The model portfolio
The really useful model portfolio
Working for time (TFCD, etc.)
Sell your body
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Agency representation for models
For a proper, full-time, well-paying career in modelling you need an agent. An agent finds you work and negotiates your fees.
Many top models have been discovered by a spotter in the streets or hit luck from submitting a snapshot to a top agency. Pure chance.
Top model agencies
The information under this heading is correct at the time of writing. Agencies' requirements and submission guidelines change over time.
Elite Model Management, for instance, one of the most famous agencies, allows you to submit photos through their website. So does Storm Models. Their scouts will look at them for a few seconds.
Elite make it clear that you do not have to spend a lot of money on photographs - if they take you on, their own photographers will shoot you and it won't cost you a penny. The same is true for all good agencies.
To find out who all the hot agencies are, buy a stack of fashion magazines and scan the credits that appear with fashion editorials. Very often, the agency who supplied the models, will be mentioned. Armed with a name, it is child's play to find contact details on the Internet.
Not so top agencies
The bulk of agencies cannot compete with the likes of Elite, Storm and Q. If you have identified a suitable target, telephone them and ask for their submission requirements. Do not e-mail, use the telephone. This will give you valuable information on how professional they appear to be.
You may, or you may not be expected to show a portfolio (also called a book).
Strictly speaking, your agency should produce your portfolio for you and you should not be expected to pay for it, but it is a grey area with smaller agencies. Some model scams originate from criminals posing as model agencies.
Remember that model agencies pick and choose their models. If you are promised to get in no matter what, it is at best a useless website, at worst a modelling scam.
Therefore, most important of all, before you approach an agency, read about modelling scams.