How to Become a Male Model

If
you're thinking about how to become a male model, the first step you
need to take is to determine whether or not you qualify.  Male models
must be tall (over six feet two is the average), attractive,
well-built, and photogenic.  It may surprise you to know that the
physical criteria for male models are even more stringent than for
female models, because shorter women or heavier women can find work as
petite models or plus sized models, but at this time no similar
categories exist for men. 

Being photogenic, which
means photographing well, is extremely important for how to become a
male model.  You can be attractive but if you don't photograph well
you'll never get work.  In order to determine this, you need to hire a
professional photographer to help you put together a portfolio.  The
portfolio should consist of both headshots with a variety of smiling
and serious expressions, and full body shots in poses where you're
wearing nice clothing.  Make sure the photographs are varied and show
your ability not only to make the clothes look good but to create a
mood. 

The next step in how to
become a male model is to determine what type of male model you want to
be.  There are runway and print male models that showcase menswear
lines in fashion shows and fashion magazine editorials and
advertisements.  There are also male models who work in catalogs, male
models who work in commercials, and male models who specialize in
underwear.  (In fact, many of the most famous male models started out
as underwear models, and it's one of the largest branches in male
modeling today). 

If you want to know how to
become a male model in the fashion realm, you'll have to go to a city
that's fashion oriented that is home to many modeling agencies.  The
three cities with the most modeling agencies in the United States are
New York, Los Angeles and Miami, roughly in that order, so it would
benefit you greatly to visit one of them and take your portfolio to
agencies that deal with male models.  Some other major cities like San
Francisco, Chicago, Tampa and Dallas also have a decent modeling
presence, so if one of those is local you can try there first, but if
you want to get far in your career you'll probably have to move to one
of the top three. 

An exception to this
advice on how to become a male model is if you're primarily interested
in commercials.  Most major metropolitan areas have modeling or talent
agencies that work in this realm and if you're satisfied with working
locally, you can become a male model through this route.   

The final step in how to
become a male model is to visit lots of modeling agencies and show them
your professional looking portfolio.  If you don't succeed with one,
keep trying until you get your foot in the door or are told
definitively that you don't cut it as a male model.  Different agencies
will have different needs at different times.