Building a Portfolio that will book you modeling jobs.

By Monica Stevens, a professional independent model from Tampa Bay, Florida

© Copyright 2004 Independent Modeling. All rights reserved.

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Modeling Portfolios That Will Book You Model Jobs! A Do It Yourself - How To From Your Friends At Independent Modeling!

For the course of this article and in the advice and opinions that I give, I speak as a working professional model who has been working in the industry and booking work on my own without an agency for several years. I have been lucky. I did not make most of the mistakes that aspiring models make early in my career simply because I was smart and wise enough to LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES OF OTHERS. You now have that distinct possibility, too. DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKES EXPOSED IN THIS ARTICLE! If you care about your career as a model, you owe it to yourself to study EVERY WORD of this article. Many models have already paid for the knowledge that I share here with their CAREERS. I know of many models who have destroyed any chance of achieving their dreams by taking short cuts, compromising their integrity, working with the wrong people, and being otherwise reckless and irresponsible with the conduct of their careers. May their careers rest in peace.
Don't make their mistakes. Learn from this.
This article is about putting together the ultimate modeling portfolio in order to market yourself professionally. Like any composition, and much like cooking, you are limited by the quality of the ingredients used. Accept nothing less than the best ingredients before you bake. A modeling portfolio can make or break your career and the ability to book work REGARDLESS of if you get go sees from your leads or an agency booker. You MUST have an effective modeling portfolio in order to compete with other models as you all try to book the same jobs.
Here is how to create a modeling portfolio that really works!

1. Get Pictures

When you arrange your model portfolio pictures, take a good look at them. Do they show your range of a model with a variety of DIFFERENT looks, or are all the pictures pretty much the same with just different clothes and the same kind of lighting and composition? Are they a mix of studio and location shots? Do you have head shots, close shots, mid shots, and long shots? How is the composition, especially with the location work- is the model the subject? Are they commercially viable? Here are the words that describe the kinds of pictures that you need:

A. Range.
The pictures have to show a variety of different looks to maximize your marketability, or they are USELESS for your portfolio or composite cards! Are they all the same with the same composition and lighting, but merely different clothes? Are they all shot in a studio? Sure, you might get ONE great picture out of them, but ONE picture DOES NOT make a portfolio and can only fill one look on a composite card. Who wants to pay for FIVE or SIX different portfolio shoots just to put together a composite card? One portfolio session MUST give you at least five to six looks, and outfits and poses do not make a look! A look is like a model visually portraying a different character or demonstrating the ability to do a certain type of modeling. Your modeling photographer needs to be able to demonstrate a range of photographic style in their portfolio and with their client references.

B. Marketable.
Don't handicap your marketability and alienate prospective model job bookings! DO NOT use nudes or glamour shots on your composite card or in your portfolio if you are a commercial or fashion model. If you do this kind of modeling and have these kind of pictures, you CANNOT mix them with your commercial and fashion marketing material, and they must be marketed separately. Glamour and nude modeling is a limited market. Commercial and fashion modeling is a larger market, and should be the focus in any portfolio. If the photographer only shoots glamour and nude work, they may not be able to give you what you need unless they can demonstrate those other looks and styles in their portfolio. If they only shoot glamour and nudes, they are NOT modeling portfolio photographers any more than a wedding photographer is. They are GLAMOUR photographers. I would pass and look some more. You need a modeling portfolio photographer who can shoot a variety of looks and demonstrates range in their portfolio.
Be safe. If there are a lot of glamour or nudes in their portfolio, you need to be careful and scrutinize their portfolio some more, weighing in our other points of Range, Originality, and ESPECIALLY their reputation! Do not work with a glamour photographer who you do not know and trust, and VERIFY all of their references. If they take nudes or glamour pictures of you, how do you know how they will use them or where they will post them? Use of such pictures can DESTROY your professional reputation and marketability as a commercial model. Consider what the businesses that book models will think when they are trying to consider using your face to represent them and they find out about the "other" pictures. Why give other models an advantage over you?

C. Original.
Your pictures need to show a little originality in their presentation and looks. If the "modeling photographer" copies the work of other photographers and can't be original, then they could be copying cliche's that art directors who book models into jobs see ALL of the time and are SICK of. When you market yourself, why in the world would you want to use third rate KNOCK OFF's of what everyone else is using? It's like using a generic knock off of brand name clothes that everyone else has. To be seen and noticed, you need to be ORIGINAL and stand out from the crowd. Your model portfolio photographer MUST show original work that you haven't seen anywhere else. To develop your eye to spot the fake, counterfeiting photographers, TAKE THE TIME to look at many photographers work. The more you see the same type of shot, the more you'll recognize it. Lately, there have been reports of so-called photographers who STEAL the photograph ideas from other photographers and sell them to models. Why settle for a counterfeit? Quality can be faked if it is stolen and otherwise copied. It takes a creative photographer to come up with original lighting, art direction, and compositions, and THOSE are the photographers that you need to work with!

