If you want to be a model and you aren’t sure how to start an instinct might be to go to the Internet. Which isn't a bad idea considering it is so easy to start on the web. It isn't bad idea if your small town doesn’t suffice to give you a good feeling about getting with a modeling agency but first I have some other hints that might help you to get your foot into the door since you should not rely on one source to get your ahead.

1. Understanding your look: When you don't have a modeling agency saying " yes yes your perfect" you need to know what are your best traits. The first thing to do is go to the mirror. Honestly check your self out and notice what parts of you could be sellable. Even your hands. Modeling isn’t just Playboy magazine or Vogue, it is shoe modeling, hair modeling, hand modeling, and to start self marketing yourself as a model you should know your strengths and accept what you are and aren’t.

2. Flip through some magazines. Magazines you like and want to be in. Get a feel for what is being used in ad campaigns, and editorials. What type of photos are being used in photo spreads and what type of posing is being done. Depending on the style of modeling you want to get into you will need to have knowledge on how to pose, how to move your body, how to be natural, and personable, for this I would rip out magazine editorials and ads which appeal to you and consider them textbook material for your next step. (I am still doing this today.)

3. I would then, to prepare for your first shoot, once you have an idea of the type of modeling you want to do, start to research on the Internet some local schools, colleges, and universities that have photo departments, or if you want to use the modeling forums and internet modeling websites then scout out photographers who submit to magazines and who have done quality work before. Or to work with a more experienced photographer without a budget of your own then you might need a creative tactic. For this you can use the Internet to research photographers from magazines, newspapers and editorial you have seen in magazines and start to get an idea of the type of work they have done and pursue them through email. There is no harm in asking a photographer if he considers test shooting, which means you will shoot with him/her and it will be of no cost to you or him/her and the images will be for both of you. Usually the photographer is testing out an idea and needs a model to practice on. But it can lead to serious work down the road if you sell your self as driven, honest, creative and striving.

The biggest mistake to make is to waste time on the wrong people and photographers who aren't as ambitious as you. So to solve this you need to be very picky but still full of ambition. As a freelance model, it all won’t happen over night so you need to

4. It isn't easy to marketing yourself at the start so I would get a website, You can get a cheap one made at www.siterightnow.com and get a portfolio so you can start building your book. Remember you will only get 2-3 shots for your book per shoot usually so start being picky about your looks and start planning to make a compcard. There is nothing wrong with selling yourself, talking about yourself, and letting people know your goals.

Remember: Modeling has more to do with your outward appearance but being ambitious can also lead you to a lot of work. If you want to get photos for free it is possible. I have never paid for photos, I have always approached photographers and got the shots I needed and you can too!

Isobella Jade is a petite model and author of Almost 5'4" -her petite modeling memoir and she living in New York City and for five years she was a freelance model and acting as her own agent most of the time.

She has been featured on Media Bistro, The New York Post Pulse, Page Six, Advertising Age, Yahoo news, Yahoo Yodel, Gawker, The bookstandard, Fashion Television and magazines nationally and internationally. She has been modeling since 2001. She is the author of Almost 5'4" Confessions of an Unconventional Model, which she is shopping to make into a film. She went to New York Institute of Technology and has her bachelors’ in Advertising and Marketing.