Casting Preparation Tips: What Top Models and Actors Actually Do Before the Room

A polished editorial portrait that proves casting-ready doesn’t have to mean boring—clean styling, strong presence, and personality still get to show up.

Preparing for a modeling casting, boudoir or editorial shoot, or acting audition? Steal these practical casting preparation tips from Behati Prinsloo, Ashley Graham, and Kerry Washington.

First, Stop Trying So Hard to Look “Castable”

Casting preparation has a funny little contradiction at its center: you need to prepare quite a lot so that, when you arrive, you look as though you barely tried. Nobody wants you walking into the room radiating, I spent six hours becoming what I think you want. The goal is to arrive polished, informed, comfortable and recognizably yourself. Three extremely successful professionals—fashion model Behati Prinsloo, model Ashley Graham and actress Kerry Washington—give surprisingly similar advice: know what you’re doing, then quit auditioning for approval.

The Fashion Model: Behati Prinsloo Says Keep It Simple

Behati Prinsloo’s advice for model castings is almost aggressively uncomplicated: “Try to be yourself, show who you are, where you come from, and be an individual.” In her interview with Vogue, Prinsloo recalled agents steering her toward heels, minimal makeup and clothing that showed her proportions without turning the casting into a fashion production of its own. Think skinny jeans, a T-shirt, clean grooming and a body the casting team can actually see.

This is probably not the morning to debut your architectural shoulder pads, smoky eye and mysterious new alter ego named Svetlana. Research the client, know the major photographers or creatives when relevant, arrive on time and let your personality do some of the heavy lifting.

The Editorial and Lingerie Model: Ashley Graham Thinks Beyond the Booking

Ashley Graham offers the better long-game question... not Can I get booked? but Will they want me back? Speaking to British Vogue, she put it beautifully... “Your job isn’t just to walk through them, it’s to get invited back.” That is excellent casting advice for editorial, lingerie and intimate portrait work because confidence is only one part of professionalism.

Know your current measurements, take care of your skin without launching a heroic new skincare experiment the night before, bring whatever basics the casting requires, understand your comfort level with wardrobe and exposure, and know your boundaries before someone asks. Being clear, pleasant, prepared and easy to work with is not boring—it is precisely how people become repeat bookings.

The Actress: Kerry Washington Says Quit Begging the Room to Like You

Actors get their own special flavor of casting anxiety because they must somehow remember lines, make choices, listen, respond and simultaneously pretend they are not wondering whether everyone behind the table hates them. Kerry Washington’s solution is refreshingly sane... “Walk in the room to be of service, walk in the room to have fun.” She told Backstage that viewing auditions as a chance to act for a few minutes helped her stop believing she could control whether she got the role.

That does not mean winging it. Read the full script when available, understand the circumstances of the scene, know your sides well enough to take direction, make an initial choice and then remain flexible. Preparation should give you freedom—not turn you into a hostage negotiating with your own memorized line reading.

The night before a casting is for preparation, not reinvention. Skip the experimental beauty treatments, dramatic hair changes, and last-minute ideas your skin absolutely did not request.

The Night Before: Do Less Damage

The evening before a casting is not the time for radical reinvention. Avoid unfamiliar facials, dramatic hair experiments and anything else beginning with the sentence, “I saw this hack online.” Confirm the location or self-tape instructions, organize wardrobe options, charge your phone, prepare your materials, check your call time and sleep like somebody who plans to have functioning eyes tomorrow.

Models should know what digitals, shoes or undergarments are requested. Actors should have sides, résumé and technical self-tape requirements sorted. Everybody should know where they are going. Being breathtakingly talented but 27 minutes late because you went to the wrong studio remains, regrettably, 27 minutes late.

The Morning Of: Look Like Yourself on an Excellent Day

For most model castings, natural presentation wins because clients need to see the actual person they might hire. Keep hair manageable, makeup minimal unless otherwise requested, nails clean and clothing simple enough to reveal your proportions. For an acting audition, wardrobe can lightly suggest the character without becoming community theatre cosplay. Across categories, the principle is the same... offer information, not distraction. You want the casting team thinking about what they can do with you—not wondering whether there is a human being somewhere underneath the contour.

Five Minutes Before: Stop Preparing

Here is the part ambitious people dislike... eventually, preparation has to end. You have checked the address. You know the material. Your outfit is fine. Your hair is fine. You are fine. Stop opening your front-facing camera every 14 seconds looking for a new emergency.

Prinsloo’s individuality, Graham’s re-bookability and Washington’s sense of play all point toward the same professional habit... once the work is done, become present. Listen. Make eye contact. Take direction. Be pleasant to assistants. Say thank you. Then leave without conducting a forensic investigation of every facial expression you saw in the room.

A casting is not simply a beauty contest, personality test or dramatic referendum on your worth. The client is trying to solve a problem... Can this person do the job we are making? Your preparation should make the answer easy to imagine. Show up looking like your materials, knowing what is expected, comfortable in your lane and capable of adapting.

Talent gets attention. Professionalism builds trust. Personality makes people remember you. And, as Ashley Graham so neatly reminds us, the real trick is getting invited back.

Ready to Get Casting-Ready?

If your portfolio, headshots, model digitals or personal branding need to communicate who you are before you walk into the room, explore professional photography and session information at studiodiaani.com.

References

Vogue. Liana Satenstein, “3 Victoria’s Secret Angels Remember Their First Vogue Casting Polaroid,” December 9, 2014. Interview with Behati Prinsloo on casting attire, preparation and individuality.

British Vogue. Christa D’Souza, “Ashley Graham Vogue Interview,” December 2016. Graham discusses longevity, opportunity and the importance of being invited back.

Backstage. Casey Mink, “Kerry Washington Has Always Been a Pragmatic Dreamer,” updated September 15, 2020. Washington discusses approaching auditions as an opportunity to act rather than an attempt to win approval.

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