• Become a model – Advisor on CM Models
• Become a model interview – XXL interview in FIV Magazine – Modeling in New York, Paris & Co

Model scouting: What must a model be able to do?

Editor -As a model booker and agency owner, what do you value most when young models apply to you? Is good looks really everything or what else is important when you want to become a model?

Stephan Czaja – The first thing is personality. It is what makes a model. Personality, in turn, expresses itself in many facets that are important for a model’s job. Positive manner is one of them, friendly appearance, good mood and of course a smile, even after a long, exhausting shooting day. In big cities like Paris, Milan and London there are also 5 or 6 castings a day. That means stress, especially when a model is in big cities like Berlin, London, Paris or New York for the first time. It becomes even more extreme in Asian mega cities like Shanghai, Beijing or Seoul. Millions of people, foreign language, those who work here for the first time as a model at the age of 17 or 18, will be faced with a lot. That’s why you should start as early as possible, preferably at the age of 15 or 16.

But at the beginning everything starts out very relaxed. If you send your application to model agencies early enough, you will have enough time to gain experience in first photo shootings with photographers, first model jobs and if all requirements are right, also in first short trips abroad, for example jobs at Paris Fashion Week, Instagram Shooting in Lisbon or city shootings in London.

Photo – CM Models New Faces, Women (Klara [Milan] Laura [Düsseldorf] and Anni [Paris])

Photo – Cocaine models New Faces, men (Darcy [Zurich] and Franck [London])

As a model you have a lot of free time in relation to the normal 9-to-5 job. But when jobs are coming up, there are sometimes very stressful days: flight, hotel, production, there is a lot to be expected from models. Accordingly, as a model you should be secondly: an independent, self-confident person. In addition, the bigger the jobs, the bigger the teams and of course the investments of the client in such a media production. If you are late as a model, it quickly costs many tens of thousands of Euros. We have also had production with luxury cars, 80-man production team, extra cordoned-off airport area. The moment for models to prove what they can do.

Accordingly, the way from set-up to such castings and jobs is long. The way is long, but it is worth it!

But then, thirdly, ambition and motivation are important. As a model, you need to have the ambition to constantly improve yourself, as well as motivation and the confidence that you can do it. The first sign that you have as a model, that the conditions are right and you have the potential, is the agency admission or model contract in a big model agency like ours.

Become a model: Requirements and minimum size

Editing – Away from the looks and characteristics of the model, when is the perfect age for models to start? How tall do you have to be as a model?

Stephan Czaja – You should start modeling at the age of 15, 16. After all, you still need to build up, especially with regard to the personality just discussed, but above all your own model portfolio. In the model portfolio, models collect their best photos from jobs and photo shoots with good photographers. So the customer has a quick overview of what you have already done and how versatile you can be as a model.

The more diverse the photos, the more facets you show, the higher the chance to get good jobs. The build-up takes 2, 3 years, accordingly you should start early, preferably already in school, as I said with 15 years, 16 years.

Good model agencies make sure that the focus remains 100% on school. However, the first shootings can be arranged in parallel, a few small jobs can be done, the first experiences can be made. If you then finish school successfuly at the age of 17, 18 years, your career can start. If you have the right prerequisites as a model, you can work in the big cities like New York, Los Angeles, Paris or even London.

Application and interview

Editor – Which photos should models send with their application if they want to become a model?

Stephan Czaja – The photos of the model application should always be absolutely natural! No make-up, no styling, a simple outfit, preferably consisting of black pants and a black top. You do not need a professional photo shooting! We recommend a simple mobile phone, daylight and best of all mum, dad or friends who can quickly take some photos.

On the photos you should be seen as a model as said absolutely natural, that means besides make-up and styling also no posings! Look frontally into the camera, once with open hair, then with closed hair, with a serious look, then a smile. This frontally as a portrait and once from the side. That’s it! This is all you need for a good model application. The next step is to send your photos to the model agency. Here one of the model scouts will look at your photos and if it suits the agency, you will get a feedback from the model agency or the model scout within 7 days.

Editor -followers on Instagram, Youtube and TikTok play an increasingly important role, how big is the role of social networks in the selection of models?

