By Sophies.model – 3 March 2024
Sophies.model – How it all started
2024 brought some new ideas to the table for Sophies.model… In 2023, I found myself making contacts with various photographers to create some content, during which I received some positive feedback regarding my looks, presence, and vibe. At this age, I never really thought about pursuing being a model as such, but curiosity got the better of me. Can Sophies.model, a woman over 40 become a model? How do you even go about it? How much money is in modelling?
So, this is the story of a journey that tries to answer these questions. Hoping I will keep my pride and self-confidence, and even if I fail, I do it with grace and dignity 😊
The Preconceptions:
- I need to build a portfolio with as little investment as possible.
- I have zero network in the modelling world and very little knowledge about the industry itself.
- Talent is everywhere, and networking is great.
- My husband is a good writer. Can we turn this into a blog?
All these thoughts led to the first step, which was creating a Facebook and Instagram profile and registering in some TFCD (Time for CD) groups in Hungary on Facebook, where I built up the courage to post about the idea.
Sophies.model – An overwhelming response
The number of responses from photographers around the country was overwhelming. I was so surprised how open people are to creating something with a woman of my age. And surprisingly not as many trolls as I expected 😊
Two main comments that came up regularly were that many prefer working with my age group because of reliability (i.e., we turn up to an agreed appointment), and also many have commented that the appearance is more unique than the ever so fashionable average look of a 20-something. This had me also thinking about the market. After all, the spending force is indeed in our generation. We are established and have the buying power of products that companies would want to sell. And with the world becoming more accepting in every area, age positivity is also a movement that is more present in some countries than others.
Sophies.model – The Creativity
This initiative on its own already brought so many other ideas and projects along: I was contacted by other women of my age feeling empowered and interested to work with me and be part of the project, makeup artists and stylists reaching out, and even some invites through word of mouth presented some surprising opportunities. So expanding beyond my personal challenge, we are now thinking of widening our horizon to showcase others in this project and maybe venture to other countries to see if we can do the same. I guess this is what happens when you put your mind to something, energies start flowing, and ideas blossom.
Going back to the original focus of this project, I managed to down-select 9 photographers to work with in various locations of the country, and a plan started to form. With the good weather coming, why don’t we try to reach these destinations by motorcycle? My husband could combine documenting the behind-the-scenes activities with a bike blog he was looking forward to starting anyway.
Sophies.model – The Portfolio
And now here we are, trying to tick all the boxes from above to make this work. With the collaboration of these wonderful applicants, we should have a portfolio of pictures for practically free, while building up a network and through these professionals coming together, I am learning more and more about the industry. Currently, I am busy arranging dates, organizing topics for the shoots, that are unique for each, and working on aligning other talents like makeup artists and stylists wherever we possibly can. Our first shoot on the 22nd of February kick-started the project and you can find the blog post about that on our site: ragthered.com/blogs
Follow us on this journey and see if we can do this. Can I be a model and make money from it even after passing the average sell-by date of a model? Will this journey lead to other discoveries and forge connections I never imagined I will have? Life is full of surprises, let’s flow with it!