D. Reputable.
This is a big issue right now. There have been verified reports of unethical photographers LYING about their references and their work history in order to trick models into buying services and working with them. Some of them lie about their experience, and claim to be model experts with ten years of experience or more when in fact they have been in business for a year or two total. If they lie to you, what other dishonest things will they do to you? Will they try to get you to take off their clothes or do something else that could hurt your career and marketability? Please, please, PLEASE VERIFY any and ALL references that they photographer gives you! Verify that they have been published if they drop you a line of "magazines" that they have supposedly worked with. See their TEAR SHEETS in their portfolio, and don't accept an excuse if they don't have any. If they say it, they MUST be able to back it up! Get ALL of the names of their references, publications, and industry names that they drop. Check them all BEFORE you book anything with them!
Make them accountable if they try to scam you by lying about their experience and references. Use our free PHOTOGRAPHER REFERENCE ASA, REFERENCE FORMS, AND REFERENCE VERIFICATION FAX FORMS.
Protect yourself and your reputation!
Speaking of reputations, the professional model needs to weed out unethical professional associations. Verify their professional reputation by asking OTHER industry professionals for their opinion! You might be surprised by what you learn. Models who work with anyone and everyone without verifying if they are ethical and their reputation WILL DAMAGE their own reputation and ability to book work when other learn of their associations.
A model ultimately is, as a professional, who they associate with and have worked with. Build your resume with only the most professional references!

2. Arrange Pictures

Pick out an eye catching look for the front of the portfolio, which will become the main image. Actually, there are no hard rules about how to organize a portfolio, just that the portfolio should be organized so as not to confuse the professional who is looking at it, handicap the sales pitch of your looks, or make you look unprofessional. Keep nudes and glamour shots out of a commercial or fashion book! Controversial pictures that may offend people have no place in a portfolio, and the portfolio tastes should match the market that you are working in and the type of modeling work that you are trying to book. We know of idiot models who have tried to book commercial work with cheesy glamour pictures, and they destroyed any chances of working with the professionals that saw them.
Here is how my portfolio is put together. Please note again that this is an example and is not a hard rule by no means. The only hard rule is to ORGANIZE it.

A. Cover Image- Something that sells my main look and helps to set the tone. A head shot.

B. Casual Look- Jeans and shirts in a countryside.

C. Commercial Look- Catalog poses with props like you would see in a catalog with the model selling clothes or products.

D. Editorial Look- More creative pictures in settings and in situations. They tell a story.

E. Fashion Look- Posing with nice clothes or shot in an editorial fashion style. Brief copy.

F. Swimsuit- Tasteful and PG.... No thongs, T-Backs, or nipples (this includes sheer tops and fabric indentations). If the latter is an issue when you get your pictures, have the photographer or printer clone them out in Photoshop like I've had done with some of my swimsuit images. No sexual poses or looks of foreplay level passion in suggestive poses. No steam or smoke in the shot- also cliche's and the mark of an amateur photographer. No pulling down the bottoms like you are about to take it off for the viewer- not only is it a cliche', but it makes the model look like a call girl and is another unprofessional look that can hurt you. No butts in the air with the model facing away from the camera or the model bending toward the camera for a cleavage shot angle down her top- these are also cliche's and do not look professional; I consider them trashy looks. For guys, stick to trunks, too- no briefs unless you are a fitness model. You are not going to oversell sexy to a commercial or mainstream art director! Sex sells, but it is a loose cannon that can kill a booking, and it is not appropriate for a lot of go sees out there. Conservative is always safer, and makes you look far more professional!

G. Tear Sheets- Full sheet examples of work that you have done! Make sure that all work is professional level work with reputable companies. Oh, and another pointer here: These are the ONLY pictures that should have brand names on clothes or trademarks visible in the pictures, and ONLY if the trademarks shown are owned by the company that your tear is with. Always avoid trademarks and logos in your clothes and in the picture backgrounds in your portfolio. A good photographer can clone out logos in your pictures before you get them. You do not want to be charged with trademark infringement if the wrong person get a hold of the picture in question.

H. Back Image- A shot to say goodbye with, a parting shot that signifies the end of the portfolio. In my portfolio, this is a full body editorial of me dressed like a cow girl walking away from the camera- or not. I am posting examples here, and may or may not be describing my actual portfolio so people who read this article cannot figure out who I am.

