Interview: Model Linda Lena Blanka (Germany)

Can you tell us a little about you?

First of all, thanks for being able to have a say in your magazine. It is a great honor! I am 24 years old and I'm studying communicationdesign in Mannheim, Germany. I was growing up in the beautiful city Heidelberg which is luckily not too far away from my studies place.

Through my studies and my general urge for aesthetics, art and design, I see my model works as a logical conclusion.

If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be?

As for my appearance, I would like to be a bit bigger. The most agencies require a minimum size of 1.75 m but I'm only a small 1.68 m.

How did you start modeling?

Im more or less active in front of the camera since 2011 but I got more active after I started to use more social media. I started my Instagram Page closely two years ago because I wanted to have a better overview of my modelling work. Back at the beginning I was more active in the theatre scene and wanted to see my acting also in frozen pictures. I was way more shy and uncertain about my appearence (like a lot young tennage girls). But I really loved acting! I could act brave, arrogant or crazy without caring about the judgement of other people. Also the use of language fascinated me. It wasn´t just colloquial, it was a more poetic and deeper. But as I hadn’t the time and also never was the best actor I sadly stopped playing in the theater. Through intense contact to photographers with my closest friends I always had a role in Front of the camera. I didn’t decided to be a model or something, it was a natural process which developed by itself.

What do you think of the work as a model?

I really enjoy what I’m doing. You meet so many different creative people and develop very exiting projects. But there is also a dark side of the business and it can be sometimes really hard. In most of the bigger projects you sometimes feel more like a clothes rack than a person. For one example: once when I worked as a workshop model one of the visitors came to me and said something like “You seem to be a totally beginner, aren't you? You don’t look like a professional model with your pale skin and your too long hair.” However you should not let everything emotionally close.

What is your beauty regimen?

My regimen is simply that I usually do not use make up during the week and I try not to wash my hair too often. I always try to avoid unnatural cosmetics. I'm a big fan of coconut oil for skin and also for hair care. One of the most important thing is to drink a lot of water during the day and if you are heating in the winter time, then you should place a water tank in your bedroom to keep the air humid. It really helped me against dry skin and dandruff.

What are your personal qualities which distinguish you from others?

I’m very ambitious in working with the photographers that I personally like a lot. There is no excuse not to go through a project that is close to my heart.

What are your plans for the future?

I want to collaborate more with fashion designers and artists for fine art. I love to combine different facets of aesthetics. I also want to break out more of my comfort zone and experiment even more.

What are some of your favorite experiences so far?

I am always positively surprised how creatively you work with other people and that it often has a positive effect on personal contact. I got to know many good friends through photography.

Do you have any advice for those who want to start modeling?

Be picky of the photographers choose right from the start, but do not expect to work with the best of the best right away. I would also recommend shooting a lot of self-portraits (no selfies!) for developing a sense of general image design.

What do you think of the magazine?

It is also a great idea to let the artists talk for themselves. There are a lot of magazines about the technical aspect of photography but less about experiances and emotinal affiliation.

https://www.instagram.com/linda.lena.blanka/

https://www.facebook.com/lindalenamodel/