Monday 26 October 2015

WANT MY DAUGHTER'S HAND IN A RELATIONSHIP? HAVE YOU FILLED FORM & READ CONTENT BELOW?




The following was written by a father to his daugher's potential boyfriend


APPLICATION FORM FOR PERMISSION TO DATE MY DAUGHTER


NOTE: This application will be incomplete and rejected unless accompanied by a complete financial statement, job history, lineage, and current medical report from a doctor of my choice.

NAME_____________________________________ DATE OF BIRTH_____________

HEIGHT___________ WEIGHT____________ IQ__________ GPA Grid_____________

INCOME TAX FILE NUMBER _________________ DRIVERS LICENCE ________________

BOY SCOUT RANK AND BADGES__________________________________________

HOME ADDRESS_______________________ STATE___________ POSTCODE______

Do you have parents? ___Yes ___No
Is one male and the other female? ___Yes ___No
If No, explain: _____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

Number of years they have been married ______________________________

If less than your age, explain
____________________________________________________________________




ACCESSORIES SECTION:

A. Do you own or have access to a van? __Yes __No

B. A truck with oversized tires? __Yes __No

C. A waterbed? __Yes __No

D. A pickup with a mattress in the back? __Yes __No

E. A tattoo? __Yes __No

F. Do you have an earring, nose ring, __Yes __No
pierced tongue, pierced cheek or a belly button ring?

(IF YOU ANSWERED 'YES' TO ANY OF THE ABOVE, DISCONTINUE APPLICATION
AND LEAVE PREMISES IMMEDIATELY. I SUGGEST RUNNING.)


ESSAY SECTION:

In 50 words or less, what does 'LATE' mean to you?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

In 50 words or less, what does 'DON'T TOUCH MY DAUGHTER' mean to you?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

In 50 words or less, what does 'ABSTINENCE' mean to you?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________


REFERENCES SECTION:

Church you attend ___________________________________________________

How often you attend ________________________________________________

When would be the best time to interview your:

Father? _____________

Mother?_____________

Priest or Pastor? _____________


SHORT-ANSWER SECTION:

Answer by filling in the blank. Please answer freely all answers
are confidential.

A: If I were shot, the last place I would want shot would be:

______________________________________________________________

B: If I were beaten, the last bone I would want broken is my:

______________________________________________________________

C: A woman's place is in the:

______________________________________________________________

D: The one thing I hope this application does not ask me about is:

______________________________________________________________

E. What do you want to be IF you grow up? _______________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

F: When I meet a girl, the thing I always notice about her first is:

______________________________________________________________

G: What is the current going rate of a motel room? __________________________

I SWEAR THAT ALL INFORMATION SUPPLIED ABOVE IS TRUE AND CORRECT TO
THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGE UNDER PENALTY OF DEATH, DISMEMBERMENT,
INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIAN BULL ANT TORTURE, CRUCIFIXION, ELECTROCUTION,
CHINESE WATER TORTURE and RED HOT POKERS

_________________________________________________________
Applicant's Signature (that means sign your name, slowpoke!)


_______________________________ ________________________________
Mother's Signature Father's Signature

_______________________________ ________________________________
Pastor/Priest/Rabbi State or Federal Government Representative
_______________________________ (Their stamp goes here )
Notary Public

Thank you for your interest, and it had better be genuine and non-sexual.
Please allow four to six years for processing.

You will be contacted in writing if you are approved. Please do not try to call or write,  If your application is rejected, you will be notified by two gentleman wearing white ties carrying violin cases. (You might watch your back)

To prepare yourself, start studying Daddy's Rules for Dating.



Daddy's Rules for Dating
Your dad's rules for your boyfriend (or for you if you're a guy):

Rule One: If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a carton of beer, because you're sure not picking anything up.

Rule Two:
You do not touch my daughter in front of me. You may glance at her so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my daughter's body, I will remove them.

Rule Three:
I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, in order to ensure that your clothes do not, in fact come off during the course of your date with my daughter, I will take my electric nail gun and fasten your trousers securely in place to your waist.

Rule Four:
I'm sure you've been told that in today's world sex without utilizing a 'Barrier method' of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate, when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I will kill you.

Rule Five:
It is usually understood that in order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about sports, politics, and other issues of the day. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my daughter safely back at my house, and the only word I need from you on this subject is: 'early.'

Rule Six:
I have no doubt you are a popular fellow, with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my daughter. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my little girl, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.

Rule Seven:
As you stand in my front hallway, waiting for my daughter to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My daughter is putting on her makeup, a process than can take longer than painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge . Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful, like changing the oil in my car?

Rule Eight:
The following places are not appropriate for a date with my daughter: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool, places where there is darkness, places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my daughter to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka - zipped up to her throat. Movies with strong romantic or sexual themes are to be avoided; movies that feature chain saws are okay. Cricket games are okay, Old folks homes are better.

Rule Nine:
Do not lie to me. I may appear to be a potbellied, balding, middle-aged, dimwitted has-been. But on issues relating to my daughter, I am the all-knowing, merciless god of your universe. If I ask you where you are going and with whom, you have one chance to tell me the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I have a shotgun, a shovel, and five acres behind the house. Do not trifle with me.

Rule Ten:
Be afraid. Be very afraid. It takes very little for me to mistake the sound of your car in the driveway for a chopper coming in over a rice paddy near Hanoi . When my Agent Orange starts acting up, the voices in my head frequently tell me to clean the guns as I wait for you to bring my daughter home. As soon as you pull into the driveway you should exit the car with both hands in plain sight. Speak the perimeter password, announce in a clear voice that you have brought my daughter home safely and early then return to your car - there is no need for you to come inside. The camouflaged face at the window is mine

Sunday 25 October 2015

Cut down Your Risk of Getting Prostate Cancer – With Healthy Diets & Nutrition.




 Prostate cancer is the foremost leading cause of death in men worldwide. Statistics  also confirms that it is the most common cancer in men in Nigeria, with over 50,000 new cases diagnosed every year. The worst part is that it is silent and deadly if not detected early.
The late Nelson Mandela was diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer at the age of 83. He underwent radiotherapy with curative intent and most of his prostate gland was removed in 1990 in an operation, luckily he  made a full recovery. He lived until the age of 95, and was cancer-free until the end.
Current statistics by the World Health Organisation (WHO) shows that in Nigeria within a period of four years, there was an increase in the death rate among men caused by prostate cancer. For instance, WHO noted that 26 men die daily, up from 14 men upwards every day.

What is Prostate Cancer?

