When I was little, I wanted to become a model. Funny enough, I had no idea that modeling was a career.
Don’t judge me, I was just a kid.
One time, I told my parents ‘I’m going to be Miss World some day.’
Dear friends, now you know I’ve always been a dreamer since I was little.
Now that I’m grown, I realised that being a model is way complicated than I thought.
It looks all glamourous and shiny on the surface, but that’s not all about it.
My ex told me several times, of course, I didn’t want to believe it’s true.
I always acted like I knew about his job than he did. Well, now I know that I absolutely know nothing.
Personally, I feel photography and modeling have this relationship.
Or maybe, I still know nothing.
Anyways, just in case you have a dream of becoming a model, you need to know that the journey is not all sunshine and flowers.
Especially, in this country, oh Lorddd!
Alright, I’m about to digress for a minute or two (sorry!)
So one day, I was telling my roomies about how Nigeria has killed lot of talents.
It’s true though..
Also I’ve always wondered, ‘why is there nothing like part-time jobs for Nigerian students?’
Please, if you know the answer, let me know in the comment section.
What happened to our reality shows? And guys, I’m not talking about BBN.
What happened to Nigerian Idol?
Guilder Ultimate Search, OMG!!
Okay, I’ll stop now and let y’all remember the rest.
Do you remember, when the president declared the youths as lazy Nigerian youths?
You know what the president and everyone has forgotten?
Nigerian youths, like every other youths in the world, also need opportunities.
We are expected to face our books, read, pass exams, graduate from universities. But seriously, not everyone is gonna succeed in this life from all of that alone.
We, the youths, also need opportunities.
I know everyone out there is trying so hard, pushing themselves and trying to better themselves. No one has the right to judge anyone…NO ONE!
P.s. don’t give up. You got this. God got your back. Keep fighting!!!
Back to modeling and photography..
You know the first thing you gotta have to be a model, the body.
I feel like we overdo these things, because our models are extremely skinny.
You wanna be a model? Be ready to starve and be really unhealthy.
You have to put in mind, that you won’t always, eat what you want.
You can say goodbye to that chocolate and ice cream you like so bad.
Photographers are not helping models.
Most times, these photographers do not pay models. In fact, in most cases, it’s actually the opposite.
The models pay the photographers.
You don’t wanna pay? You can say farewell to your bomb photos.
Most of these photographers think they are doing these models a favor, by making them play muse and stuffs.
Honestly, models gotta eat. Give him or her some money, she can’t eat the photos!
This thing is strategy guys..
Rub my back, and I’ll rub your back.
Photographers love to try new concepts from time to time, to do this, they need models.
Models on the other hand, they have to take a lot of pictures, to give themselves some exposure.
I don’t blame the Photographers, after all, they gotta eat too.
Another thing I realised from personal experience- models do not get changed in nice places all the time.
Sometimes, when there’s a gig, models might have to get changed, inside a car or worse, inside a toilet.
If unlucky, then public toilet it is..
And how much do they get paid, to go through so much stress?
Very little!
Unless:
- You’ve been in the game for long
- You have connections
- You are the agency’s favourite
- You are Bella Hadid, Gigi Hadid, or Kendall Jenner.
When a model signs with an agency, it doesn’t mean the model has officially made it.
You start with small jobs, either get some little cash or nothing at all.
Should we talk about the pain, that comes with each weird pose a model has to make, in order to get that perfect shot?
I can’t bend my back for too long, else I’m gonna die.
The overall sad story, some people model for free.
Yes, even after signing with these agencies.
The hustle of photographers isn’t that different.
Photographers come up with all these nice concepts, and at the end of the day, some of them still get really low pay.
Don’t forget, majority of these photographers are freelancers.
They are self-employed.
So, when no client shows up, there’s no money at all for the photographer.
There is no guaranteed income in photography.
If you are a freelance photographer without an assistant, you gotta do everything by yourself.
The hustle is real guys.
Sometimes, photographers get really unlucky..
They get hired to cover events in far places, getting there, and covering the job, they might not even be fed or given transport fee.
Dear Photographers, make sure to get paid, before going down to cover events.
Photography isn’t a dead career. You just have to put in a lot of work.
To some, modeling is all glitzy and glamorous.
To others, it is the opposite- no fame, no cash.
Also, a photographer’s career may be dead. Yup, dead!
While some photographers however, have made it in the industry.
That’s life people.
Some fail, some Succeed.
I wanna know…what’s your take on this?
You have something to say about everything or anything?
Don’t keep your opinions to yourselves, talk with Tayo in the comments below!
(Okay I don’t know why the comment section is missing…but you can please drop your thoughts on my previous post. God bless You!) And please, don’t forget to subscribe below!
Thank you my geeee🙈😭💕
Yayyyyy.. the comment section is back and all i want to say is YOU ARE BEEYOUTIIIFUUUUUUL🥵
Yayyyy🥰 the comment section is back🥵 and all I want to say is YOU ARE BEEYOUUTIIIFUUUL😍
Thank you so much! You are amazing ❤❤
Talk with Tayo 
Simply amazing!! Nicely penned and… You’re beautiful 🌹