Today we’d like to introduce you to Laney Ward.
Laney, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’m 16 yrs old and currently in my Junior year of Highschool. I grew up in the small town of Guthrie, Oklahoma, with my older brother and our mom, who raised us both completely on her own. I mainly focused on school and sports (softball/cheerleading) growing up. When I was younger, my Mom had set up a few photoshoots here and there with some of her friends who were aspiring photographers. After those opportunities, which were mainly family photos, I realized how much I liked modeling. However, living in a small town, there were not many opportunities for me to take on modeling as seriously as I wanted to. My mom worked really hard to give us everything we needed, but we just didn’t have a lot of extra money or extended opportunities in that small town. In December 2019, I relocated, from Oklahoma to North Dallas, with my Mom when she received a job transfer to this area. I started a new school, my mom was working hard to get us both acclimated to our new life, and we were starting to adjust…BUT THEN the Coronavirus pandemic shut everything down and I was stuck sitting at home, in a new city where I didn’t know anyone at all and I was starting to really feel depressed and lose hope.
All of the sudden everything changed… when a local photographer reached out to me on my personal Instagram page, wanting to know if I was interested in modeling and asked me to do a test shoot. I was so excited because I knew that Dallas had so many amazing opportunities for me. After I did the test shoot and posted those photos, Tim Bracey Photography reached out to me wanting to do some photoshoots for upcoming magazine concepts. Ever since I’ve been working with Tim, my photos have been published in multiple magazines, both Nationally and Internationally. He has taught me a lot about the industry & about modeling and is always really amazing to work with. I am starting to reach out more and work with additional photographers now, as well. I have already surpassed my 20th publication (within just 90 days).
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Overall my journey has been a good one and relatively smooth. I’m grateful for all of the life-lesson I have learned along the way. Some of the struggles I have faced were; Early on having limited access to resources in order to pursue my dreams. After relocating to Dallas, everything has been happening so fast in my career. Networking has really been helpful and I’m learning quickly how to manage multiple things at the same time (but I love it). I’m still working on finding the right Agency to help me continue to grow my career & personal brand in this industry.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I recently reached my 20th publication since I began in May 2020 and I am working hard to keep that number on the rise. Although I am new to the industry, I am looking forward to continuing to grow my business and my personal brand in the DFW market. I am extremely driven and I would love to have the opportunity to collaborate with a local Clothing, Jewelry &/or Hair & Cosmetics line soon.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
There is not a lot I would have done differently so far, but there are a lot of lessons that I have learned that have been really helpful. Changing to Homeschool was really helpful to me for managing my time and coordinating my responsibilities. Learning how to do my own makeup and hair for photoshoots (that’s really important) and what brands and color tones are best to use. YouTube has a lot of great videos & I was lucky enough to meet an amazing MUAH artist, KittRina Timmerman “The Glitter Dahlia”, who has taught me a lot about make-up applications & what products to use and buy for my skin tone. Posting on Social media & Networking has been essential to building my personal brand (getting my name recognized out in the industry). Setting up separate Social media accounts for my business (separate from my personal accounts) has been essential. I’ve learned that not everyone in this industry is necessarily always looking out for your best interest so it’s important to use caution and trust your instincts when choosing who you want to collaborate with. Also, although it is exciting when you receive your first offer to sign with an agency, it’s really important to do your research and take your time to ensure it’s going to be a good fit for your career. A Photographer, Agent, MUAH, etc. should Always (if you are under 18) require that your parent be involved in all communications. Also it’s Always totally OK to say No when you just don’t feel comfortable with a concept or collaboration.
Contact Info:
- Email: Laneymarie.models@gmail.com
- Instagram: Laneymarie.models
- Facebook: Laneymarie.models
Image Credit:
Photography: Tim Bracey Photography
MUAH: KittRina Timmerman
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