It is the development of a malignant growth or tumor caused by uncontrolled or abnormal cell division in the  prostate gland tissues .Prostate cancer is typically slow growing, and the 5-year survival rate for all stages of prostate cancer combined is 99 percent, the 10-year survival rate is 91 percent, and the 15-year survival rate is 76 percent. It is a disease that when detected early can be managed… if you make changes in your diet and lifestyle.
Prostate Cancer Symptoms.
Interestingly not all men experience prostate cancer symptoms but those who do may have urinary problems that include:
  • An inability to pass urine.
  • Difficulty starting or stopping the flow of urine.
  • Urinary urgency. (Constant need to urinate)
  • A weak urinary flow.
  • Pain or burning during urination.
  • Blood in the urine or semen.
  • Frequent pain in the hips, lower back, or upper thighs.
  • Difficulty having an erection is also experienced by some men
  • Weakness or numbness in the legs/feet.
  • Loss of bladder or bowel control from cancer pressing on the spinal cord.
Risk Factors For Prostate Cancer

Experts have identified the two major steps by which prostate cancers develop. Step 1 –  the cells are exposed to factors, such as viruses or toxins, that cause or trigger the unusual or uncontrolled cell growth. Step 2 –  factors such as wrong diet, hormones, and environmental toxins promote the growth and development of the abnormal cells.
Natural Tips To Prevent Prostate Cancer
For all of you male readers, if you want to avoid prostate cancer, and protect your health if you already have it, you can  follow these helpful tips for prostate cancer:
  1. Detoxify your whole body from accumulated toxins  and heavy metals like mercury in your tissues and colon. This can be achieved with a herbal whole body detox product called Ayurtox.
  2. Avoid consumption of foods that raises your insulin levels like sugar, pasta, potatoes, bread and most grains like white rice.  Controlling insulin levels is one of the most powerful ways to reduce your cancer risks because high insulin levels drive and promote cancer growth. Exercise also helps to reduce insulin levels.
  3. Avoid milk, excessive meat intake, calcium (calcium may play an important role in prostate carcinogenesis and progression because extracellular calcium regulates prostate cancer cell growth ) also avoid hormone fed animals like chicken and fish.
  4. Take a high-quality omega-3 fish oil which are deficient in most people and a major cause of inflammation and disease.
5. Expose your body whenever possible to  early morning sunlight to increase vitamin D levels. Studies confirm the link between vitamin D deficiency and multiple types of cancer. Vitamin D protects against cancer in several ways:
  • Cancer cells lack differentiation, vit D helps cells to become differentiated.
  • It prevents dormant non-cancerous cells from becoming cancerous.
  • It reduces the growth and multiplication of cancer cells.
6. Eat foods rich in lycopene such as tomatoes, watermelon, grapefruit, red cabbage, guava, and carrots . Research shows that lycopene decreases prostate cancer risk.
7. Supplement with green tea, Zinc, Selenium, natural vitamin E.
8. Get enough high quality sleep to build your immune system.
9. Take Ayurstate herbal capsules, it contains anti-tumor and anti-mutagenic phytonutrients that protects your prostate tissues and help prevent prostate cancer.
Following these simple steps along with getting your PSA test done after you turn 40 is an excellent strategy for slashing your risk against prostate cancer.

Friday 23 October 2015

PICTURED: 5 Dangers and Downsides Of Butt Enhancement/Implants




There are basic points that should be noted especially in this day and age of plastic surgery craze.
Ladies are generally deceived into believing they need one form of enhancement or the other to stay relevant and be accepted.
Others are misled into enhancing various parts in the belief that it will help their careers in the entertainment industry. There are a lot of celebrities who have had to rely on plastic surgery to boost their looks. And this trend is not limited to Hollywood or Europe these days as Africans are fast embracing the trend.

 Many women have had to pay with their lives having fallen victim to persons posing as doctors, who inject them with harmful substances and prescribe fake enhancement products. Others have been lucky to escape with their lives not without some form of physical impairment or deformity.
Whatever the case, whether enhancements through fat transfer from one part of the body to the butt or through the use of silicon butt implants, the dangers are real and ladies looking to enjoy this form of illusory beauty must bear in mind the following dangers: 
1. Implant rupture: In the process of enhancing buttocks using implants, the patients could suffer from several other unforeseen circumstances. In cases of this sort, patients are subjected to extra surgical procedures in a bid to correct the ruptured implants so that the buttocks can appear normal again.
2. Numbness and severe pains: Patients often suffer from post-operation numbness also known as parasthesia. Butt enhancement patients may suffer from complications as a result of numbness leading to the growth of tumor. This condition is known as neuroma.
3. Swelling, bruising and severe bleeding: Women are liable to suffer from swelling, bruises on parts operated upon as well as excess loss of blood depending on the procedures of the operation and the surgeon’s expertise. But all of these are unavoidable in the butt enhancement procedure.
4. Infection: Several viruses and bacteria can occupy the body as a result of undue exposures of the body in the surgical process.
5. More surgery: Complications may lead to (more) corrective surgery in future.
Women are better off accepting their bodies the way and shape in which they come as nothing beats staying natural.

Number plate thiefery for criminal purposes



 

GET INFORMED, BE WARNED!

 

                               Important Message!!!


There is a new number plate hijacking trend. Hijackers follow you to a parking lot after you leave your vehicle they remove your number plate and wait for ur return. When u come back and drive off they follow u behind. They then overtake u displaying ur number plate out of their window as if u just lost it and they want to gv it back to u and when u stop to get ur number plate back, guns are pointed at u and they take the car. Maybe even take u and ur car along. It's a very well rehearsed and organised crime and everything happens very quickly. Other motorists may not be aware what's happening as u stopped the car yourself. Pls alert others to this danger and new method of car snatching in vague now. Don't keep this news to urself please spread it so that everyone can be aware



PLEASE HELP REBROADCAST THIS LINK FOR EVERYONE TO READ UP AND TAKE CAUTION ==>>   http://modelshub306.blogspot.com.ng/




Continue Reading... 


It's not uncommon for number plates to be stolen from parked cars, as it's easy to remove them. But why would someone steal your number plates?
Of course, one possibility is that the culprits may just be doing it for mindless fun. But it's just as likely that they have more serious intentions - ones that could affect you directly. Here are some possible motives, and their consequences for you:
  • Speeding - Stolen number plates are often used for storming past speed cameras - and the speeding tickets will of course come to you.
  • Illegal parking - The parking fines will be sent to the apparent owner of the car.
  • Petrol drive-offs - They could also be used for petrol drive-offs. Most of us are aware that these days most petrol stations are fitted with CCTV cameras to minimise petrol theft. That, of course, relies on the number plates being genuine. If your number plates have been stolen, you may find the police knocking on your door.
  • Disguising a stolen car - Making a stolen car look legitimate
  • Avoiding congestion charges - Or rather... having someone else pay them!
Some thieves are particularly clever - they target the number plates they steal, based on the model and colour of the vehicle they're attached to. They then attach the stolen number plate to a vehicle of the same model and colour - and that makes it much more difficult to prove it wasn't you. If you've had number plates made up for your car, you'll know that you need to provide the retailer with proof that you are entitled to the registration number. The DVLA introduced these rules around five years ago, to minimise the fraudulent use of number plates - hence the upsurge in theft of number plates from cars.
What to do if your number plates are stolen
If you find your number plates have been stolen from your car:
  • Inform the police. Contact the police to let them know as soon as you discover your number plates have been stolen. It may seem like a minor crime, but will help if they are used later for criminal purposes, if it has/is taking place ring emergency numbers for help.
  • Have new number plates made up. Don't forget you will need proof that you are entitled to use the registration number. Reputable retailers will not make them up without this. You will need proof of identity (e.g. driver's license or utility bill), and your V5 log book.

Thursday 22 October 2015

Antiperspirants and Deodorants: Do You Know What You Are Spraying Under Your Arms?