Supplemental Portfolio Material

Most portfolio cases have pockets where you can stash other items. Some of these are mandatory, and your portfolio should always have them stocked. Others are optional, and are a great help at times.

Mandatory Model Portfolio Material
We recommend that you ALWAYS stock these.

A. 20 Composite Cards- At least five looks demonstrating your range and stats. Printed cleanly and on good stock. Update every six months.

B. 20 Vouchers- Independent Models who book without an agency need these to get paid. Get them on our site for free.

C. 20 ASA Model Job Booking Agreements- Clarify the terms of any go see, and make it hard for them to mislead or scam you. If they are not doing anything wrong, they should have no problem signing this. Get them on our site for free.

D. 20 Photographer Reference ASA's- If you are booking a photographer, you need this to get permission to verify their references and collect information.

E. 20 Reference Forms- A form that lists the references of a photographer or company. Get them on our site for free.

F. 120 Reference Fax Forms- Each reference is listed separately on these forms and sent off to the reference. Get them on our site for free.

G. 20 Model Release Forms- Use these to get their permission to print the pictures from your booked job or portfolio session. Get them on our site for free.

H. A Recorder- Use this to take notes or record depositions and what others state to you.

I. 20 Independent Modeling Fliers- You never know when you will run into a model or someone who needs to know what you know. Help us expand our range of looks and make the industry better for everyone!

Optional Portfolio Material
Stock these if you have room left in the case. Don't overpack!

A. Portfolio Backup- All of the pictures on your portfolio backed up as TIF format files on a CD-R.

B. Compact Composites or Business Cards- A great way to keep in touch or professionally network when it isn't technically a go-see. Business cards should include a telephone number, your hotmail or yahoo E-Mail address, and your web site address URL.

C. Reference Letters- If your previous booking will recommend you, by all means get letters from them! Keep copies in your portfolio and originals at home.

D. A PDA or Organizer- This is great for keeping track of go sees, appointments, and planning.

E. A Calculator- Use this to balance your checking account or to figure out expenses and taxes.

F. Aspirin Tablets- It's not an easy industry. Use these to thin the blood and take care of headaches.

3. Buy A Portfolio Case

Go to an office supply store and buy an organizer case that holds 11 X 8 1/2'' inserts with a three ring binder. With or without handles, it's up to you. Cases cost from $50.00 to $150.00 on average. Mine is leather. Do not buy cheap cases, as they wear out fast and will have to be replaced before their time. A model portfolio is an investment into something that is portable, so it needs to be tough. A good portfolio case should last you for years. Mine is four years old, and still works and looks great!

4. Get Inserts

Buy acid free, 8 ½ X 11'' transparent page inserts for a three ring binder or matching whatever binder your case has. Put your pictures in these, one to a page, and where the front of the page would be. The viewer should be looking down in the right side of an open portfolio to see the picture, and the left side should be the blank back of the picture on the previous page.

5. Assemble Book

Put your book (portfolio case and page inserts) together in the way that you have arranged your pictures. Keep it clean and simple. Tell a story with your pictures, from the introduction, plot, and the end (The best portfolios are laid out editorial style regardless of the kind of pictures that they contain, but remember to keep the modeling categories separate, with each category a "chapter" of the larger overall story).

6. Take Care Of Your Investment

When you add up all of the costs, not including photography, a good portfolio can cost hundreds to print and put together. A decent portfolio to start with no more than 20 pictures can be put together on your own for $200.00 to $400.00. A professionally assembled portfolio will run more. Mine cost $700.00 (but it is a big one)without my Palm Pilot (with, it's worth over $1,200.00), and it was worth every penny because it is visually effective as a selling presentation and BOOKS ME WORK. Regardless of whether the model agency booker or the model gets the lead for the go see, it comes down to the model and their portfolio tools to seal the deal and book through.
Take care of your investment. Keep post its and other non-portfolio stuff out. Keep it clean and wipe it down. Keep it updated and stocked. Keep it dry and safe. Portfolios are a pain in the butt to replace, and sometime replacing it completely is impossible (back up all your pictures on a CD!) Take care of your portfolio and it will take care of you and help propel your career and book you work.

Regardless of if they book work independently or through an agency, a model has to be able to sell the look that the job prospect is looking for in the go see. To do that, they need professional tools. A good modeling portfolio is an effective VISUAL SALES PRESENTATION, and should be the main drive in booking the job. After all, your composite cards got you in the door and considered for the go see. The portfolio will help you make the sale and seal the deal, and you are the only one who can do that.

-IM-

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