By: Maral Jorjani

I loved the next outfit (above). It was a fun and cute look. High fashion modeling isn't always about Tyra Banks' "Smizing". Sometimes you'll take cute shots were you ditch the smoulder look and smile! This was definetly a fun outfit.

Later we had time for only one more outfit. Maral curled my hair and I put on my black velvet dress. She turned on the fan again! :) Here is a shot in the dress:

JANI Model Management 2012
Photo, Hair and Makeup By: Maral Jorjani



For my first photo shoot, I think it went really well. Maral kept saying that I was doing great, and I was really photogenic. The night after the photoshoot, this was my first modeling photo I saw of myself:

JANI Model Management 2012
Photo, Hair and Makeup By: Maral Jorjani



I was definitely proud when I saw this. I'm glad the photoshoot went over so well.  My posing practice really seemed to pay off.

Even though I have really sensitive skin and it gets red really easily, they worked around it. It didn't show up in photos and it actually just loks like blush. Sure, I'm self conscious about it, but modeling has really helped me get past that. I felt that when I became a model, it would be a big deal and would look terrible in photos. After I found out that it wasn't such a big deal, I was so relieved.

The biggest advice I got was to open and not be as shy. Maral encouraged me to try new poses. So what if they looked weird or didn't work? At least I should try to go out of my comfort zone. I still have to work on that in the future. I am afraid to try new things, but I think that modeling will help me open up and be more outgoing.

Since then I have had another photoshoot with the amazing Michael Franco and will be recieving the pictures soon! :)

Modeling Page

Here is my JANI portfolio at:

http://janimodeling.com/details.aspx?nav=2&subid=9940&mainsubid=9940&modelid=598123&sexid=2&a=15

More will be added soon!!!

Complications and Decisions

As I was letting it settle in that I would soon be a model, my relatives had heard about it and were very supportive. My uncle's girlfriend was a former Elite model and showed some pictures to her friend working at Elite. He loved the pictures and I was asked to give Elite a video about myself. I sent in the 2 minute video telling about my school, sports, places I've been and so on. At this point I hadn't signed with JANI Model Management yet and my mom was still exploring options. We (my mom and I) hadn't heard from Elite in a while after sending the video, and JANI kept contacting me for photoshoots and jobs. I was torn; if I went to a photoshoot with JANI I pretty much had to sign with them. But what if Elite responded and wanted me? What road should I take? My mom and I spent many nights discussing the pros and cons of each. Finally Elite responded, but wanted a Skype interview now! We set that up, and in the five minute call they asked me about myself (again!) and had me stand up, show my profile, and talk a little about what it would be like being with Elite. It was successful, they seemed to like me and kept calling me "super cute". :) I was really nervous, and it turned out to be a really short call. They contacted me and my mom a few days later and said that they loved me but it would be difficult developing me since I wasn't in Miami, where they were located. But they left it so in the future if I ever wanted to pursue the Elite road, it was open for me. Since Elite was interested in me, that proved that I had what it took to become a model.

That was when my mom and I decided to sign with JANI. The local agency was a good start. I had little experience and through this agency I could learn all I needed before I am released into the large modeling world. I set up a photoshoot with Maral Jorjani, the founder of JANI.

I'll talk about my first photoshoot in my next post, so keep checking back!! Thanks! :)