Guide to Booking a Model
Booking a model is mostly straightforward once you know what to ask for. This is the whole process, in the order it happens.
1. Work out what you actually need
Four things decide the fee more than anything else: how many hours, where, how many looks, and where the pictures will be used. That last one is the one people forget, and it is usually the biggest number. A shoot used on your own social accounts for three months costs a fraction of the same shoot used on billboards nationally for two years.
2. Note the names
Filter by city, category and availability, and write down everyone you are interested in. Ask about them together in one enquiry rather than one at a time — we can then tell you who is free on your date in a single reply.
3. Send the enquiry
Tell us the date, the city, the hours and the usage. If the date is not fixed yet, say so and give us a window — availability is the thing most likely to change who you end up with.
4. We come back with real availability and a written quote
The rate on a profile is a guide, not a quote. What you get back is a fee, the hours it covers, what overtime costs, travel, and the usage rights in writing. If somebody you asked about is not free, we will say so and suggest who else fits.
5. Contract, then confirmed
Nobody is booked until a contract is signed by both sides. It names the model, the date, the fee, the usage and the cancellation terms. Until it is signed, the date is not held.
On the day
Send a call sheet with the address, the call time, who to ask for and what to bring. Provide a private place to change. Breaks and a meal on a full day are expected, not a courtesy. If the shoot runs over, tell us rather than the model — overtime is ours to agree.
Things that catch people out
- Usage creep. Deciding after the shoot to run it as an outdoor campaign means renegotiating. Agree the widest usage you might plausibly want up front; it is much cheaper than coming back.
- Measurements. A comp card is from when the model joined. Ask us to re-confirm in writing before a fitting.
- Cancellations. Cancelling close to the date usually still costs. The terms are in the contract before you sign, not after.
- Exclusivity. If you need the model not to work for a competitor, that is a separate term and it is priced separately.