The body has a natural way to remove toxins from our body and that is through perspiration. Antiperspirants do not impact on thermoregulation—the body’s natural cooling method through sweating, but they do help to reduce the amount of sweat that is produced. A deodorant does not prevent perspiration, but contains artificial fragrances that cover odor.
What many of us do not realize is that the ingredients in antiperspirants and deodorants are potentially harmful to human health. There is nothing natural about parabens, triclosan and propylene glycol. The Food and Drug Administration has put no regulations in place to protect the consumer from these harmful ingredients, and manufacturers fail to mention how these ingredients affect in the body over the long term. If you want the lowdown on what you are placing on your skin—the largest organ in the human body, read on for the facts.

FD&C Color Pigments

The FD&C color pigments used in antiperspirants and deodorants are derived from coal tar, and studies have shown these to be carcinogenic. These pigments can lead to skin irritation. Although antiperspirants and deodorants are neutral in color, some are mixed with aluminum, which is the reason why color pigments may be listed as an ingredient on your deodorant or antiperspirant.

Parabens

If you look at the labeling of your antiperspirant or deodorant, you are likely to see a list of parabens, including methyl, ethyl, butyl, and propyl parabens. These are artificial preservatives added to the product to preserve its shelf life and prevent the growth of bacteria. Scientists are currently studying whether parabens increase the risk of women developing breast cancer.
The Breast Cancer Fund reported, “Measurable concentrations of six different parabens have been identified in biopsy samples from breast tumors.” Parabens were also found in urine samples.

Propylene Glycol

This humectant helps the product retain moisture. Industrial grade propylene glycol is commonly found in antifreeze, yet is now found in antiperspirants and deodorants. This neurotoxin is linked to liver and kidney damage, and the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety produce the safety data sheet, which specifically mentions that workers should not let propylene glycol come into contact with the skin due to the health concerns, including nausea and vomiting.
The Food and Drug Administration lists propylene glycol as safe and have included it on their Generally Recognized As Safe list, as it there is industrial grade propylene glycol and pharmaceutical grade propylene glycol. Although lower doses of propylene glycol are used in skincare products, and found to cause no carcinogenic risk, low doses may still cause an allergic reaction in some individuals. Earlier studies reported DNA mutation after low doses of propylene glycol were ingested or applied to the skin. The Cosmetics Database rates propylene glycol as moderately hazardous.
Author of Health Myths Exposed, Shane Ellison, said, “Working as a chemist, I’ve seen propylene gycol used with the drugs lorazepam, etomidate, diazepam, nitroglycerin, and phenytoin to increase solubility. It’s foreign to the body and as such is toxic. Too much would be about 1800 mg for a 165 lb person.” The former pharmaceutical chemist continued, “The big threat is that it is being used for Over the Counter products…And thus, intake cannot be gauged! Overdose becomes a real and present danger…”
Propylene glycol works similarly to the chemical, polyethylene glycols (PEGs) in that it allows ingredients to be better penetrated by the skin. This also means that potentially hazardous ingredients are readily absorbable by the skin and can lead to possible allergic reactions.

Talc

Talc is used in antiperspirants and deodorants for its absorbency. However, the International Agency for Research on Cancer has listed talc as a carcinogen should it contain asbestiform fibers. Worryingly, the quantity of these fibers is unregulated, and even if talc is listed as an ingredient, there is no way of knowing whether the talc contains these fibers. The American Cancer Society has reported a link with talc and ovarian cancer.

Triclosan

This artificial chemical has an antimicrobial effect, and is added to antiperspirants and deodorants to kill surface bacteria. However, this ingredient is a skin irritant and has been linked to contact dermatitis. Even the American Medication Association said, “It may be prudent to avoid the use of antimicrobial agents in consumer products.”
It is recommended that consumers do not use products containing triclosan in their home, as they may contribute toward bacterial resistance to antibiotics and let other bacteria forms flourish. The Environmental Working Group reports that triclosan is linked to disruption of the thyroid function. Triclosan is found in our lakes and rivers, and is very harmful to aquatic life.

Aluminum

Although there is no clear risk to breast cancer, aluminum is a key ingredient in antiperspirants. The skin absorbs aluminum and research has determined that the levels of estrogen formed in the breast cells can alter significantly. As estrogen is linked to a growth of both cancerous and non-cancerous breast cells, some scientists have determined that aluminum-based antiperspirants can increase the risk of developing breast cancer. More studies are required before this fact can be determined.

Triethanolamine (TEA) and Diethanolamine (DEA)

These ingredients commonly found in antiperspirants and deodorants alter the pH, and are mixed with fatty acids to form stearate, a cleansing base. There are suggestions that the longer these ingredients are absorbed by the body, the greater the risk of damage. TEA can lead to allergic reactions, while DEA can lead to liver and kidney damage.
The Food and Drug Administration’s John Bailey quoted this about a new study, “the risk equation changes significantly for children.” Tests at the University of Bologna in Italy found TEA to be the most frequent sensitizer used in cosmetics, gels, shampoos, creams, lotions, etc.”

Phthalates

This ingredient is added to antiperspirants, deodorants, medical goods, and plastics. They are added to dissolve ingredients and give the product a better consistency. Current research has determined that phthalates can increase the risk of diabetes in women.
Harvard scientists have determined that phthalates is linked to higher levels of diabetes in women. Co-author of the study and environmental health researcher, Richard Stahihut said, “These findings are important clues, but it’s only a first step. It’s extremely likely that phthalates and other chemical contaminants will turn out to be a big part of the obesity and diabetes epidemic, but at this point we really don’t know how these chemicals are interacting with each other, or with the human body.”

Butylated Hydroxytuluene (BHT)

This ingredient is considered to be a known carcinogen by the US Department of Health and Human Services. This ingredient has been linked to cancer, hyperactivity in children, and cellular level changes. The material safety data sheet for BHT states that it can lead to abdominal pain, nausea, and confusion, whilst also affecting the liver. It is also combustible and can harm aquatic life. Environmental Skin Deep describes BHT as a moderate hazard.

Polyethylene Glycols

This ingredient is commonly found in deodorants; especially products containing moistening ingredients contain polyethylene glycols, also known as PEGs. A health hazard of this ingredient is the potential contamination of 1,4-dioxane, which can lead to cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies 1,4-dioxane as a possible human carcinogen. Cosmetic manufacturers are able to use vacuum stripping to remove 1,4-dioxane, but it is impossible for consumers to know which products have gone through this removal process, and which are still hazardous and available over-the-counter. US researchers even discovered that products labeled ‘natural’ or uncertified ‘organic’ were found to contain 1,4-dioxane.

