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The Model’s Portfolio

A model may have different portfolios for each of her desired work types. (Incidentally, the word “book” gets used a lot in the photography business. One use for it is as a synonym for “portfolio:” The words are used interchangeably.) It does you no good to have a gorgeous peek-a-boo shot in your portfolio if you are trying to get a booking selling barbecue grills for Sears, and a tearsheet from a Marshall Field’s ad may or may not impress Joe Farace or some other glamour photographer who’s looking to do a lucrative swimwear calendar shoot. So always consider who you are trying to sell your look to when you submit a book. The pictures in your book should show you to your best advantage. They should be clear, well-lit, and show you by yourself in an appropriate environment. (Example: swimsuits do not belong in the house. If you’re in a swimsuit there had better be a beach or a pool somewhere in the vicinity.) It’s better to have five good images than twenty mediocre ones.

Many models submit their books to modeling agencies. (Agencies are different from managers: very few models need managers, but many models need agencies.) Agencies have guidelines for submission packages, especially “cold” or unsolicited submissions. If you do not follow them, they will not consider your pictures. That’s how this works. Always find out what the agency wants before submitting pictures or you are just wasting your time and theirs, and wasting people’s time is not the way to get ahead in this or any profession. Often you can find a submission list on the agency’s website or you can call and they will mail or fax one to you.

Here’s an example of what one major agency with a presence in Chicago asks for:

List of Requested Photos from a Major Agency

Additionally, this agency had these guidelines:

• Color prints only, no transparencies.
• Digital or film cameras, but submit prints.
• Women: 2-piece bathing suit, men: bathing suit or shorts
• No posing.
• No makeup or hairspray.
• Shoot photos against a plain wall.

They suggest additional prints be submitted to show the model’s personality. “Wear what you want and have fun!”

Please feel free to email me at stmarc@unspeakabledreams.com if you have any further questions.