Portfolio or Book

Whichever area of modelling you specialise in, your portfolio is of paramount importance.

An impressive set of images in your book (portfolio) will have model agencies eager to represent you and clients confident to book you.

Your initial portfolio needs to help you achieve two different criteria.

The first is to easily convince anyone that you are a capable and confident model. Your portfolio must contain a collection of images which will illustrate many different scenarios, taken in different situations, both in studio and on location. An assignment involves the cost of the studio time, make-up artist, photographer and model. If the chosen model cannot perform well, potentially all this money can be wasted.

Secondly, a Client will usually feel more secure in choosing a model whose portfolio contains an image that in some way resembles the job for which they are casting. Therefore, the more varied and commercial in appearance your images, the greater your chance of this happening and being selected.

Too few images in a portfolio, no matter how good, can be as damaging as having a large collection of poor images - Why? A book (portfolio) containing only four or five photographs, no matter how good, will immediately lead the potential client or agent to enquire - how experienced are you? If you are relatively new to modelling and the honest answer to this question is "not very" this will inevitably disadvantage you. If you have a portfolio with at least a dozen varied and well taken images, that question need never arise.

The secret to a good starting portfolio is that it contains a set of images which resemble commissioned jobs, and not a collection of test shots or portraits. It is useless to have a portfolio full of beautiful head shots. An agency will not be able to promote you without a set of images that can illustrate how you can look in different scenarios.

Finally, you will probably hear the phrase TFP or Time for Pics. This is a system where amateur photographers or wannabe fashion photographers need to learn how to photograph models. They offer to take photographs at no cost in return for your time. This can be a complete waste. There is a danger of learning bad posing techniques due to the inexperience of the photographer and end up with a collection of poor images, which will get you rejected by agencies and damage your confidence.