Synthetic Fragrance

Synthetic fragrances are linked to a host of health concerns, including skin allergies, headaches, hyper-pigmentation, and dizziness. Popular names for these ingredients include benzophenones 1 to 12 and methyl salicylate. What the cosmetics industry fail to mention is that many of these synthetic fragrances can contain up to 200 ingredients, and under the ‘trade secrets’ they do not have to disclose this to consumers. The skin is the largest organ in the body, and it is important to know that what we are placing on our skin is safe. Some antiperspirants and deodorants may contain extracts of essential oil, but this is not enough to determine safety, especially when synthetic lemon fragrance can cost $1 per lb, while essential oil of lemon costs $50 per lb. The body is a very intelligent machine, so why are synthetic fragrances linked to a myriad of health concerns from dizziness and headaches to skin irritation and allergies?
Headspace Technology is the term used to describe mimicking the exact replica of a natural fragrance, and one company described it like this, “Headspace technology is an advanced system that captures and analyzes the scent molecules in the air around the source of each scent, extracting a reproducible formula. Using this process, and their own uncanny sense of smell, Demeter successfully creates idealized versions of each scent, whether isolating a single note, or expertly mixing various notes in the perfect proportions necessary to create a single fragrance experience.” This might all sound very professional, but artificial fragrance is not how nature intended.




By Helen Garvey

How safe is your antiperspirant?





Scientists at Reading University have published research that points to a possible link between the use of antiperspirants and rising rates of breast cancer.
Over the past 25 years, cases of breast cancer in Britain have doubled from about 20,000 a year in the late 1970s to almost 40,000 a year now.
During that period, deodorants have become very common in Britain. So what are the risks, and is there a way of eliminating them?
What is the theory about a link between breast cancer and antiperspirants?
Antiperspirants contain chemicals such as zirconium and aluminium that are taken up through the hair shaft or pores in the skin, where they react with water and swell. This swelling forms a gel that blocks perspiration.
As perspiration releases toxins from the body, researchers originally thought that blocking it could lead to a build-up of toxins in the lymph nodes in the armpit - and, over years, contribute to cancerous changes nearby, in the breast.
Researchers now think there may be another way in which antiperspirants may increase cancer risk. In lab tests, aluminium and zirconium have been found to enter cells and cause mutations in DNA that could lead to cancerous growth. They may also disrupt hormone levels.
Aren't the levels of these chemicals too low to cause a problem?
Researchers say more work needs to be done on whether the small quantities of the chemicals found in antiperspirants may be dangerous. Yet small amounts used over a lifetime could have powerful effects.
Researchers also point out that breast cancer tumours - in women and men - tend to occur in the upper- outer section of the left breast.
What other evidence is there for a link?
Statistics may suggest a link. Britain has one of the highest rates of breast cancer in the world and every year almost 13,000 British women die from it.
Britons are also among the biggest users of antiperspirant deodorants, getting through £300 millionworth of bottles each year.
The rising incidence of breast cancer in men may also suggest a connection. Breast cancer in men has doubled in the past three decades to 300 cases per year - a time frame that coincides with the increasing use of underarm products by men.
Is there concern about children and teenagers using antiperspirant?
Philippa Darbre, senior cancer researcher at Reading University, says use of these products in prepubescent and teenage children should be 'a cause for concern'.
Aluminium and zirconium may disrupt hormones - and unnecessary exposure to these at an important time in a child's development could damage health in a way that we don't yet know about.
Which brands of antiperspirants contain suspect chemicals?
Leading brands such as Sure, Right Guard, Dove and Lynx all contain aluminiumbased and/or zirconium-based compounds. As these are the two main sweatblocking chemicals, it's hard to find an antiperspirant without them.
Do deodorants also cause a risk?
As deodorants mask odour rather than block perspiration, they contain neither aluminium or zirconium compounds. Many deodorants use strong perfume to mask the smell of sweat.
Synthetic perfumes such as artificial musks and preservatives such as parabens are known to accumulate in the body and disrupt sex hormones - a factor that in itself may raise breast cancer risk.
Is there a safe way of staying odour-free?
No natural products act as antiperspirants to block sweat. Deodorants containing natural anti-bacterial agents and perfumes can reduce body odour without the risk that synthetic chemicals pose.
Health food shops sell deodorant 'crystals' made of ammonium alum. This is a natural salt that prevents the bacteria responsible for causing bad odour from growing.
Other natural deodorants, such as those by Greenpeople, contain zinc ricinoleate, a natural compound that 'locks' odour onto the skin's surface so it doesn't become airborne and smell. They also contain rosemary and lavender.
Because natural ingredients are weaker than synthetic versions, these deodorants tend to work for only six hours.
So should women throw away their antiperspirants?
YES!!!!
Although, The link between antiperspirants and breast cancer is still theoretical, Researches resulting in proof to this are in top gear. Specialists are keen to point out that breast cancer can also be caused by many factors, including lifestyle, diet and heredity, so it is difficult to isolate just one cause.

Sunday 21 June 2015

PLS CRITICIZE!!!!


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Are you facially BEAUTIFUL, better-yet PRETTY and you know this for a fact?
 Do you have the photogenic features, figure AND ATHLETIC BODY to promote and sell any legitimate PRODUCT/SERVICE with market value?
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Are you convinced you so good at ACTING that any MOVIE you take part in must sell out before it hit box office theaters or DVDs?
DO YOU WANT TO EARN A DECENT LIVING WITH A LOT OF FREE TIME  DOING EXACTLY WHAT YOU LOVE DOING AT YOUR CONVENIENCE WHILE YOUR PICTURES & BRAND IMAGE GET THE JOBS DONE AND YOU GET WELL PRICED ROYALTY?
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West Pavilion, Tafawa Balewa Square, Onikan-Lagos Island.

Monday 4 August 2014

TRICK TO HELP YOU LOOK GREAT IN PICTURES, even if you're not so cool!

1. Take a look at your favourite pictures of yourself and try to spot a pattern. Do you like the way you look from a certain angle? When you smile a specific way? Try to replicate your best poses next time you have your photo taken.
2. Try this old school red carpet trick: Put your tongue behind your teeth when you smile to avoid a goofy, too-wide grin.
3. Blush is a must! Without some colour on your cheeks, your face can look two dimensional in photos. Use a medium pink shade on the apples of your cheeks to help shape your face.
4. Try the “red carpet” pose: put your hand on your hip, angle your body to the side and turn your head towards the camera. It’s a cliché, but it really does work to help you look slimmer.
5. Stand in front of a white wall. A light-coloured backdrop will help brighten your face. Using a white background also helps a camera’s automatic settings find the right colour balance, so your skin tone doesn’t end up looking too pink or yellow.
6. Be in more pictures! People who think they’re unphotogenic tend to pose for fewer photos overall, but photography is a game of averages. Even Kate Moss doesn’t nail it on the first frame. The more shots you let your photographer take, the more likely you’ll be happy with one or two of them.
7. A photo shot from just above you is way more flattering than one shot from below. If you’re taller than the person holding the camera, grab a seat.
8. Avoid standing directly under a light, which can cast weird shadows on your face. Instead, stand facing a natural light source, such as a window, or in a spot where soft light hits your face from the side.
9. Curled lashes and mascara are musts. “Both open up your eyes, and the eyes are the focal point of a picture. You want to draw people into a picture, so you want to maximize the impact of the eyes. They more open they are, the more the light hits them and that’s what makes them twinkle!”
10. Forget saying “cheese,” and instead think of something funny. Better yet, joke with the photographer. A natural smile trumps a fake one every time.

Sunday 3 August 2014

So You Want to be a Model

Lights! Camera!! So Tell Me, You Really Want to be a Model?

!!!

