By: Kristina Anderson, Barbizon International

We are living in the era of the selfie! Selfies are one of the most popular picture types shared via social media. They are so popular, in fact, that the slang term “selfie” has been added to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. But is it ever appropriate for a professional model to use selfies in a professional setting?

Selfies are pictures typically taken with a camera phone and are generally not a great quality resolution. Unless an agency specifically says that selfies are allowed for submissions, it is a good idea to stick with standard polaroid/digital images taken by someone else.

If you can see your arm shooting the picture or, worse yet, a bathroom in the background of a picture taken in a mirror, it creates an impression that you don’t take modeling seriously. Pictures for use in submissions don’t have to be professional, but they do need to be taken in a clean space with an actual camera by someone else.

On the other hand, models do need to spend time marketing themselves. Often models will take selfies as a way to share behind the scenes pictures with their friends, family and followers. Social media is a perfectly acceptable place to post selfies that  show your personality, however you will want to be sure that if you use your social accounts to keep in touch with industry connections that you stay conscientious of the environment of your pictures and how often you want to post selfies in lieu of sharing actual working images.

Fashion designers are starting to turn to social media as a means to find new faces. Designer Marc Jacobs previously ran a campaign on Instagram to find a new model by encouraging people to submit a photo or selfie and using #CastMeMarc in the description.  Even model agencies are starting to jump on social search train. Models 1 agency in the United Kingdom partnered with shopping retailer ASOS to search for a new plus model where selfies can be submitted via Instagram using #MakeMeACurveModel in the description.

It’s up to you when and how you share selfies during your modeling career, just be sure to use good judgement and remember that if you want to be viewed as a professional, you need to look and act like a professional!Interested in learning more about Barbizon’s modeling program? Contact us today to schedule an audition.