We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Darbie Frazier a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Darbie , thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Hi! Thanks for having me. My learning process was quite intense because I learned the modeling business thru making connections, trial and error, and applying what I was learning immediately. In order to explain how I learned to do what I do I have to explain what it is so you can get a full understanding, so let’s go on a journey. Modeling is as per the dictionary: “the work of a fashion model” but in reality, it is much more than that. In my terms modeling is the act of creating moments to capture on film in some way and learning how to do that was such a journey because I had to unlearn what I thought it was. At first, I thought it was cold and superficial. I thought it was all about being the center of attention and being known and praised for one’s beauty. Which I mean yes, that comes with the territory, however I learned very quickly that is not at all what it’s about. Trying to pose just off looking beautiful alone without a storyline was one of the hardest things I had to do and at first, I thought something was wrong with me because of it. For instance, my first shoot was shot at a house my best friend Tay was renting at the time and we wandered around her house with the photographer looking for spaces that made sense, we actually found some spaces that worked (somewhat). Mostly I was in a long black top and black jeggings in my friends tub with 4-week-old box braids and my “jet black” pieces that didn’t match at all. One was jet black the other was that old washed out black. It was an A for effort and honestly the photos in the tub didn’t look that bad they just didn’t make any sense. We then went and did a beauty shot of me putting on some of Tay’s lipstick with a portal vanity she had and those came out very nice. We did some more in her back yard and those were also pretty okay, but it definitely wasn’t even close to my best work. However, I am still so happy I did it because it got me started and I clearly needed a lot of work so using these photos to pinpoint the issues I had at the time helped me to immediately address them, as I am very honest with myself this process was easy. The part that was hard was sending them to one of my sisters to have her help too and asking her to be brutally honest but it was exactly what I needed, she helped so much. I also sent them to a model who happened to be a friend of mine and asked her what I should do with them and she said to market them in this group and sent me the link to it. So that’s what I did, I posted those photos and some digitals in the Facebook group for models and photographers my friend sent me and lo and behold, not even a week later from marketing that I booked 2 tfp shoot’s and got a chance to shoot with my first real photographer on a set with lights and everything. I was excited others could see the potential in me and I took that as a greenlight to work with professional photographers to apply the feedback I had given myself from my first shoot. So, I decided to take down my braids and order a wig, at the time I was ashamed of my natural hair because I had a really bad relationship with it. It is also extremely important to note that during this time I was a single mother who literally had $40 dollars to her name and was on unemployment and food stamps so the wig I ordered was definitely synthetic and $17.99 with free shipping. I still chuckle when I think about it till this day. Honey, I was determined to change up my look, and I did just that. Synthetic wig and all. I also realized I wanted to have my clothes fit better in a way, at the time I blamed my body, it took me time to realize what I really wanted was for both my clothes and the locations or sets to express how I was feeling inside, to be an outlet for me. I also wanted my art to feel more curated. So, I started experimenting. I also was fresh out of an abusive relationship during this time and had lost all of my belongings prior when I moved out of my parents’ home for the first time so I was still rebuilding. That led to me not having many clothes in my closet. As a result, I wore a black and white button-down shirt that belonged to my younger brother, with my fresh hair and some black jeggings. When I got the photos back, I was proud of myself because I had fixed two issues I hated, my hair and my clothes. I still didn’t love them but I was happy to see the progress. It was during this time and in these moments that I learned I had to be completely honest with myself, that I had to get creative when it came to making happen what I needed to happen. I also learned photos need a storyline if not they are meaningless and hard to read, I also learned that I personally do not like meaningless experiences. Therefore, I needed to find meaning in this if I was going to pursue it. This planted a seed for me to become the woman I am today, transforming from a person who likes photos and fashion to an artist. The next photoshoot I did was actually my first publishing and that was a hoodies and leggings focused shoot and I was thrilled to be working with a photographer who approached me with a curated concept, he helped me find direction. I learned a lot from Brad that first shoot, he gave me a lot of pointers I still use today. Shooting with veteran photographers when you are just beginning is very important so you can get direction from someone who already knows what to expect and direct you in a way that’s beneficial to your growth. Things like holding a moment that is really good but adding small movements with different facial expressions can really add options to your reel and helps everyone involved get a shot they can use to market and little did I know that, that was the goal. I am forever grateful for Brad, of Bardlard Studios. After working with him I was able to apply what he taught me plus my own feedback about my image to move my career forward. After marketing both shoots and my publishing, I learned that was the way to get gigs: marketing your work consistently. The moment I realized that I was trying to find every reason to market something. It worked every time, I booked at least 1-2 tfp shoots with every post to the Facebook group. I was happy because after speaking to other models I learned I was building a portfolio and because it was tfp (trade for pictures) I didn’t pay thousands of dollars to get started like a lot of people do. I was just practicing anyway, so I thought it was great I just had to pay for my own personal upkeep and looks to shoot in. A model friend I had at the time advised me to start posting more of my photos on Instagram and to make my page a Public Figure page, to make a model mayhem page and a Facebook public figure page so I can start working with brands. So, I did all of the above I tried my same “post and book” approach to IG but my photos got no attention and it was like I didn’t exist. I had to take a different approach. I started using Instagram as another form of my portfolio and decided that less was more on my page, plus I like a quality over quantity approach. I archived all my personal posts and did research on popular Instagram pages I liked, after that I became inspired to use hashtags because it looked like it had a good effect on posts. At this point I began the grueling process of making my Instagram useful to my career. Using my quality over quantity guidelines, plus hashtags I started getting some very influential followers but still didn’t have many so I decided to not make that my focus and post for clients. That led to me not posting on my timeline a lot, only when something I felt was significant occurred and that includes gorgeous work and work that shows my growth from one phase to another. This way, my page isn’t cluttered when clients come to take a quick look. One of my sisters advised me to make sure people can see exactly who I am and what I do the moment they click on my page without them having to read my about me, so it draws them in and makes them want to click on something. That knowledge helped me a lot when building my Instagram. I went forward shooting with photographers and make-up artists for a couple years learning more and more each shoot about myself and about the modeling industry, all while still marketing myself on various platforms. I learned a lot about the actual business of it by also just jumping in and making and correcting mistakes along the way. I ended up booking major gigs in Utah before I moved here to New York City, where I eventually signed with my current agency and where I feel like it’s actually just the beginning of a very grand adventure because I learn more and more about the industry plus how I express myself every-day.