 

If you are reading this page it probably is because you are interested in becoming a model.  There are many kinds of models:  fashion, commercial and glamour are the major divisions.  These pages will not discuss glamour models in detail – that is a topic best left to others who deal in that specialty.  We will focus here only on the majority of models in the United States:  commercial models and, to a lesser extent, fashion models.
What does it take to be a model?  Please follow the links below, where each highlighted concept is explained in more detail.*
      1.  Location. If you aren’t where the market is, you won’t get work.
      2.  Investment, of both time and money is needed.  Becoming a model isn’t free, although it may be affordable.  At a minimum you will have to have the Required Marketing Materials.
       3.  Height and Body Type.  It’s a lot harder if you are 5’2” tall or not slim.
       4.  Attitude. Can make or break your career.  Usually it breaks it.
       5.  Looks. Sure, they are important, but look where they are on the list. 
       6.  “Being Discovered”.  You think this is how it works?
And after all that, if you get to be a model it may not be what you think.  Before you make all that investment you need to know all about the reality of Your Role as a Model.
 * - “Agency” doesn’t always mean exactly that. See “A note on Terminology”for an explanation.


The Fashion Model
If she is a model and you know her name or you recognize her face, she is an "editorial fashion model."  Seems simple enough, but it isn't.
"Editorial fashion models" work in New York City (in this country) for the simple reason that very, very little editorial fashion work is booked out of anywhere else.  There are exceptions, of course:  Miami in winter (but often using New York models), and sometimes Los Angeles or Chicago, but these are just that:  exceptions.  If you want to be a fashion model, you go to New York.  There are lots of opportunities abroad as well (Paris, London, Milan, Tokyo . . .), but only one real one in the US.
For women, if you want to be seen on the cover of a national fashion magazine, to sign a lucrative national ad contract, to become a "supermodel", or even to be a "fashion model", you need the following when you start:
      1.  Be between 15-19 years old.
      2.  Be between 5'9" and 6' tall.
      3.  Be thin.  Really, really thin.  Something like 105-115 pounds, except for Plus models, who can be dress sizes 10-20 or so, depending on the market.
      4.  Don't have especially large breasts (34C is generally the upper bound of acceptable), lots of stretch marks, tattoos, piercings or highly tanned skin.  Dark skin is fine, lots of tan is not fine.
      5.  Be beautiful.  Not necessarily pretty, but beautiful.  An interesting, beautiful face is at least as good for a fashion model as is an "all American" look.
      6.  Have the right personality for it:  a strong commitment to modeling (not just an interest in it), an ability to take rejection (something most beautiful girls aren't good at), a thick skin, not a lot of modesty (nobody cares what you don't want someone to see, we have a fashion show to put on . . .) and a lot of self confidence.
      7.  Be willing to relocate to a major market, with New York City strongly preferred.
      8.  Be willing to travel to strange locations with no friends there to support you, little money, little help, lots of opportunity for both good and bad things to happen to you.
If you have all of that, you are a very, very rare person, and you have one chance in a hundred of becoming an editorial fashion model.  No more than that.  If you are anything else, you need to think about some other kind of modeling.
Requirements for men are a little less stringentand have been changing in recent years. Depending on the market city, men need to be 5'11" (6' strongly preferred) to 6'2" (in some cities, 6'3") tall. The traditional male model is slim: size 40 jacket, 30-32 waist. However, in the last few years there has been a strong movement in Europe, now reflected in the major American markets, for much slimmer men. While in smaller cities, the traditional male model can still be successful, in New York especially, jacket sizes of 36 to 38 are now generally preferred by many agencies, with waists proportionately smaller as well. Men can be older to start. Age 18-25 is fine.
Editorial fashion jobs are booked almost exclusively through "editorial fashion agencies" - and those hardly exist outside New York.


Commercial Models
Most agency models are "commercial" models - meaning that they appear on local or national print ads or television shows, in catalogs, work in local fashion shows and trade shows and similar kinds of work.  They don't get huge fees (although pay can be very good indeed), national recognition or lucrative national ad contracts, but they are the backbone of the modeling industry.
Fashion models also work as commercial models, although the reverse is rarely true. In smaller market cities in the US, most agencies concentrate on "fashion print" or "commercial fashion" models, who tend to be tall, slim and beautiful in a more mainstream way. This is "commercial fashion", a subset of commercial modeling.
Very, very few commercial models make a living at it.  It is not a career, it is something they do on an occasional basis while they do something else "full time".  Outside of the major markets (New York, Chicago, maybe Miami and Los Angeles) it is doubtful that there is any city in America in which more than a dozen people make a good living at modeling, but in virtually all cities and substantial towns there are many, usually hundreds, who are in the modeling market, and who occasionally find work.
The requirements for being a commercial model are very different from being a fashion model.  It certainly helps if you look a lot like a fashion model, but there is work available in most markets for many other types.  Models can be older, shorter, heavier and need not be pretty or beautiful - "interesting" often will get work, and “generic good looks” is the most common look required.  Commercial models are asked to play roles in pictures:  “young mom”, “active retiree”, “Doctor”, “executive”, and they look like idealized versions of these roles.  In most of the markets we have surveyed the hardest demand for an agent to fill is for middle-aged men!
Things that help a commercial model are acting ability, an outgoing personality, easy availability for jobs, and good self-presentation skills.
The great majority of commercial jobs are booked through agencies, except for those that are given to friends or members of the client's family.


Glamour Models
There is a common misconception among many aspiring models that a "glamour model" is one like they see in the pages of "Glamour" magazine.  Sorry, those are fashion models or commercial models.
A glamour model may do many kinds of work, but all of them are based on the fact that she is pretty and attractive (unlike a fashion model, who may not be pretty, or commercial model, who may not be either pretty or attractive).
Some of them do promotional work: things like appearing in a bikini at a boat show, or in bars or special events to represent a liquor distributor.  Some do "cheesecake" print work, such as appearing in magazines which appeal to a male audience, adorning the product which is the subject of the magazine (such as cars, motorcycles and the like) or appear in calendars.  Many do nude work in magazines, videos, for artists, or in the growing field of web site content.
The market for non-nude glamour models certainly exists, but it is rarely something that a model can make a living at, and generally does not pay as well as other modeling work.  The vast majority of glamour models who do not do nudes will have no more than a very few appearances in print, and virtually all of  them are in New York, Miami or Los Angeles.
The requirements for being a "glamour model" are different from being a fashion or commercial model - generally any attractive woman with an appealing body can qualify.  Preferred age varies by the type of job, but is generally from 18 until the late twenties.  Some glamour models have successful careers into their thirties, but they almost always became known prior to that.
There are a very few specialized agencies which handle glamour models, but they exist only in a small number of cities.  Very few glamour model jobs are booked by agencies.  Some agencies do handle promotional or trade show assignments, but other types of assignment generally are booked in other ways:  through personal contacts, direct advertising and hiring by the client or photographer, and more recently, through the internet.  It is very common for a model to get such jobs through self-promotion of one sort or another, direct to magazines, clients or photographers.  A growing number of them also are getting work through the internet, using on-line model referral pages or modeling forums.


