In this instructional video, Aaron Marcus shares two actionable strategies for actors seeking commercial modeling work and provides additional industry insights. He first distinguishes commercial modeling from fashion modeling, emphasizing its inclusivity across ages, body types, and locations. The first tip advises creators to build portfolio images that resemble real advertisements—showing varied looks, scenarios, and emotions without using brand logos—to attract casting directors. He illustrates this with examples ranging from fitness to pharmaceutical “sick” shots. The second tip stresses using acting skills to convey layered, authentic emotions during shoots, encouraging models to draw on personal experiences to inform expressions. Marcus demonstrates this with a detailed lottery‑ad scenario, showing how to ask casting directors about the win amount and then substitute a personal memory (a grand‑slam baseball moment) to generate a genuine reaction. He also discusses practical union considerations: the need for waivers, paymaster fees (often $800+), and the added complexity when video is involved. While acknowledging low‑pay jobs, he explains their strategic value for building a diverse attire sheet and future higher‑pay opportunities. The video concludes with a call for community sharing of tips, a promise of a bonus clip about the reality of being on set, and encouragement to spread the information to fellow actors and models.
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In this video, I'm going to be sharing with you 2 proven tips that get actors commercial modeling jobs. And watch this to the end, I've got a great bonus video for you. It's what it's really like being an actor on a set. Okay, let's get started. Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus, and welcome to the Acting and Modeling Quick Tips channel and the Actor Career Center. Just a couple days ago, I had a really fun commercial modeling And it made me think, you know what, I want to share this information with you because a lot of people don't really know about commercial modeling. And as soon as people hear about modeling, they immediately think about fashion. Now, fashion is a whole other world. Men are going to be between 6 feet and 6 feet 2. They're going to be a size 40 jacket. Women are going to be between 5'9 and 6 feet tall. Their measurements are going to be 34-24-34. And you have to have a very specific look, and you have to be living in an area where there is serious fashion modeling. New York, Paris, LA, could be Chicago, and there are other— Milan. There are other areas throughout the world. For commercial modeling, it's everybody, all different types. 3-month-old kids, 80-year-old folks, people in great shape, people who aren't in great shape. So the very first tip— oh, and let me also just explain, you see commercial models everywhere. We are in magazines, brochures, newspapers, buses, posters and billboards, websites. We're all over the place, and you literally can live anywhere. and get commercial modeling jobs. But they're hard to get. They really are. And that's why I want to share these 2 tips with you. Number one, when you are beginning the process of trying to become a commercial model, you want to get commercial modeling work. Here's one of the problems that people run into, and this is what I ran into as well when I first got started because I didn't have a clue. As to what I needed to do. And I did like what most people do. You go to a photographer and you say, I want to put together some commercial shots. And typically the photographer will create a really good, technically sharp-looking photograph, but it might not be a strong commercial modeling shot that stands out And can get you work and get you noticed. So here's, here's the trick. Instead of just— let's say you look like a businesswoman. So instead of, you know, maybe, you know, standing on the corner, sitting in an office holding a cell phone in your hand and looking like a business person, create a shot that looks like an ad. Make it look like It can be an actual ad for a company, a product, organization without using any logos or brand names because that could cut you out of work with competitors. And also the companies wouldn't be thrilled having you use their logo or brand name without their permission. So make the shots look like an ad. And I have Some videos on the channel where you can learn more about that. You can also go to my website, howtoactandmodel.com, and look at the videos there, the premium videos, and you'll find a really helpful one for you that you can watch. And just to give you another example, let's say you think that you're really good at looking sick. And because a lot of times people think for modeling, your commercial modeling, I just want to look beautiful, I want to look really handsome. Well, the majority of the jobs that pay the most are either going to be insurance or pharmaceuticals. So maybe do a shot, you know, one where you're looking great. Maybe you are an aerobics teacher or you're teaching Pilates and it shows your body type, shows that you're in great shape. And you might also, for somebody else, let's say you are a guy and you're not in great shape. So maybe think of a pharmaceutical shot where you've got a stomachache, you feel horrible, and you've got a temperature. You're sitting on a couch, you've got a thermometer, and you look miserable. So the point is, the first tip is make shots that look like ads, show a wide variety. of expressions and emotions. Second tip, you want to use your acting skills. You don't want to just look like a model. That's not interesting. You want to show a wide variety of different layers of expressions and emotions, especially when you're being shot. So that way, when the photographer, you know, is finished with the session, There'll be lots of choices. You don't want to just give the same look over and over and over and over again. So use your acting skills. If there's a