Shoot me Beautiful ...: Style Photography by David Kerr ...

Experience is Confidence ....

Is it bad or a total waste to do a test shoot with a photographer? No... When you are starting out any chance you have to get in front of the camera and see some results is valuable. It is a chance to gain some experience, try new make-up, poses, expression, wardrobe, and see how the photographer sees you. And once in a while you and the photographer may even hit upon something that will produce an outstanding photograph. It seems to happen more by accident then design, but sometimes cool things can happen. For a model this 'learning by doing' is the best teacher. So you can build a portfolio by this approach but it can take time, but it does help to accomplish your second goal of ganing experience.

First impressions ....

The Composite Photo Card helps to get you noticed and considered for projects. A comp card provides a small collection of pictures and basic stats on card stock or rigid paper. It is a standard marketing tool that has been around for many years and is still very essential to have today. A comp card is a relatively inexpensive and versatile sales tool.

Modeling agencies often put comp cards in their display racks. This makes it easy for a client to go into a modeling agency and quickly scan their talent pool. Modeling agencies and models send comp cards to photographers, art directors, and others to advertise new talent or to show updated looks or expanded capabilities of an established model. Speaking from my own experience, as a photographer I have found comp cards very useful in hiring talent. Photographers often maintain a talent file for future projects. In addition, the comp cards make it possible for a photographer to show prospective clients a selection of talent available for their project. Comp cards can be used in other ways, but they remain a very essential marketing tool for a model.