Location
This is the single most important thing needed to be successful as a model.  You need to be where the jobs are!
It’s possible (remotely possible, not likely) that you may be flown to a job at client expense some day.  It happens.  But it only happens after you have been selected for the job – and that takes place where the client and the market are.  For "fly to" jobs, that is almost always a major market city like New York or Los Angeles.
Here’s how it typically works:
Clients call agencies and tell them what their requirements are for upcoming jobs.  The agency matches those requirements against the people in their files, and selects the models they think are likely to be chosen for the job.  The comp cards or portfolios for those people are sent to the client, who then selects the models that he actually wants to see – and those people then go on a “go-see” or “casting”.  Sometimes the first part of this process is omitted, and agencies simply have their models “go see” the client.  There can be as few as one and as many as hundreds of models at these go-sees, and usually a considerable majority of them sent out by their agencies won’t be selected for the job.  This is a competitive business, with lots of competitors and, at any given moment, few winners.
You don’t get paid to go to castings, go-sees or auditions, so a great deal of a model’s time is spent on things like go-sees that don’t actually make them any money.  And nobody pays your expenses to get to these things, either.  That may be OK for someone that lives in the area and can afford to take time off from whatever else they do for an hour or two. But it is simply impossible for someone who lives in Ohio, Texas or even Maryland to commute to these things hoping that they will get a job.  The economics don’t work.
If you are going to be in the commercial or fashion modeling business you have to live within a reasonable commuting distance of the marketplace. We generally advise no more than 50-60 miles away, and even that makes pursuing a modeling career very difficult.
If you want to stay home, and home is more than 100 or so miles from where the work is, an agency can’t do much for you.


Investment
Modeling is a business, and like all businesses requires investment by you.  These investments may be in time and effort or in money, but you cannot hope to be successful as a commercial model without making them.  At a minimum, you will need to invest in the following:
      1.    Pictures  The single most important thing you need is good pictures, in the proper style, to represent yourself.  You may find qualified photographers who will shoot you at reduced or no cost, but that is by no means assured.  Generally, models must be prepared to spend several hundred dollars at the beginning of their career, and to invest more on a regular basis to keep your “book” or “comp card” updated.  Some models (typically young women) may find that they can get pictures done free or for greatly reduced rates, but all models should be prepared for the likelihood that they will have to pay for pictures. Often what you get for free serves the needs of the photographer, not yours. It is relatively rare to find a good photographer who is willing to shoot commercially useful pictures for free.
      2.   Comp Cards/Headshots Your agency will need photos of you that they can send to casting directors – and they won’t get them back.  So you must have printed “composite” cards (for commercial and fashion models) and/or “headshots” (for actors/actresses).  “Comps” may run $80-$200 or so; headshots should cost $50-$100.  A model can start with only a printed headshot, but a comp is much preferable as soon as enough good pictures are available.
      3.   Self-presentation skills  We discourage models from taking “modeling classes” – they are not required and often are counter-productive.  Still, a model should have a good basic understanding of makeup and wardrobe, and may require some guidance on posture and other self-presentation issues.  There are a variety of ways to get these things, some relatively inexpensive, and some costing in the hundreds of dollars. 
      4.   “Bag of tricks”  Even though many assignments will have professional makeup artists and stylists to prepare you, some will not.  You must have the materials and skills to do your own makeup in a variety of styles, and a wardrobe and shoes appropriate to basic modeling situations.  You can reasonably expect that these things, if you do not already have them, may run to several hundred dollars or more, depending on how much you wish to invest in flexibility to easily take a wide variety of assignments.
      5.   Modeling Skills  Although we do not recommend “modeling schools”, agencies and clients do want models to have extensive experience in front of a camera.  The best way to get this is, quite simply, to do a lot of shooting.  Ideally this should be with a photographer who is skilled at working with models in commercial or fashion style shots.  Still, any kind of experience is helpful, and even shoots with relatively new photographers often help you gain self-confidence and posing skill.
      6.   Advertising  You need to get your pictures in front of photographers, art directors, casting agents and others that make hiring decisions.  It used to be that your agency would assist you in this by including you in the agency headsheet book that is mailed to such people. Now it is more common to use an agency website as well as promotional mailers.  As is customary in the industry, agencies must recover its costs from you for these promotional items.  Depending on the degree of promotion of you that the agency does, the cost to you may run from $75-$700 per year. Each agency has its own policies on these services and costs.
      7.   Communications  This is a fast-paced business.  If your agent can’t find you quickly, you may well lose a job that could pay you thousands of dollars.  There are a variety of solutions that models use:  cell phones, beepers, good answering services – but one or more of these is necessary to a successful modeling career. 
      8.   Living Near the Market  This is a very expensive item, but also a critical one. Fashion models often must relocate. We do not advise commercial models to move just to be a model – but if you aren’t within an hour or so of the market city, it is very difficult and expensive for you to compete for jobs.
In all cases above your model management company should be prepared to help you decide what you may need to do to be successful and to advise you on appropriately qualified vendors and sources.  A true “agency” may not in some cases – it’s outside the scope of their duties.


Height and Body Type
Barring a miracle you need to be 6 feet (for men) or for women 5’10” tall, give or take an inch to be a fashion model.  But commercial models are the majority of models in this country, and they can be a much wider variety of heights and shapes.  We have found that female “petites” of 5’6” and above generally find ready acceptance in the marketplace.  A few very exceptional women of 5’4” and above can get work, but it is much harder. Male models can be as short as 5'9" in some markets, but taller is strongly preferred.  Those shorter than that can work only very rarely in the commercial market, except for Asian models, who can be much shorter.
For the most part, models need to be thin. There are exceptions. "Plus models" are fashion models who meet the normal criteria for fashion models in all ways but one: they are dress size 10 to 18 or so, and they have a toned, proportionate body with about ten inches difference between waist and hips. In addition, in some cities there is work for heavier models (up through plus and XL sizes) as Fit models, but this is a very limited, technical specialty. Fit models can also be shorter than normal fashion model requirements.
Commercial models can also be heavier than the "slim" normal. For older models (40+) an extra 10-20 pounds or so is generally acceptable. At all ages there is also some limited work available for "overweight" models, who tend to be more "character" types.

Attitude
Being a model is like any other job – you have to bring the right skills and attitude to it.  Without that, you are doomed to failure.  Among the things that help make for a successful career:
      1.   Self Discipline.  You have to be able to get to go-sees, shoots, jobs, meetings and appointments, in good condition and able to perform.  If you can’t do that, people will find out very fast, they talk to each other and they remember.
      2.   Commitment.  Modeling requires sacrifice of time, resources, effort and giving up other things you could be doing that you may enjoy.  You can’t just hang out and wait to do jobs when called – you have to spend a lot of effort and perhaps significant money preparing yourself for work as a model.
      3.   Ability to get along with others.  Models have to work with photographers, art directors, clients, makeup artists, agency staff and other models.  All of these people and others influence which jobs you get and don’t get.  Any of them may be able to keep you from getting work, even if you are the person with the best “look” for the job.  And all of them talk to each other.  If you are abrasive, obnoxious, rude or just someone they don’t like to work with – you won’t get much work.  In the long run, people tend to hire people that they like to work with, and you are trying to get hired all the time.
      4.   Self Confidence.  No matter what you really think or feel inside, you must show that you are confident in your ability to be what the client needs you to be. Self doubts need to get left at the door of the go-see or studio.
      5.   Teamwork.  Modeling can be a lot of fun (as well as a lot of hard work).  You may find that you are the center of attention, people fluttering around you all day, the object of constant praise, and made up to look like something you only hoped you could be.  At times like that it is very difficult to remember that this isn’t about you.  It’s about what the client needs, and you are there to be just that.  If you look the best you have ever looked, and that isn’t what the client wants, you have failed.  As a model you are playing a role, and you need to be what the role calls for, not what you want to be.