Stephan Czaja – The number of followers on Instagram and Co. does not play a role in the selection during casting or the model application. But if you work as a model later on, followers already help you to get jobs, because more and more often customers take a look at the social media profiles of the models. The big goal of an advertising campaign is reach. If you can generate additional reach by booking a model, this is of course a big plus for customers during casting or e-casting.

This means that followers do not play a role in the model application, but they can be helpful in later jobs to get the job.

Model Jobs: Modeling for Instagram, Youtube and TikTok

Editing – Every job is different from video shooting for Youtube to photo shooting for Instagram: How different are the requirements in the different areas? Where do the quality and skills of the models differ?

Stephan Czaja – When it comes specifically to working for social media content, photos for Instagram are easiest in proportion for young models. After all, the classic work of models is photo shootings. But when it comes to moving images, whether it’s Instagram stories or videos for a posting, it gets more challenging. Often small, first sequences have to be learned, sometimes also texts. Not one story is produced, but 20.

At the moment I think Unboxing videos and product presentations are the most complex. With Unboxing Videos for YouTube and Instagram, but also Facebook or TikTok, how is it about opening a package with mostly more or less unknown content? What it is all about are the emotions that arise when unpacking, joy, amazement but also discovery. Anyone working under time pressure here, for example in a video production, has to remember a relatively large number of details, from specific brand names to product names, processes, lines of sight. If a scene can only be captured once, so that the emotions are real, everything has to fit right away.

You need real professionals for this, that’s why we have model castings and e-castings.

Photo – Commercial for Dailies with Johanna, Marie and Hannes @ CM Models

Video – Commercial for Dailies with Johanna, Marie and Hannes @ CM Models

Photo – Commercial for VW T-Cross with Milva @ CM Models

Video – Commercial for VW T-Cross with Milva @ CM Models

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJO6DLcGy7g

Video – Commercial for VW T-Cross with Cara Delevingne (same campaign)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4s4me2-d3U

Model casting sequence

Editor -For jobs you organize many model castings, how does such a casting work?

Stephan Czaja – Castings are relatively unspectacular, often directly in the agency and when things get bigger, preferably in a warehouse. Depending on the job, up to 150 models gather in front of the entrance. In the entrance area, each model is given a number when they register and is then called either by number or by name. Most of the castings go relatively fast, the appearance of the model is in the foreground and of course the personality, e.g. by a smile and joy at work! Each model introduces herself briefly, shows her own photo folder and then it’s: Next!

The further course of castings is very individual depending on the job. If we would do a casting for a fashion show, the next step would be the fitting. This is where models try on the clothes, the big question: Do the selected pieces fit the model? If necessary, changes can be made or another model gets the chance.

If it would be a casting for social content or an advertising spot, small live scenes are often played, sometimes short videos are recorded for the customer, for example if only marketing staff are on site. So even a small acting performance is required for such a casting. Of course no complex scene, it’s only about seeing if the model can slip into a certain role. For fashion clients, you usually stay exactly as you are, that’s enough for a shooting. But if you advertise a certain candy bar or a car brand, for example, you need acting talent. Sometimes you are the go-getter, then the shy one or the business woman in the sports car.

Casting tips: How to get the job

Editor -What can you recommend models for their next casting? Do you have tips for young models and their first casting in a social media or advertising agency?

Stephan Czaja – The first good tip I can give is always be confident. Especially for young models it is difficult to cope with the big competition at their first casting. Suddenly you are standing at the casting location and for the first time you meet 30, 40 or 50 other models. In cities like Milan there are sometimes up to 100, 200 models during the Fashion Week. This is where a young model quickly realizes how big the competition is. At this moment you as a model must not become shy or reserved, because you can see that in your facial expressions and gestures. But you want to radiate positive energy, joy and good mood! Then that’s exactly why clients book models. Of course there are also jobs where you have to put on a serious face as a model, but backstage at the production the teams always have fun and therefore want positive people on the production set.

The second tip is definitely: Never forget to smile. Especially after a long day, with many castings and many models you have met as marketing or creative director, I personally notice again and again how refreshing a smile can be. Especially when five candidates in front of you had a serious look, it is a simple smile with which you can attract additional attention.