shot where you're feeling miserable, well then tap into real experiences where you felt miserable and show it. And once again, show different types of, of looks of feeling horrible. Something else that I do, and this also has to do with The second tip. I've done a number of lottery ads, and when I've gone to a go-see, whether I shoot it at home, I will ask ahead of time. Or for the times when I actually went to a casting director's office or the photographer's studio, you know, I'll walk in there. I know it's a lottery, and I always ask, what are you looking for? And typically a photographer might say, well, hey, you're happy you hit the lottery. And sometimes they kind of think, boy, that seems like an odd question. To me, it's essential, it's crucial. Then I follow it up and I say, okay, so I'm happy I hit the lottery. How much did I win? Without that information, how could you possibly give the look that they are needing? Did you win $100? Okay, that's nice, but it's a dinner. Did you win $100,000? That's phenomenal. It's probably not life-changing, but it's really great and it will make life easier for quite some time. Or are we talking about hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars? Now that is truly life-changing. And then what I do is this, because I've never actually experienced winning— no, I've never won, I don't think, over $10 playing the lottery, which I only do every once in a while if I'm traveling with my family and we'll do scratch-offs in the car or something. It's fun. And just the process of talking about what we would do with the winnings To me, that's, that's the enjoyment, that's the investment. I really don't think I'm going to win. But, you know, if I get something that's, let's say, $250,000 or above, I have no idea. I can't tap into real experiences in my life where I've won that kind of money. So here's what I do. Once again, I'm using my acting training, and I think of an experience that has nothing to do with a lottery, but it would give me the same feeling. So for me, what I always go to is I used to be a baseball player, and when I was playing on an all-star team— I was a kid, but I was on an all-star team— and, uh, we're playing a game, we're losing, I hit a grand slam, and we wound up winning the game. So I slightly look away from the camera. So if this is the shot and the photographer's looking at me, the camera's right on me, I will slightly turn away, and I'll actually— I'll say to the photographer, could I, could I just have a second? Slightly turn away, and in a split second— I'm not doing a monologue away from the camera— but in a split second, I see the pitch, I see my swing, I see the ball going over the fence, I see the umpires doing this signaling, you know, home run. And when I hit home plate and everybody's jumping up all over me, that is my $250,000 ad And above lottery look. So instead of doing what most people do, and they just, you know, they just kind of play it out like a model, and they'll do, you know, something like that, which I would never buy in a second. So what I do— and I'm not going to do it full-blown here because I'd probably break a speaker— but what I would do is I would look away, and I see all that stuff happening in a second, and then I go, wow! And I just scream. I will literally scream. It makes it feel real. The camera buys it. And so once again, I use my acting skills. So that's, that's the second tip I want to share with you. There is one other thing that just popped up. I don't know, maybe I should save this for a whole other— I, I'm just going to give it to you right now. So it's a little bit more complicated for union actors to do commercial modeling jobs today. Because a lot of photo shoots have video connected with it. And if you're following union rules, you've got to sign a waiver, you've got to send a portion through a paymaster who— that's the company. Like, whenever you do a union acting job, it goes through a paymaster. They collect the money, they take out the taxes, they send the pension stuff to the union office. They make sure that everything is handled properly union-wise. Same thing is going to have to happen if you are cast in a modeling job but they're shooting video and you're in the union, if you're going to follow the rules, which I do. And so it's a little bit more complicated, and the fee has to be probably at least $800 or more to make it viable for you unless you're willing to take a hit and maybe not make anything on the job but still do it. And by the way, on a little bit of a side note, I've done plenty of low-paying commercial modeling jobs which I was very happy to do because— and look, once again, I never tell people what they should or shouldn't do. This is just how I run my business. I know that a commercial modeling attire sheet from the job could get me a whole lot more work. So maybe I'm not making very much on this particular job, but it might be really helpful to me in the future. And what better way to introduce yourself to a photographer or maybe people from an ad agency who, assuming they're going to like my work, they'll think of me for a future project, maybe one that pays a lot more. So anyhow, for this particular job that I just did, I had to say And everything through the paymaster, and it's much more complicated because there was video shot. And but it, it all worked out and it was great. So hey, you guys tell me if, if you have any tips, anything that will be helpful to us on how to get commercial modeling work, please share it here so we can learn from you. And if you like the information, also share it with fellow actors and models so that way we can continue building a great community of talent who are learning from each other and helping each other. I did promise I was going to share a bonus video for you, uh, what it's really like being an actor on a set. Here you go, uh, click there. And I hope this was really helpful to you, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya.