Nothing, I don’t think I could’ve sped up the process because every single moment was needed for my development so I could be prepared for this magical time in my life that I’m experiencing now. Shortcuts might get you there faster, but you’re always going to miss something. When you take the long way, it may take a little longer than others but you know for sure you didn’t miss anything along the way. In most businesses people want to have longevity, in order to obtain that you really have to know what you’re doing and be teachable. You can’t do that if you’re avoiding the lesson and just taking the blessing.

The skills that were most essential are: marketing knowledge, attention to detail, the ability to take criticism, professionalism, the ability to be honest with yourself, being driven, self-honesty, loving what you’re doing, being creative enough to make a storyline for your pieces and locations, being creative enough to find shoot locations, talent – modeling is a lot like acting in the way you’re bringing products to life in the real world, tenacity, multitasking, mental strength, negation skills, people skills to help cultivate professional relationships, photography knowledge of angles and lighting, business management, time management, skin care knowledge, hair and make-up skills, and so many others I can’t really think of right now. Needless to say, there is so much more to modeling than just looking good.

My biggest obstacle was not having direction back in 2016 when I first started and not knowing how to reach the plus size modeling community to get direction. Being the first black plus size model in Utah was hard especially in the beginning since I am a pioneer, I had to learn everything the hard way. With time I realized it was like that so I can lend knowledge to those who need it. I eventually found my community, shared knowledge and confirmed what I already knew. For that to be my biggest obstacle in learning the business I’d say I’m extremely blessed because at least when I was feeling in the dark I found the light switch, some people never do.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Yeah, totally. Hey! My name is Darbie Frazier, but my friends call me Dar. I am happily married and I have a 7 almost 8-year-old who steals my heart daily. I am Utah’s first black plus size model, I started my career in the valley back in 2016 and for the past 3 years I have been living and working in nyc as a professional model signed to Bicoastal Mgmt. I moved here to New York because my now husband asked me to marry him and I obviously said yes, my budding modeling career taking off was just a bonus and not the plan. I am blessed to work with major brands on a consistent basis and to see my dreams really start to manifest, it’s all starting to feel like destiny.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Absolutely. While I was modeling, I hit this part in my journey where I was in a very unsure “in-between place”. I called it that because it felt like I was in between my old life and my new one. At this time, I was working a very stable government job when I went to fashion week in 2018 I took the risk of going without knowing whether my time was officially approved off or not and that caused me be AWHOL, I ended being asked to resign from my position as a consequence. This was when I started doing Uber-eats full time instead of part time as it afforded me the flexibility needed to reach my goals. I was very sad and ashamed of myself, even though looking back its clear I made the correct decision. During this time, I had a sonic chevy and my car battery was old and kept dying every time I turned my car off so I had to keep it running. I was very stressed out and went to my dad who saved the day and got me a new battery so I could safely work. After that I did Uber-eats full time in between my gigs to keep me afloat and it worked out well for me. My resiliency is all in the fact that I didn’t give up when things got extremely hard and it seemed like it was impossible for me to continue.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Yes, when I was a teenager, I told my whole 7th grade class that I wanted to be a “model/actress/singer in that order”. The whole class laughed at me, a kid even told me I was too dark and fat to be a model and I tried to brush it off, but it stuck with me to the point that I changed what I wanted to do and put my sights on science instead of art but the arts kept calling me back in. I was accepted into Davinci Academy, an art and science high school for gifted kids and found my love again for the arts so I am not surprised it has found its way back into my life yet again. These days, I do this for my 13-year-old self, the young girl who was bullied out of her happiness, and bullied out of her dream. I do this for others, so when they are told they are “too fat” to be a model they can have solid example of what they can accomplish despite of skin color and/or weight. So yeah, I do it for the 13-year-old version of me who exists today in some small town somewhere, who dreams big so she can keep her happiness and her dream alive.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bicoastalmgmt.com/nyc-curve-size-model-agency/1695904/darbie-f
• Instagram: instagram.com/darbieworld
• Facebook: facebook.com/plussizemodeldar
• Twitter: twitter.com/darbieworld

Image Credits
Dexter of Dexterity Productions for Ashley Stewart ChristinaCaptures on Instagram Vonecia Carswell Tereza Janakova & Veronika Robova