By: Kristina Anderson, Barbizon International

It may seem pretty obvious but it needs to be said: A big part of modeling is mastering facial expressions. Let’s say you’re going to your first photo shoot. The photographer is there to help guide you “Smile – now laugh – now serious…” now what?

There are hundreds of different ways to smile and studies have found that when communicating with others, only 7% of a person’s attitude is conveyed through their words. Most of how people perceive your attitude is in your tone of voice and and in your nonverbal communication, namely your expressions and body language.

So as a model, knowing how to work with what you have is key. You can practice different expressions in the mirror to see what your face does with each small change. Practice smiling with your eyes and see how many emotions you can convey without saying one word.

Having practiced many different facial expressions and having the ability to give the photographer many different angles and looks will be extremely helpful during your career as a model. Also consider acting classes as a great way to learn how to break into character and utilize expressions to communicate.

Want to audition for Barbizon to start your journey into professional modeling? Contact us to schedule an audition!