Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Byrum.
Katie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up playing soccer and spending lots of time on schoolwork, so while I had interest in modeling it came after these things. I decided to attend Georgia Tech and study Biomedical Engineering because I wanted to end up doing something in the healthcare industry. While living in Atlanta, I thought it was a great time to pursue modeling jobs to help pay for some of college. I signed with an agency my sophomore year at age 19 but with the demands of school, not much modeling happened. During my fourth year in school, I found a few modeling jobs that I would do once a week or so. After graduating from a very challenging 5 years studying engineering at Georgia Tech, I decided to take a nontraditional route and model full time before jumping into a healthcare career. So, I signed with my current agency, Ursula Wiedmann Models, in Atlanta and the journey began. Since then, I have built up very steady clients around the southeast with the help of UWM and also signed in Chicago and Los Angeles. I have now been modeling full-time for 3 years now!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The modeling and fashion industry were very foreign to me when I jumped into it. I also knew no one in the field, so I felt like I was forging my own path trying to figure it out. It was challenging not knowing what to expect and how to get where I wanted. I learned that there is no formula for success and everyone’s path is different. The path one model took might not work for you. You just have to be persistent, do any networking you can and work hard with your agency.
The biggest struggle I had was defining what type of model I wanted to be and the lines I wanted to draw for myself on the types of jobs. I wanted to make sure I was still portraying who I am as a person and not compromising any values I had for a paycheck. This was hard because I could have potentially gone further in the industry quicker but to me, it wasn’t worth it. Every model should do what they feel comfortable with and not let the peer pressure get to them!
The advice I would give to younger girls is to know what boundaries you want to have and also never take the rejection personally. It is not a competition between other models and everyone is beautiful. If you get a no, it just wasn’t the right job or agency for you. So, keep on going and try the next!
What should we know about your business? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I believe I am set apart from other models by my work ethic, professionalism, and overall attitude while on set. I have a very different background than most models and bring an engineering mindset to the job. I want to make things as efficient as possible while also making it an enjoyable set to work on. I think every new job or new person met is an opportunity to learn something and make new friends! That is one of the fun things about the job is getting to meet so many new people from all over the world.
Most of my jobs are commercial jobs for clients like department stores or other national brands. A lot of the time I am in studios shooting many outfits in a day but I love being able to shoot outside! Every week is different which is one of the things I love about the job.
Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
Make friends with everyone! This industry is smaller than you think and a bad reputation could hurt you. Every job you have is an opportunity for another job. Either that company could rehire you or one of the people on set knows someone at another company. You work in very close proximity to other people so people will hire the people they enjoy working with! Work hard, be professional and enjoyable to work with.
As far as a mentor or networking, just put yourself out there! If there is someone you look up to then reach out to them and ask what worked for them!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @kebyrum
Image Credit:
Marcel Indik, Sage Duke, Susan Bowlus, Shana Jarrett
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