Tip number three is, as always, preparation! If you prepare well for a model casting, if you know what the job will be about, you have already done a lot. If you are then spontaneously asked a question like “why do you want to model for our brand?” you should have a good answer ready. In addition, when casting, you should make sure that you appear as natural as possible. For models this means no make-up, no styling, simple black clothes. Female models should also wear a black bikini and high heels, also in black. These are my tips for your next casting, maybe I’ll see you sometime.

Editor -Thank you very much for the answers!

Video – Commercial for Nike with Louisa and Lisa @ CM Models

CM Models – Model agency & Become a model

Learn what it means to become a model!

• Become a model – Advisor on CM Models
• Become a model interview – XXL interview in FIV Magazine – Modeling in New York, Paris & Co
• CM Models – model agency

Automatic image editing in Photoshop: Video Tutorial

The principle is relatively simple: We instruct Photoshop to record an action, save it and reproduce it later. At the end of the video there is a special tip for fast image SEO (search engine optimization).

Open action window to create new batch processes

To open the action window, go to the “Window” menu item in the main menu, there you will find “Actions”. The window will then open in Photoshop, just like you already have layers or characters from the default settings on your screen. The action window is built up in the same way as the layers. You have different groups, here called “set”, that “layer symbol” provides a new “action”. So we can create a new sentence, e.g. for a certain customer or a project, in this sentence we then store different automations.

We open a new sentence, call it customer XY and then start a new action, we call it e.g. “Compress > JPG > w1080”.

In the next step, everything must be in place. To save changes, you should think carefully about the process in advance of automation. For simple animations this is still relatively easy but as I described in my article about the production of jewelry product images for online shops through automation, such automation can become very complex and also require the rewriting of certain Photoshop scripts, e.g. to name images according to article numbers in dependencies of databases. But let’s come back to our simple example!

Howto: Now we start with the action

We create our sentence and start our action. With a click on the “layer symbol”, we start. First a small new window appears in which you have to enter the name of the action. I always recommend a title here, which indicates exactly what happens during the action (as above).

“Compress > JPG > w1080” stands for

• Compression
• Save as JPG
• With a width of 1080 pixels

Start action: open photo, resize and save

From now on you should work exactly, we open the first picture in Photoshop. Next, we change the image size, either through the main menu “Image”, “Change Image Size” or through the shortcut Ctrl + Alt + I. The image size is now fixed, e.g. to 1080 pixels in width. Thus our picture is sharp on desktop as well as on tablet and mobile and in addition relatively small.

Next we save the image compressed “For Web and Devices”, here again the reminder for my tutorial for Photoshop image compression. Now we define a folder in which all images from this action are saved each time. Also in the future! For this I have e.g. always an export folder, in which everything comes in again, then I always know where each action goes. All export images of the action and others usually run into one folder. We now go to Save, we set the quality to 40%, and JPG. This way, our images are usually compressed to 5 to 10% of their original size and are therefore much more relevant for search engine optimization than others. For example, if we have an image collection on a homepage, our site will load 10 to 20 times faster than competing sites. A clear market advantage in search engine positioning. Now the image is closed either via “File” and “Close” in the main menu or via the shortcut Ctrl + W. Our image is now not saved. Afterwards we end the action on the “Stop Button” in our action bar.

The batch processing or the action is now saved.

We now delete the one test image from our folder and can start with our automation!

Done! Now we come to the automatic processing of the photos

To start the automation, we go to the main menu and select “File,” “Automate,” “Batch”. There we now select our respective sentence and the action. Our new action should already be selected automatically. In the next step, we select only our source folder, where do the files come from? In our example, the folder where we have all our press photos, trade fair photos or other. If we now press Okay, all the photos will be processed one by one, completely automatically and saved in the folder.

Extreme time saving with Photoshop!

The batch processing and automation in Photoshop masters, saves extremely much time. From my own experience, I can report that it allows you to beat whole teams at project assignments. As in my article on Photoshop automation for jewelry online images, you can create tens of thousands of files that look ultra realistic, whether they are bronze, silver, or gold. But even the basics are enough, like this batch processing in image size and compression, with 100 images it easily saves an entire working day for an employee. All this with a time investment of 10 minutes. Have fun trying, learning and improving!

