A little career letter
Find Your Flow
find what moves you, one small step at a time
Vol. 5 · Saturday, June 20
Start here · the headline
Athletic & commercial model
Brands need real-looking, healthy, in-shape people for their ads, catalogs, and activewear, and that is exactly your lane. You have an athletic build, you are photogenic, and your multicultural look is one commercial and lifestyle clients actively want, because their ads have to look like everyone. The fitness side is your natural fit. It is gig work, not a salary, but for the right look it can pay well as a side income.
The lanes
More than one kind of work
There are a few directions inside this. Fitness and activewear is your natural lane: gyms, athletic apparel, supplement and wellness brands. Commercial and lifestyle is the bread and butter: catalog, e-commerce, local brands, and ads. Then there is promotional and event work, repping brands at events, and runway for fashion shows. You do not have to pick one, you lean into fitness and take the commercial work as it comes.
The money, straight up
Gig-based, ranges a lot
No sugarcoating. Pay is per job and all over the map. New models usually start with unpaid portfolio shoots (TFP, “time for print,” where you and a photographer trade work for images) to build a book. Once you are signed and booking, paid commercial, e-commerce, and fitness work can run from tens to a few hundred dollars an hour. But it is inconsistent and competitive, not a steady check. Think of it as a potentially well-paying side income, not a full-time job.
The lifestyle
Flexible, fun, good for you
The upside is real: flexible schedule, it is genuinely fun, it gets you in front of brands and builds a network, and standing in front of a camera does wonders for your confidence. The honest downside, so you go in eyes open: a lot of waiting around on set, plenty of rejection (it is rarely personal, just a look not fitting a job), and bookings come and go. That is exactly why it pairs best with a steadier main thing.
Your unfair advantage
Your stepdad is a pro photographer
This is the part most people pay real money for, and you get it free. Kevin (Berg Berg Photography) can shoot your digitals and your athletic portfolio shots, the front, profile, and full-length basics plus action shots out at a trail or the gym. That is literally his lane. A clean, professional starter book is the thing that gets agencies to look at you, and you have a built-in one. Huge head start.
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How to get started (the real rundown)
You do not need school for this, you need a few things in order. Here is the honest playbook.
1. The portfolio. You need two things. First, clean digitals: simple, natural, minimal-makeup phone-style shots, front, profile, and full-length, in fitted basics and in activewear, so agencies see exactly what you look like. Second, a few strong professional shots: a headshot, a full-length, and athletic or action shots. Then a comp card (a composite card with your best images plus your height and basic stats). The big head start: your stepdad Kevin (Berg Berg Photography) is a professional photographer, so he can shoot your digitals and your athletic portfolio, exactly the stuff most people pay good money for. Action shots out at a trail or the gym are right in his wheelhouse.
2. Agency vs. direct. Most paid commercial and fitness work comes through reputable agencies, who submit you to clients and take a commission when you book. You can also work direct or freelance for local brands and photographers (often TFP at first) to build the book. Both are useful, but agencies are how the real paid bookings come, so getting signed is the goal.
Start with Donna Baldwin ›3. Where to start in Denver. Three reputable, established agencies, apply through their own “get scouted / submit” pages: Donna Baldwin Agency (a long-running Denver agency with a dedicated Athletic and Fit models division, perfect for you), The Block Agency (Denver commercial and fashion models, simple apply page), and nxt|MODEL (commercial print, e-commerce, and fit modeling). Send the photos each one asks for and wait to hear back.
4. One number to know. A real agency makes money when you get booked, never from you. Read the scam-safety box right below before you reply to anyone. You are 19, so this rule is non-negotiable.
Scam safety (read this, it is the important one)
A legitimate agency pays you, you never pay them. That is the whole test. Real agencies make their money as a commission when you book a job, so they only win when you win.
Walk away from any “agency’’ that: asks for upfront fees to sign or be represented, requires you to pay for mandatory “classes” or “training,” or insists you use their photographer. If they lead with paid courses, that is the tell, that is the business, not modeling.
Two safety habits: bring someone (Mom, Kevin, a friend) to any meeting, and meet at the real office, not a hotel or a random spot. Quick gut check: nxt|MODEL even says on their own site that they charge no fees and never require training, that is what a real one looks like. When in doubt, send Mom the link before you reply.
Trying something is not committing to it forever. The worst case here is a few fun photos and a story. The only thing that keeps you stuck is choosing nothing.
Made with love, just for you. Reply any time and we will chase down whatever sparks your interest. xo