Looks
Your “look” is not nearly as important as location and attitude.
Are you surprised that looks aren’t at the top of the list?
Is your “look” important in getting you work?  Of course it is.  In fact, when you show up at that go-see with your book, it’s the single most important thing that will determine success or failure at that moment.  You have to look like what the client wants to hire.
But that just means that once you have the other things that are needed for success, “looks” is the tiebreaker.  It’s the other things that really count.  If you didn’t live where you needed to so you could show up at the go-see, it wouldn’t matter what you looked like.  If you didn’t have the commitment to invest the time and money in pictures, comps, a decent wardrobe and self-presentation skills, it wouldn’t matter what you looked like.  And if you didn’t have the discipline to get a good night’s sleep the night before, get up early, prepare yourself and arrive on time, it wouldn’t matter what you looked like.  In all of those cases you would be disqualified from competing long before a client ever saw you.
Now, given that, what do you need to look like?  Well, in the fashion world that’s pretty well understood. Tall, very thin, beautiful (maybe not pretty, but beautiful) and you have a shot.  But “commercial models” generally have a different look. Clients and agencies usually want what is referred to as “generic good looks” by type of appearance:  soccer moms, executives, doctors or whatever fits the role that the client is casting for in that ad campaign.
A good commercial model is a commodity:  able to fit any number of roles – because that is what the client is buying:  a person to fill a role. Actors can be excellent commercial models because they can easily take on the “look and feel” of the person that is to be portrayed.
Commercial models don’t have to be “beautiful” – and many of them aren’t, although they tend to be more than just “good looking”.  A commercial agency always wants to have some “traditional models” (meaning young, very attractive women) in their group because that tends to attract the attention of clients to an agency.  But it is the others – children, older men and women and “character” models, in all ethnic categories – who do a large percentage of commercial modeling work.


“Being Discovered”
We’ve all heard the phrase:  aspiring models, just waiting to “be discovered.”  The notion is that they can hang out, doing whatever they do, and someone will come along, spot them in the crowd, pluck them out of their hum-drum day-to-day life and suddenly they will be “discovered” and on their way to modeling success.
The worst of it is that once in a while, once in a very, very long while, something like that really happens. When it does it happens to fashion models, not commercial models, and it is a very rare event.  Models aren’t “discovered,” they work their way through the system very much like you do in any other job.
But in another sense, the more successful models are “discovered.”
It is a great benefit to a model’s career if someone (or several someones) takes an interest in them, sponsors them and chooses to give them opportunities in preference to other people who could have gotten those chances. Photographers and art directors like to work with people they know, like and have had pleasant experiences with. Agency staff chooses who to send on jobs, and who to recommend to clients in preference to others in their agency who may be equally qualified.  There are lots of models, few jobs by comparison, and choices have to be made.  It is human nature in all of business for those choices to go to friends and people we like, and in the subjective world of modeling it is all the more true that personal relationships can make or break a career.
Models should always take advantage of opportunities to gain that kind of sponsorship from people with influence in the industry. Virtually all of the most successful models have used “sponsors” to achieve their success.


Required Marketing Materials
Pictures are everything!  A great majority of jobs are initially cast by casting directors, art directors or photographers, who typically sort through submitted headsheets or comp cards to select the models they want to hire.
As a model you need pictures that present you in the best possible light.  But they also must be in the style that casting and art directors are accustomed to seeing from professional models.  From fashion agencies they will expect to see "fashiony" shots in a contemporary style. From commercial print agencies they will expect to see shots in “commercial” style for most jobs, although for some work “fashion” or “theatrical” style pictures are appropriate. With a few exceptions, “glamour” style pictures are not appropriate.  Classic “portrait” style, senior photos and snapshots are not acceptable for professional modeling work.  You must choose photographers who are skilled in the particular style that is needed in your market.  If you do not have adequate pictures already your agent will assist you in finding qualified photographers.
Commercial print agencies generally want models who are experienced, ready to work, and have the marketing materials they need before they are represented by the agency.  In that regard they are different from fashion agencies, which generally will throw away most or all of the portfolio pictures, comp cards and headsheets that aspiring models bring to them, and start from scratch.


Commercial Print Models
The bare minimum needed to market you is a headshot similar to those used by theatrical performers.  If all you have is one really great picture, that may be what you use at the beginning of your career. (Note: new fashion models sometimes start with no more than simple polaroids taken by their agtency. But they need to change that as rapidly as possible. The fashion clients are heavily influenced by pictures.
If you are going to be a model looking for fashion or commercial print work, you should have a printed composite card that can be sent to potential clients. Typically “comps” are 5 ½ x 8 ½ inches, printed on card stock, and double sided.  They normally contain a good head shot on one side, three or four other pictures on the reverse, and your stats and agency contact data.  Most agencies prefer pictures to be mostly color, but will accept good-quality B&W comps.  The agency will probably need at least 50 copies of your comp card in their files. Normally comp cards are updated as you get better pictures or tear sheets that can be included on them, so it often isn’t necessary to print more than 100-150.
If you already have an acceptable comp card it will help greatly for a commercial agency to immediately market you. Fashion agencies and most small market agencies will require you to have a card produced under their guidance.  If you do not have a card, but have good quality pictures of the right style, the agency can assist you in finding printers who can produce quality comps at reasonable prices in only a few days.
A “portfolio” or “book” is vital for a fashion model, although less necessary for commercial models.  In the larger markets pictures should be 9”x12” or tearsheets from published work. In smaller markets 8x10 may be acceptable, but you should check with local agencies to be sure. Some agencies have adopted other sizes for "walkaround" books, while keeping the "main book(s) at 9x12.  For commercial models it is helpful if your comp (or portfolio) contains shots of you portraying some of the “types” that get commercial castings, and that are appropriate to your look.  If you can look like a doctor, executive, “young mom”, “active retiree”, “character”, or any other frequently requested “type” you should ensure that you have pictures showing you in clothes and a setting, and with the “look” or attitude appropriate to that type. Also if you are planning on being a “body” or parts model your comp should contain a picture of your specialty as well.  Some models with an especially strong specialty may choose to have a second comp card printed which focuses on that specialty.
Your agency should advise you on the contents of your comp and portfolio, but a large market commercial agency will often simply accept one (if it is well done) from new models.


Theatrical Performers
Theatrical castings require a headshot, 8”x10” glossy and done in the style used in the theatrical market. (Note: color headshots are used in California and New York City. In other markets, either Black and White or color may be used. Check with a talent agency in your area for guidance.   A lot of them will be needed for submissions to castings, so we strongly recommend that they be mass printed (laser or offset) rather than original photographic prints. We do not recommend you print your own headshots on a computer - it simply sends a message to the casting director that you are not professional enough to get good pictures printed.   It is not uncommon for performers to have more than one headshot with different looks, so that a choice most appropriate to an upcoming casting can be submitted.


