A Direct Marketing Agency - Helping Brands Acquire and Retain Customers

Models in advertising and catalog photography are the face of your brand so it’s extremely important to find the right faces. Current and potential customers need to be able to identify with your choices so they can picture themselves as users of your products or services. Therefore, the look of your target market is the look you need to match.

There are some basic steps you can take to help you find those faces out of the thousands of models available. Ask your modeling agencies to send you comps of only those models that meet your basic requirements for age, gender and ethnicity. If you desire more experienced talent, be sure to state that requirement and ask for the years of experience and a listing of each model’s clients. Keep in mind that more experience usually means higher rates.

You never know how long ago the shots on a comp card were taken so it’s very risky to base your decision on those images only. Once you have narrowed your choices down to a manageable number, ask the agency reps for current images and require that they give you the date these were shot. Not so long ago this could be a difficulty as models would have to come into the agency office and have someone take Polaroid shots of them, but nowadays almost everyone has access to a digital camera and can easily supply current shots. Be sure to give them any special requirements you have for these shots. For instance if you’re going to be shooting swimwear, you need to see them in a swimsuit. If you’re going to want them to be happy and smiling in shots for your project, you need to see them that way in these shots. You’d be surprised how many models neglect to include a big smile on their comps!

If you’re going for a lifestyle look rather than straight posing, you might want to request models that are SAG members (Screen Actors Guild) because these people have some acting experience and are used to moving around and interacting with others in front of a camera. However, if you’re not willing to pay the much higher rates that SAG models command, you can request that they supply you with a video clip of themselves interacting with another person or telling a story about themselves. This will help you see if they’re comfortable in front of a camera and can give a good indication of their personality. When we first started asking for video clips several years ago, we were told that wasn’t possible, but we kept asking and have found within the past year that almost every agency now provides that if you ask.

Once you have your selections made, your work isn’t quite done. You need to be sure your models know what’s expected of them. Every job is different and models will give you what they THINK you want if they don’t know what you REALLY want. We bring tear sheets and stock images as well as past and current printed pieces to our shoots to show the models exactly what kind of look and feeling we want from them. They’re always very grateful for any direction that will help them give you the right look for your brand.