By Josalyn Perez
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Local Baltimore models have learned to adapt to the new modeling industry via online communication apps.
As several continue to work from home, the modeling industry has found creative ways to do photoshoots.
In July 2020, Javiera De Pozo, 25, worked with an underwear brand, Parade, via FaceTime. She said the photoshoot consisted of her posing in front of her phone in her apartment as the photographer took screenshots.
De Pozo looked on the bright side and said that the pandemic allowed the modeling industry to show a more natural life of a model.
“I think it helps people see how we really are on the day-to-day,” De Pozo said.
She recalls working with Route 21, a clothing brand. De Pozo said she had to do her own makeup because everyone wanted to have a safe work environment.
Makeup artists are now given a separate area where they could work with the model, De Pozo said.
De Pozo has also had to do castings via Zoom.
“It is so robotic,” De Pozo said. “I feel like I was preparing for a 10-second meeting.”
In-person meetings allows the model to show their personality and get remembered for their confidence, De Pozo said. “I miss the in-person castings.”
For several people around the world, they had to shut down their business or stop working due to the pandemic. De Pozo is grateful that she was able to work with brands and do other influencer projects to keep her afloat during the pandemic.
“If modeling was my only source of income, I would’ve had nothing,” De Pozo said.
Jordynn Richards, 21, a student at Towson University, has not had any modeling experience prior to the pandemic. She was signed by one of her agencies in October of 2020.
“Everything I have done so far has been online or in-person with safety measures,” Richards said.
During photoshoots, she is the only one without a mask but everyone else must keep theirs on, Richards said. “There is always social distancing and once I arrive home, I self quarantine.”
“The industry is definitely taking it more seriously,” Richards said.
According to Ty Pike, a model agent for Nova Management, every production is different.
“The larger productions require everyone to have a negative COVID test prior to the shoot,” Pike said. “Some smaller productions take the word of the model that they haven’t been exposed, tested positive, or are feeling the least bit sick.”
The modeling industry has had to adapt to these new circumstances, and many have found ways to continue their creativity.
“I think the fashion industry is always the quickest to evolve and to adjust to the world,” Pike said.
Even though both models have adapted to the “new norm,” they hope everything goes back to normal.
“I hope I get the chance to experience all of this in person,” Richards said.
As others find their audience on OnlyFans, models have been using social media to their advantage.
“Being an influencer allowed me to meet more people who were in the modeling industry,” De Pozo said.
She met the agency she currently works for on Instagram. “We were following each other for a while before I submitted my photos,” De Pozo said.
“Just having an Instagram puts you out there,” De Pozo said. Richards agrees that Instagram has helped her make connections with photographers and agencies.
Richards was contacted by Nova Management on Instagram, which is currently one of the agencies she works for. She got signed by the agency in November 2020.
She has been able to have some in-person photoshoots, but it was not until a couple of weeks ago that she met her agent in-person.
She said that until recently, she was communicating with him via Zoom, text and phone calls.
“I was glad to finally put a face to the voice,” Richards said.