Tips & Tricks From A Day Spent With America's Next Top Model Winner Naima Mora
A Day With Naima Mora & @pierces550
I had the pleasure of meeting season 4 America's next top model winner Naima Mora at an event held in Buffalo. I attended with @pierces550 and had the chance to ask a few questions to her and her co hosts.
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The event consisted of a time for models to take photos with some professional photographers in front of backdrops, talks by Naima and two other local successful speakers, one on one time with Naima critiquing each models runway walk and giving tips on how to take better photos, and a time to mingle and eat some good food together.
A Few Tips From Naima For Any Aspiring Models Reading This Post
Loosening Up With A Little Fun Jumping Shots
Tips On Photos Using A Chair Or Other Props
Modeling Accessories Focusing On Hands
I'm no model, so for me the best advice came from the questions I was able to ask regarding social media, time management and some of the best advice that was given to Naima
- If you don't have a social media presence for your brand, you will have an extremely difficult time getting your product off the ground.
- Be confident in yourself. You can't worry about how others perceive you.
- Manage your time and set goals. Most used their smartphone to put in times and events or phone calls they needed to make. If you don't have a goal, you won't reach it and will spend a lot of time floundering around aimlessly.
- Put a picture of your goal somewhere where you will see it daily. On a mirror, as your phone or computer background, on your steering wheel etc.
- Figure out if checklists overwhelm you or motivate you. Depending on your personality, you may have to tweak your goals and how you reward yourself.
- Sometimes you will need to make sacrifices (hanging out with friends, saving money etc.) to reach your goals
- This is a simple one but extremely important. "HAVE FUN!" If you aren't enjoying any aspect of what you are doing, you will burn out, regardless of how much money you make.
There was a lot more and I know @pierces550 will be covering a bit soon and show her own time with Naima, including Naima's praise of her runway skills and some cool photos showing her and Naima looking at photos together.
Overall I had an awesome time and it's a lot of fun to see people just starting out modeling learning the ropes, to more experienced models all in the same place having fun and learning together.
You can find out more about Naima HERE She didn't come from a family with a lot of money and truly started from the bottom and made a name for herself. Her hard work is paying off, and she has a clothing line, does public speaking, and is a published author and music artist.
Those on instagram (if you're a model, it is highly recommended to have a presence here) can find Naima's page account HERE
She's a very sweet down to earth woman and unlike some models who tend to treat people behind the scenes as lessers, she has fun on set and even brings chocolate to share with others. Definitely recommend her book (which @pierces550 got as part of her package deal with her ticket) It's available on Amazon HERE
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Stay tuned for the article @pierces550 will be posting soon if you enjoyed this article and wish to see the viewpoint from someone who is actually a model and how what she learned and was inspired by.
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Wow! Thats awesome, thanks so much for shareing your wonderful day with us! Upvoted and reblogged! STEEM ON! ♨😉♨
Thank you @karenmckersie I appreciate your kind words. Naima Mora is truly a great role model in this day and age of what I would consider to be "fluff" selfie celebrities who are famous based on their last name instead of any real talent. Yes they know how to brand themselves and make an empire, but I'd be disappointed if my nieces were to look up to some of these celebrities. Naima has skills and passions outside of modeling and is fun loving and extremely easy to talk to. Someone who is comfortable in their skin is extremely important, because the modeling world is not an easy one. You have to have thick skin and keep trying your best while not taking many turned down opportunities personally. I don't think I could do it myself, but it's nice to know there are some beautiful people with great hearts that are giving girls confidence in themselves (guys as well).
Yes indeed you are so right! We need to empower young woman , now more then ever! Thanks for the reply! It was a great post, and im looking forward to more! 😉👍✌
Absolutely! Young men as well, since there is a growing issue of people only seeing fitness models as handsome. This can lead some good looking guys to have body dysmorphia and lead to steroids and spending time hitting the gym growing to unhealthy sizes. When people idolize bodybuilders whether male or female, it tends to lead to some difficult decisions about looks vs health and unfortunately I believe more often than not that people tend to choose short term looks over long term health.
This can be true of women too, but I see it far more often in men.
You are so right! Health and hapiness are the 2 most important things in life includeing family! Unfortunately some people dont realize this untill its too late or their old now and looking back on what they they should have done differently! Thanks for replying back! STEEM ON! 😉
I always try to reply. Especially when people put effort into their comments. The rewards for comments are not what they once were, but comments aren't necessarily about just making money. Comments can bring on collaborations, followers, and even if not rewards in steem dollars, it's worth taking the time to spend a lot of effort commenting.
Some of my comments I'm sure are longer than some posts people make, but when someone writes something interesting I believe they deserve the same thought in the feedback/comment section.
I loved watching that show and seeing how they all mature and grow into the industry. Thanks for sharing your day, @bendjmiller222 - it was really cool to watch.
I wish I could have shared from the perspective of a model. (I'm about as goofy as they come and could probably only do laughing photoshoots. The stare off into the distance cologne type modeling just wouldn't fit my personality). But I appreciated the wisdom they brought to the table as professionals and go getters.
I wanted to ask a bit more about Next Top Model, but I'm sure that she's answered just about everything possible to think of in that regard and we could benefit more from practical advice.
Glad you enjoyed my article. Always enjoy hearing from you and seeing your articles @merej99
Well @bendjmiller222 there is always this...
LOL
Trust me I tried (and got my ass beat by a real model) :)
BWAHAHAHAA!
That's precious!