Pixie Magazine  sat down with Barbizon grad and successful model Melody Woodin to get a glimpse into her fabulous model life. Check out the article here.\r\n\r\nA Model Life\r\n\r\nMelody Woodin, Barbizon model, gives Pixie readers the scoop on how to become a model.\r\n\r\nPixie: So where to start?\r\n\r\nMW: You just shouldn’t jump into anything. I approached a local and reputable agency in my area, which was Barbizon in Philadelphia. Barbizon gave me a lot of the information I needed to know and they helped me get the proper connections in other, bigger areas, such as New York, Milan and Paris. They were my base. You need to find a local but reputable agency that helps you make bigger decisions.\r\n\r\nPixie: Do you have to be super skinny?\r\n\r\nMW: There’s a market for everything, so never, ever should you be concerned with changing yourself, what you look like or who you are. If you think you are too tall, too short, overweight or underweight, there is a market for everything. You could be a foot model, you could be a hand model, you could be a runway model, you could be a sports model. It’s really important to stay true to who you are instead of trying to change yourself for the market. You should find the market that best appeals to who you are.\r\n\r\nPixie: Do you need to show up with photographs in your hands?\r\n\r\nMW: Absolutely not. I go on castings now – and I’ve been modeling for seven years – and they don’t want to see your book. They want to see you in person. They want to see your personality, because with makeup, lighting, hair and styling, they can create the look they want for the particular job. They just want to know what you look like as yourself.\r\n\r\nPixie: How do you know if a place is reputable or not?\r\n\r\nMW: I did a lot of research online. I talked to a lot of people. I went in for meetings. I wasn’t afraid to ask questions. I really shopped around.\r\n\r\nPixie: What did you get out of modeling?\r\n\r\nMW: It’s just given me confidence – and not in a cocky way. I was 6 feet tall by the time I was 16 and as thin as a pole, so I grew up not liking who I was physically. All of a sudden, I entered this world that was full of girls of all shapes and sizes; it made me feel confident and therefore good about myself.\r\n\r\nPixie: Do you have to be a certain age?\r\n\r\nMW: There is no cut off. They are looking for kids of all ages, all varieties and ethnicities. For example, for the high fashion New York scene, where you do the runway, I started when I was 18 and I felt that was a good age. I met girls who were 16 and who were 24. There is a good variety.\r\n\r\nPixie: Is the money really good?\r\n\r\nMW: The money is good, but the down side is that it’s not as stable as a lot of careers. You never really know when you next job is coming. You constantly go on castings. You may get paid great for one job, but they also have rights to use those pictures for six months, so in a way you are getting paid for six months, not just for the day. It’s all relative.\r\n\r\nPixie: Is there still a height requirement?\r\n\r\nMW: No. Runway models will always be taller, but there is such variety of modeling these days. Not everything is on the runway; not everything is done in the studio, so height is no longer a huge factor.\r\n\r\nPixie: Is modeling a good way to get into acting?\r\n\r\nMW: It would be a great way. They are two completely different careers. One doesn’t necessarily have to lead to the other, but I have plenty of friends who have done commercials or movies. I think the two fields are different, but absolutely related. It’s a good way to get comfortable being in front of a camera and in front of lots of people who are just looking at you.\r\n\r\n