Children
Child performers or models have less demanding requirements for submission.  Most casting directors understand that children change rapidly as they grow up, and do not require full comp cards or portfolios.  A simple headshot (8”x10”), reproduced in quantity, should be enough for most purposes, and in some markets simple snapshots are acceptable.


The Agency Headsheet or Website
As recently as 2001 most agencies published “headsheets” of their own at infrequent intervals – typically once per year, although some only do one every two years. Some also published updates at more frequent intervals for new models that they wanted to highlight to their customers.  These headsheets were advertising for the agency itself, and contained pictures of the models that they felt best represented them to their clients.  They may be simple compilations of small shots of the faces of selected models.  They may choose some models (or for smaller agencies, all their models) to publish pages much like a composite card, with a variety of pictures and stats. 
These agency headsheets were an excellent marketing tool for the model also – it was not uncommon for a casting director to make a name-request for a model based on pictures they find in the agency headsheet.
Lately the traditional agency headsheet and agency book has largely been replaced by an agency website which serves the same purposes, but a few agencies are still producing them, or small flyers to send out as promotional items.


Your Role as a Model
There is a hierarchy - a food chain - in the modeling industry. We won't deal with staff like stylists, but in the chain you will find yourself in, it works like this: Clients rule the world. Advertising agencies speak for them - they generally determine who will be used in any campaign, although they may delegate some of that choice to a photographer. And from a photographer's perspective in the commercial world, the ad agencies (or in-house equivalent in the corporate world) are who they have to sell themselves to.
On a shoot, there may be a client rep or ad agency rep present - an art director, for instance. If so, they call a lot of the shots. Photographers have a fair amount of freedom in many commercial shoots, but ultimately their work is commissioned by the agency, and they do listen.
And on that same shoot, the one person who takes direction from everybody is the model. (S)he is at the bottom of the food chain. She doesn't hire anybody, she doesn't give anybody directions, she doesn't determine the creative direction of the shoot.  That is the responsibility of the art director or the photographer.
A model is a commodity. There are lots of them out there, and it is a competitive world. The ones that get hired are the ones that, first, have the look required to do the job, and second that other players higher in the food chain like to work with.
Models who want to argue, or even tell people that they are doing something wrong, are simply not wanted. You can be right. You can exercise your right to speak. You can be unemployed.
If you want to be part of the decision process, become an art director or photographer. Not a model.
We don't mean to imply that a model is not part of the creative process (we can hear the models screaming now) - but as the collaborative junior partner, whose job it is to be helpful and creative when asked, and otherwise to be quiet.
What we have just described is the reality of the world you commercial models say you want to enter. There are lots of individual photographers out there doing their own thing that these rules apply to much more loosely.  And even for them, the rule applies. If you want to be hired (in any field, not just modeling) be someone that your employer wants to work with.


A Note on Terminology
1.  “Agency” Throughout these pages we will use the term “agent” frequently, and in the commonsense meaning of the term.  In the New York market (and many others) many “agencies” really are not agencies at all - they are “model (or talent) management companies.”  There is a difference in what these two types of companies do, and they way they are treated by law and certain Union contracts.
Talent agencies have a fairly simple job:  to find work for their models.  They may (and often do) find it useful to invest a little effort in advising models on what to put into their books and other things a model needs to know, but that is not their primary function.  By law in New York, or if franchised by a Union, they are limited to a 10% commission on the work they find their models.
Model management companies, by contrast, are responsible for managing all aspects of a model’s career, and provide a much wider range of services and advice.  In New York they typically charge a 20% commission from their models, although some companies charge more. There are no significant, true "model agencies" in New York City and many other cities; they are usually "model management companies.
Whenever the term “agency” is used in these pages it means both a true agency and a “model management company” unless otherwise specified.

Thursday 31 July 2014

Don’ts (and a Do) for beginers and PRO Models

                                         





Do not be a "no-neck monster." Try to elongate your neck for maximum extension.
Do not pose like a hoochie. (If you don’t know what a hoochie is, er...that's probably best.)
Do not be a limp noodle. Always pose with tension in your body completely from H2T (head to toe).
Do not play it safe and stay in the same pose. Mix it up with innovative poses. Your wildest pose could be the one that’s picked.
Do not show up to a photo shoot unless you are clean shaven, have a clean face, and clean hair.
Do not let hating how your hair or makeup is done affect your performance. Model through it.
Do not stare aimlessly when posing. Create intensity for the camera through your eyes. Smize (smile with your eyes)!
Do not slouch on the runway; pretend you have a wire through your spine that is pulling you up to the ceiling.
Do not be forgettable. Make an impression by showing your distinctive personality.
Do request to have your favorite music playing when you do a shoot! The beat will kick your poses up 10 notches!

Modeling: Breaking Into the Biz

Pick a favorite model and study them. Everything from the way they turn their head to their fierce runway walk.
Snapshots. You MUST have a beauty shot, from the neck up, before going anywhere. Have a friend with a nice camera take one in black and white!
Study, Study, Study. As Top Models always says, you need to know everything from fashion designers, photographers, supermodels, and all in between.

From No-Sees to Go-Sees!
Go-sees are one of the crucial things that a beginner model must know about. Tyra went on 10 go-sees a day in Paris! Here are some tips on how to make a lasting impression (at a go-see or an interview)

Be prepared! Practice your walk, poses, and faces in the mirror before you go.
Do your homework! Know something about the agency or client and be aware of scams. Not everything out there is legit!
Your make-up should be minimal to show off your natural beauty.
ALWAYS bring a pair of heels in case they ask you to walk.
No nail polish: Simple clear, nude, or sheer!
Pull your hair back so that they can see your face and bone structure.
Never be late!
Have good posture: Stand up straight, shoulders back.
Be honest! It’s okay to tell them if you don’t have a lot of experience. Wow them with your natural ability (this is why practice is so important!)

How To Work Your Flaws
Everyone has flaws. I’ve got 'em (small calves and a big forehead), you’ve got 'em, and your momma’s got em’, too! Even though I totally believe in embracing my flaws, I don’t always want to highlight them when I’m being photographed. Every top model knows the secrets to working her flaws. These are my tips on how to make your flaws work for you when you’re in front of that camera!
Hands on Hips = Smaller Waist. Putting your hands on your hips creates a background through your arms, which will make your waist appear smaller. (This is something you can apply to real life too! Try it the next time you walk into a room!)
Chin Up = Smaller Forehead.Always telling girls to chin up! Not only will it make a large forehead look smaller, it will also elongate the neck.
Tippy Toes = Bigger Calves. Standing on your tippy toes instead of flat feet will make your calf muscles appear bigger because they are working harder to keep you up!
Knees In = Slimmer Hips. Turning a knee in will make your hips appear slimmer. This will also give you a space between your thighs, which is something that most women don’t have.
Lean Forward = Smaller Bust. Hunch your back and bring your naval into your spine. This creates a slight lean forward, which will make your bust look smaller.
Emphasize Shoulder = Narrow Hips. Turn your body to the side and turn your shoulders toward the camera. The emphasis on your shoulders will narrow your hips.