Hello all. I am working with a lot of very well known glamour, adult and fashion models these days (yay me!) But i have noticed a lot of perhaps less well known models do some daft things with regard to their portfolios.
First lets talk about what a portfolio is.
A portfolio is NOT a collection of work that you have done, showing what an awesome photographer you worked with 20 years ago.
A portfolio IS your CV. It is a representation of what work you CURRENTLY do, and an indication to any potential employers of your body-type and how you look in front of the camera.
Your portfolio should be up to date, i.e you should have at least a few pictures less than 2 months old, and none of your images should show you working at levels that you no longer work at. I.e if you dont do art nude because you are training to become a teacher, A) you shouldnt have done modelling in a style you were uncomfortable with in the first place and B) if you dont want people seeing nude pictures of you, they ought not be in your port!
Any changes to hair colour, weight, tattoos, etc, should all be reflected in the pictures. I've sent models packing before because they have turned up looking nothing like their portfolio, because i'm not paying for something i cant use. A model gets hired by me because she is better than the other applicants, if it turns out she in fact isnt better and has wasted my time, Shes going home empty handed and with a negative feedback.
People don't read the wall of text that you call a profile 75% of the time. they look at your location, your levels and your pictures. If your levels dont say art nude, but you have art nude in your pictures, a potential employer will assume that you DO art nude.
A model portfolio should be small. 150 images is too much to trawl through. You might be really proud of your work, which is great! but show it off on a personal website, or social media. A professional portfolio is no place for it, and saving an image because 2 years ago some tog made a slightly positive but completely non-constructive comment on it is no reason to keep it.
The same way that a professional CV for any other job should be kept brief, to the point and short, a model portfolio should be exactly the same. Only current pictures, representative of your current work AND your profile text should be short and to the point. I dont care that you have had a lot of requests, I dont care that "too many togs have let you down" and i dont care that your cat is called jess and you drive a red van.
What your professional profile should be providing is, relevant details. If a photographer books you, what do they need to know? travel arrangements and range, wardrobe, makeup, previous experience, REFERENCES, etc
It isnt just newbies who do make these mistakes. There are supposedly experienced models who have literally hundreds of images in their port, who wont get a second glance because no professional tog has the time to trawl through portfolios trying to find the newest images. Especially if the model turns out not to even do that level of work anymore.
So improve your employability and be ruthless with your portfolio. 1 Current image is far better than 10 from 2 years ago
Stay Healthy, Stay Awesome!
First lets talk about what a portfolio is.
A portfolio is NOT a collection of work that you have done, showing what an awesome photographer you worked with 20 years ago.
A portfolio IS your CV. It is a representation of what work you CURRENTLY do, and an indication to any potential employers of your body-type and how you look in front of the camera.
Your portfolio should be up to date, i.e you should have at least a few pictures less than 2 months old, and none of your images should show you working at levels that you no longer work at. I.e if you dont do art nude because you are training to become a teacher, A) you shouldnt have done modelling in a style you were uncomfortable with in the first place and B) if you dont want people seeing nude pictures of you, they ought not be in your port!
Any changes to hair colour, weight, tattoos, etc, should all be reflected in the pictures. I've sent models packing before because they have turned up looking nothing like their portfolio, because i'm not paying for something i cant use. A model gets hired by me because she is better than the other applicants, if it turns out she in fact isnt better and has wasted my time, Shes going home empty handed and with a negative feedback.
People don't read the wall of text that you call a profile 75% of the time. they look at your location, your levels and your pictures. If your levels dont say art nude, but you have art nude in your pictures, a potential employer will assume that you DO art nude.
A model portfolio should be small. 150 images is too much to trawl through. You might be really proud of your work, which is great! but show it off on a personal website, or social media. A professional portfolio is no place for it, and saving an image because 2 years ago some tog made a slightly positive but completely non-constructive comment on it is no reason to keep it.
The same way that a professional CV for any other job should be kept brief, to the point and short, a model portfolio should be exactly the same. Only current pictures, representative of your current work AND your profile text should be short and to the point. I dont care that you have had a lot of requests, I dont care that "too many togs have let you down" and i dont care that your cat is called jess and you drive a red van.
What your professional profile should be providing is, relevant details. If a photographer books you, what do they need to know? travel arrangements and range, wardrobe, makeup, previous experience, REFERENCES, etc
It isnt just newbies who do make these mistakes. There are supposedly experienced models who have literally hundreds of images in their port, who wont get a second glance because no professional tog has the time to trawl through portfolios trying to find the newest images. Especially if the model turns out not to even do that level of work anymore.
So improve your employability and be ruthless with your portfolio. 1 Current image is far better than 10 from 2 years ago
Stay Healthy, Stay Awesome!
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ModelFolio accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for the content or accuracy of authors comments.
