Just Take More Digitals

Today I took updated modeling photos (called "digitals" or "polaroids/polas" in Europe) so that I can apply to some casting calls and agencies. And it only just hit me that nothing is stopping me from taking new ones every week, if I wanted to. 

Basically, your digitals showcase what you look like in your natural state: no styling or makeup, in a basic outfit, in a few different poses (full-length, up-close, profile, etc.). Extremely simple in theory, but I've hit a few roadblocks over the years: couldn't afford to have a professional take them; didn't have a clean, blank wall to take them on; difficulty taking them myself because I didn't have a tripod; etc. 

These godforsaken photos have been a major bottleneck for me. Thus far, I've been fine without good ones; the modeling I have done has not been hindered by the poor quality of my digitals. But I've also never managed to get signed to a modeling agency—which would get me actual paid work, rather than mostly-unpaid runway work—and the bulk of one's application to said agencies is your digitals. 

Last year, I thought I finally solved this problem. Our neighbor is a photographer and has a studio, and boom, he could take the photos for me! They were more professional than I had ever had before, so I thought for sure they were "good." Months later I was still using the same photos, except now when I attached them to applications, I thought, "Hmm, my hair's a bit longer now, maybe I should make a note of that..." as I slowly realized that that's exactly what digitals are for, to show precisely what you look like right now. 

I also realized that just because photos are taken with a professional camera doesn't mean that makes them automatically good as digitals. Digitals are supposed to showcase your potential as a model, and mine were showcasing my nerves and inexperience in front of a camera. Well, no, not exactly—my inexperience taking digitals specifically. Modeling is easier for me, because wearing a whacky or avant-garde outfit means I can inhabit a character, and feels like permission to express loudly without embarrassment. But digitals are explicitly not a character; it's just me. That felt much more vulnerable and scary.

It took me until today to realize the solution to all of this: simply take more digitals. Then they would be more up-to-date than if I only took them once a year, and in the process, I'd get more and more practice taking them, thus they'd get better every time. 

It feels quite silly to have taken this long to realize this. I'm sure the standard recommendation is to take digitals again every few months, but for some reason I have to learn things my way. It may take much longer, but it does feel quite satisfying to finally discover things when I do. 

Time will tell if agencies like these digitals any better (I just applied to five). 

If not? Oh well, I'll take new ones in a month. 

My new and improved digitals, that I will try to not get attached to, now that I plan to retake them in a month.