How to start your journey as a model without being signed by an agency(free eBook, part 2)

Freelance modeling: Where do I start?

It’s a good question, and there’s no one right answer to it. There are nearly a million different avenues you can take to start your freelance journey, but I can offer you some tips on how I would suggest going about it.

First, I would recommend building a portfolio. Sorry, selfies just aren’t going to cut it here — unless you’re a skilled photographer with a self-portrait set up — and since most of us aren’t, you’ll probably need to find an industry professional.

Thankfully, building a portfolio doesn’t have to be hard, nor expensive! You just need to know what to look for. It’s a solid idea to familiarize yourself with groups to get involved in and common verbiage.

There are hundreds of photographer/model networking groups on Facebook with countless photographers offering TFP (time-for-picture) shoots (meaning both model and photographer trade their time for the photos). Other places I have used to network with models and photographers include LinkedIn, ModelMayhem and Instagram.

The upside to TFP is that it’s free, clearly, but the downside is that you aren’t getting paid and that if a photographer is offering TFP to a model without a portfolio (you), there is a chance they’re just starting out and trying to build their model portfolio — that can lead to lower quality photos due to inexperience. However, that’s not always the case and sometimes you will get lucky finding a good photographer willing to work with you for free!

One of the reasons I suggest starting with TFP is because if you’ve never modeled before, you may come to find out you hate it and so at least with a free photoshoot, you won’t feel like you wasted any money.

Alternatively, if you’re sure this is a career path you want to get into (seriously, look at YouTube reviews before you start) and really like a certain style or photographer and you can’t secure a free shoot, don’t be afraid to ask for rates. Most are reasonable, and it could be worth the one-time investment for great photos that’ll kick off your freelance career.

Before working with any photographer always:

• Check references/ask for references
• Ask to bring an escort — if they deny, don’t go!
• Be very clear about your boundaries and what you’re comfortable shooting — being naked isn’t always erotic and being clothed isn’t always innocent; keep these in mind when being asked to pose!
• Have a model contract clearly stating what you expect to be using the photos for and what you allow the photographer to use the images for
• Always be on guard
• Do a “vibe” check. If they don’t give you a good vibe then move on!

Okay — once you have the portfolio (I suggest at least a headshot, profile shot, and body shot) and have decided that you really want to do this as a career or hobby, you can use those photos (with the photographer’s permission — yes, generally you will need to ask permission to use, redistribute, or alter the images taken of you) to market yourself and pitch your services to businesses. Basically, this is the work that agencies do for their clients, but as a freelancer, you will be in charge of it!

I suggest creating social media profiles and pages for your model persona and networking from there. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok are great platforms to use for networking. Even LinkedIn can be a valuable resource for pitching yourself to businesses and paying photographers!

Before you can start offering your services, do have a good idea of what kind of modeling styles and rates you are prepared to offer. Do you want to be an on-site promo model for an energy drink company, a fashion model for a local boutique, or something else? Do you want to be paid per project or hourly? A plus side of being a freelancer is that you have the power to decide the kind of work you want to be doing and the rates you want to set, and the downside is you will be responsible for your management, safety, marketing, and payments/taxes.

Oh, and don’t network just with potential business; it’s always valuable to maintain coworker relationships with other models in the industry. They can offer some great insider tips, tricks and recommendations.

Stay tuned for part 3, and check out part 1 of this free E-book if you haven’t already! Connect with me on Instagram @datcassdoeee