Extra tips for batch processing: Watermarks and different formats

1. Tip! This tutorial also works with watermarks or logos that should be displayed in videos. Just grab a photo, change the image size and insert the logo. The rest of the process is completely the same. When you start the automation, every single photo gets not only the image resizing but also the logo in the place where you intended it to be placed.
2. Tip! Make sure to separate portrait and landscape images when placing a logo, for example. Because Photoshop needs the same basics, e.g. if the format of the image changes, as well as in portrait and landscape format, the logos will be placed wrongly, if they are e.g. at the edge. Here you have to make sure that the logo can be used together with both portrait and landscape images.

Image SEO after batch processing

At the end of the video there is a special tip for quick picture SEO! After Google has changed its guidelines and images, after the image search, again provide a direct link to your own website, search engine optimization for images and photos plays a more important role again.

• Gimbal on Amazon

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Pivoting stabilizer can be bought on the Internet: My field report

If you have booked models and have only one or two hours time for a customer, or for a shooting, then it depends on absolute perfection. Often for photo shootings or video productions a test is done in advance to make sure that the quality is right on the day of production. Here it is not only about testing the light, but also about angles, technology and locations. For a World Cup shooting we even booked 13 test models, just for the light test. Because especially in group pictures not only the single protagonist plays a role, but also different persons, who perform different movements, have different facial expressions and cast individual shadows. If a lot of people sprint off, the picture has to fit, because stars don’t have much time, just like customers!

Test report! Zhiyun Crane 2 Gimbal

Not only I am convinced, here you can see another recommendation from Stephan Wiesner on Youtube:

Video Shooting: Why Image Stabilization? Why Zhiyun Crane 2?

In the current case, we had the challenge of creating sports videos for YouTube for a fitness fashion brand. Of course Sport Videos also has a lot of running scenes and the cameraman has to run a few meters with races. The whole thing can be done with a camera in your hand, but then you won’t get a 100% qualitative picture. If you want to achieve this 100%, you need additional technology. Here we go, the classic search for recommendations and ratings on the Internet.

Three days ago I was on the road for the first time and read up a bit on the Internet about the latest models and methods that exist on the subject of camera stabilization. We currently use Sony and sometimes (for social media productions) Canon. It is important: The system must be compatible with both camera manufacturers. Sometimes even an iPhone is used! First of all I found a model that will be available soon, especially for mobile phones, also a pretty exciting trend! With the Mini Gimbal you can then easily put on the iPhone and combine the good video quality of the iPhone with a straight and smooth camera movement. This is especially practical because you save the “heavy” camera. In many cases you don’t even need a big camera or camera technology, especially when it comes to social media shootings or film productions for Youtube, Instagram, Facebook and so on. Unfortunately, this model will not be available until March 2018, which is still three months away and our next production is already next week.

Then finally I found a suitable model on Amazon, which also comes with Prime! Very advantageous, because we do not have that much time. Only two and a half stars, but recommended by a friend who works for FILA, SNIPES & Co. among others.

Ordered delivered, my new Gimbal Zhiyun Crane 2!

Fresh from the box and still with the typical “new smell”, my gimbal finally arrives. And already the first production or the first test, a complete success! Soon I will show you here the finished videos of our production, so you can see how the gimbal is in use. But from experience I can only recommend the gimbal, because it offers several advantages!

1. 1. Follow Focus (track people in motion)
   2. OLED Display (good visibility day and night)

• With motor (compared to “cheap” models the ultimate advantage!)

Combine the gimbal with different camera models from Sony to Canon

The gimbal is multifunctional and can be adapted to different camera systems like different tripods as well as Canon and Sony. Both are extremely popular with photographers! Most of the photographers I know now take pictures with a Sony camera. We did our test directly with a Sony and were absolutely thrilled. The cameras are quick to set up and the system is really quick to understand. Actually you can go straight out, put a memory card in the camera and off you go.

How does a gimbal system work?

The explanation would be in writing very long and not very descriptive, so I have a great video (English) for you here, that in only ten minutes everything important is considered and clearly presented. Here you can see the Zhiyun Crane 2 in action!

For a professional stabilization you have to invest about 800 €, as a self-employed person you can demand the VAT back at the end. This leaves a net investment of about 650 €, which is extremely worthwhile. Already with the first video production the investment costs have already been recouped and the customer is even more satisfied (promised), because the camera quality is increased by a considerable amount in moving image recordings.

If you still have questions about the Gimbal System, please write the comments!

• Gimbal on Amazon

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