GETTING EXPOSURE AND FINDING WORK

Exposure is getting information about you to potential clients letting them know what you have to offer and that you are available for modeling work. Here are different methods of getting exposure.
  1. Mailings. Models sometimes mail their promotional materials to prospective clients to generate work contacts.
  2. Cold Calling Photographers. Making an introductory call to a photographer to set up a go-see to introduce yourself can sometimes produce great results if you and your portfolio are prepared.
  3. Contacting Local Shops or Manufacturers. Contact local retailers or manufacturers of the types of clothing or products you would be interested in representing. (Lingerie stores, swim suit manufacturers, leather garment manufacturers, sportswear designers and so on.)
  4. Model Exposure Magazines. Although I have not run across any that are very successful, exposure magazines can provide some exposure to models. I wouldn't recommend spending much time or money with them. If they are free or provide good circulation to real clients at a small cost, they may be of some value.
  5. Agencies. Agencies can provide you with a number of assignments if your look is really in demand. There are a number of things that you should be wary of when contacting an agency.
    • What is their commission percentage? (10% to 25% is in the normal range.)
    • Is there a fee to be represented? (Legitimate agencies do not charge registration or sign up fees.)
    • Can you use your existing portfolio? (If an agency offers to represent you only if you pay their photographer a large sum of money to shoot you a new portfolio, RUN!!!)
    • Is the agency agreement exclusive? (Unless an agency is getting you enough work to keep you busy, never sign an exclusive representation contract.)
    • Will you still be able to find work on your own? (If not, don't sign with them.)
    • Is the agency licensed by the state you are in? (Different states have varying licensing requirements, check on the agency by contacting the licensing division in your state.)
  6. Managers. Some representatives come in the form of managers instead of agencies. They perform basically the same way as agencies in most cases, but are usually not governed the same way. Before signing with a manager, I recommend asking them for some referrals from their pool of models to get some feedback about the manager. Ask the same questions as you would an agency. And remember, never sign exclusively until you are getting a lot of work.
  7. Model Referral Services. Depending on the fees charged and how the referrals are structured, some referrals services can provide good contacts. I provide a great service that has set up models with a lot of work and future contacts.
  8. Internet Model Services. The Internet has really expanded in the way it provides models with both exposure and work opportunities. There are many different pages of photographers who hire models. Also model referral pages on the net are open to having models publish their portfolios on the net. Some charge fees to cover their costs. This method can get very expensive. I strongly encourage that you only use no cost methods for referral on the internet unless you can get verification of the results of promotion. Most internet model referral sites cannot provide such verification.