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Your photos

Now, after getting in touch with the agency, they probably want to see some photos of you. When you ask them what to send, they might tell you, that a snapshot is more than enough for the first contact. Don’t you believe this!

Yes, they do not expect you to send in a full portfolio done by a professional photographer – but a blurry picture done in poor light, with you standing in the worst possible pose and wearing not so complimentary clothing will not do! Invest some time in getting a few good photos taken. This will significantly increase your chances – the top agencies get thousands and thousands of pictures, and it’s easy for them to now and then discount a good model because of a bad picture. So don’t bet your future on a snapshot taken by someone who has almost never held a camera or has a track record of getting the pictures wrong!

If you don’t have the opportunity to have professional shots taken – at least read the article on how to look good on photos and then post some of your pictures at wananbestar.co.uk so that you can get some feedback on what looks good and what doesn’t.

In terms of what to send the agency, this should include a headshot and a full body shot. You need to show your body quite clearly, so that they get an understanding of size and proportions. They also need to have up-to-date information about your measures and contact details.

Your portfolio

Later on, when you’ve got signed up with the agency, you will have to work on your portfolio and comp card. You might already have a portfolio when you talk to them – especially if you are or have been a free-lancer.

Developing a good portfolio is a long and complicated process (here is where the “hard work” part of modelling comes in). It has to contain a variety of pictures of you, from different angles and in different poses. Those should be taken with different outfits, makeup, hairdo, situations, light conditions and locations.

Sometimes you see advertisements, where a photographer promises to shoot a whole set of pictures in a single studio session to put together a portfolio for you. But this is not what you need – the pictures will all be similar to each other – and this will not do! A good portfolio should show your versatility as a model, it also needs to convey your ability to portray different characters, moods and looks. For this, it is important that all the pictures are really different (they might still share a common theme, if you are going for niche market).

Your portfolio should contain the following (A4 format)

• 2 head shots – smiling and not smiling
• A few full length shots in different poses
• A few fashion shots with different themes – casual, formal, sexy, action, editorial etc
• Swimsuit / lingerie shots which show your body
• At least one or two shots with little or no makeup – to show your natural look
• And a few pictures of your choice

Don’t worry about the portfolio too much when starting out. You will develop this over time and the agency will provide assistance as well – either setting up required shoots, or at least indicating which areas to develop. Of course – as usual, if you are free-lancing then developing and promoting your portfolio is one of your key concerns.

It can be expensive to develop a good portfolio from scratch – that’s why it usually develops over time, as models add more pictures to it. Sometimes it’s possible to hold costs down with TFP (time for prints) agreements, where a photographer will take your photos for free while getting to try out new ideas and lighting set-ups. Usually this is a reasonable deal for aspiring models and aspiring photographers – but you’ll likely be responsible for the choice of clothes and makeup.

Your comp card

The agency will also help you put together a comp card (if free-lancing, then you need to do it yourself, of course). The comp-card is your marketing tool – this is what gets handed over to agents, clients, photographers and who not. It’s usually a glossy A4 format page, with pictures on both sides, with small print part also including your measurements and contact information. Traditionally one side of the comp card contained a head shot in A4 format, with your name underneath, and the other side contained 4 photos of your plus the measurements.

As clients use comp cards for a quick overview when selecting models, make sure this contains your absolutely best photos. Especially the full page headshot should be of the best quality!

Producing a good comp card can put a bit of a hole in your pocket though – the printing has to be done on good paper by professional printers (forget using your home colour ink-jet for this job!) and you need lots of copies. A good agency will see you as an investment – this means they will pay for a lot of things, including producing the comp cards and photo shoots for your portfolio. Others may make you pay – either they lack a belief in you or they are cheap – neither of which is good sign. In this case, hopefully you’ll at least negotiate a better deal on the agency commissions, when signing with an agency that makes you pay for things.

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