A Day With Naima Mora & @pierces550

I had the pleasure of meeting season 4 America's next top model winner Naima Mora at an event held in Buffalo. I attended with @pierces550 and had the chance to ask a few questions to her and her co hosts.

The event consisted of a time for models to take photos with some professional photographers in front of backdrops, talks by Naima and two other local successful speakers, one on one time with Naima critiquing each models runway walk and giving tips on how to take better photos, and a time to mingle and eat some good food together.

A Few Tips From Naima For Any Aspiring Models Reading This Post

Loosening Up With A Little Fun Jumping Shots

Tips On Photos Using A Chair Or Other Props

Modeling Accessories Focusing On Hands

I'm no model, so for me the best advice came from the questions I was able to ask regarding social media, time management and some of the best advice that was given to Naima

• If you don't have a social media presence for your brand, you will have an extremely difficult time getting your product off the ground.
• Be confident in yourself. You can't worry about how others perceive you.
• Manage your time and set goals. Most used their smartphone to put in times and events or phone calls they needed to make. If you don't have a goal, you won't reach it and will spend a lot of time floundering around aimlessly.
• Put a picture of your goal somewhere where you will see it daily. On a mirror, as your phone or computer background, on your steering wheel etc.
• Figure out if checklists overwhelm you or motivate you. Depending on your personality, you may have to tweak your goals and how you reward yourself.
• Sometimes you will need to make sacrifices (hanging out with friends, saving money etc.) to reach your goals
• This is a simple one but extremely important. "HAVE FUN!" If you aren't enjoying any aspect of what you are doing, you will burn out, regardless of how much money you make.



There was a lot more and I know @pierces550 will be covering a bit soon and show her own time with Naima, including Naima's praise of her runway skills and some cool photos showing her and Naima looking at photos together.

Overall I had an awesome time and it's a lot of fun to see people just starting out modeling learning the ropes, to more experienced models all in the same place having fun and learning together.

You can find out more about Naima HERE She didn't come from a family with a lot of money and truly started from the bottom and made a name for herself. Her hard work is paying off, and she has a clothing line, does public speaking, and is a published author and music artist.

Those on instagram (if you're a model, it is highly recommended to have a presence here) can find Naima's page account HERE

She's a very sweet down to earth woman and unlike some models who tend to treat people behind the scenes as lessers, she has fun on set and even brings chocolate to share with others. Definitely recommend her book (which @pierces550 got as part of her package deal with her ticket) It's available on Amazon HERE



Stay tuned for the article @pierces550 will be posting soon if you enjoyed this article and wish to see the viewpoint from someone who is actually a model and how what she learned and was inspired by.