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Male Model Portfolio Services

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Category: Male Model Portfolio Services

Published on Thursday, 30 August 2012 15:01

Written by AceMale Models™

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Traditional Model Portfolios are a Must!

With online profiles dominating every aspect of social and professional marketing for aspiring models, we get the million dollar question all the time: Do traditional model portfolios still count and are they even necesary?

I'll cut to the point and tell you that in our experience, the traditional, glossy and bound model book is not only still relevant, it is fast becoming a distinguishing factor again that is setting professional models apart from the myspace crowd (no disrespect we love myspace). But the fact of the matter is, virtually anyone can create an online profile, photoshop a few good still photos and BAM! you're a model (not). Now, more than ever, having a professionally developed and update model book / portfolio is a competitive advantage.

Get Your Professional Male Model Portfolio Started Here!

As a result, we found more and more of our internal models asking us to help them develop a professional model portfolio that they could provide to prospective clients. We examined the process and have worked hard to come up with our totally unique Portfolio Building Workshop For Aspiring Male Models. 

Building A Male Model Portfolio: 

 If you’re considering getting in front of the camera and getting paid for it, chances are that your mom, your girlfriend or someone else that you trust told you that you’re Hot and to consider being a Model. We’re not in the business of bursting bubbles, but a little reality check here is not a bad thing here as mostly everyone, at some point in their life, gets a comment of that nature. It doesn’t mean you should drop everything and flock to Milan, but if you truly have the desire to explore being a male model and think you have the raw talent and skills, then building a portfolio is a great first step. In this paper, we’ve outlined some realistic ways for an Amateur Male Model to go about getting his first portfolio up in this digital day and age and we’ve identified some trustworthy resources that can help reach that goal of becoming a Professional Male Model.

So, no offense to Mom or anything, but she really isn’t the person to tell you whether or not you have what it takes to land a paid gig as a male model (unless of course your mom is Janice Dickensen or Tyra Banks). To see if you have what it takes, one of the first things you’ll need to do is build a portfolio that you can showcase your look as well as your ability to convey a message or sell a product with that look. After all, that’s what modeling is all about – selling a Client’s products and services. The really great thing about getting into male modeling now is that Photographers, Designers, Business Owners and Clients of all kinds are seeking diversity. A finely chiseled jaw line, killer baby blue eyes and an 8 pack are not baseline requirements to be a Male Model anymore. Actually, businesses need all kinds of models to help convey their messages so don’t let anyone tell you don’t have the right look. Companies like ours (ACEMALE MODELS ™) work to link our Models with the diverse needs of our Clients, so what doesn’t work for one Client, could be a perfect match for the next. That is the beauty of this business and it is a fact that you should keep in mind as you begin your journey on the path to becoming a Male Model. Rejection rates are high, but once you match the right Model with the right Client, it’s really an amazing thing and well worth holding out for.

Portfolio Basics:

Let's talk about what makes a Male Model Portfolio and what you’ll need to get ready to showcase it. Back in the day (say 1999), Male Models carried a book around to their agents and clients with big, nicely composed photographs. Well, that was then and this is now, and in the now, you and your portfolio need to be ready for any and everything a client may request. The fact of the matter is that your images are what people will consider when they make the decision to book you. The better your portfolio is in terms of accessibility and diversity, the better chances of landing a client meeting and obtaining the modeling gig you really want. Therefore even if you are just starting off, we counsel our Amateur Male Models to create both a bound and virtual Male Model Portfolio to showcase their look to potential Agencies and Clients. (See below for some great places to put your portfolio online).

As a baseline, your Male Model Portfolio should have the following 5 photos easily accessible for potential Clients to review:

• Full length front image from head to toe & fully clothed.
• Full length front image in a bathing suit.
• Facial close up with out a smile.
• Facial close up with a smile.
• Facial close up in profile.

Here are some examples:

Once you have the 5 basic shots, have someone take images of you that are casual in nature. For example curb side on a busy street corner or at the gym. Avoid wearing any kind of make-up, hats or jewelry or anything else that will take away from your facial and body features. Keep your outfits simple and stick to what you know and are comfortable in, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience.

Time To Measure Up:

This combination of the 5 basic portfolio shots plus 2 or 3 candid shots are a good starting point for your Male Model Portfolio.  These are the images you can send to agencies along with your stats. Once you have these images, get out your tape measure and measure your height, inseam, sleeve length, shoulders, chest, biceps, waist and shoe size. Be honest when reporting these measurements as most Agencies will choose to re-measure and you don’t need people questioning your credibility. Also, remember what we said earlier, there is no perfect measurement in this day and age, so measure accurately and report confidently, the perfect Client will find you and will appreciate your honesty.

Next, with accurate measurements documented and your initial photos taken, it’s time to organize and publish them so you can start to network with Photographers and Agencies. Take your new images and put them up on the places like http://www.onemodelplace.com, http://www.malemod.com or http://www.glamourmodels.com and any other model portals you can find. Getting your photos and info out there is step one.

Get Out There And Network:

 Once you have that done, you are ready to begin reaching out to and networking with photographers.  You can contact photographers yourself through the search engines and direct them either to your online portfolios or you can email them your images. If the photographer likes your look and expresses and interest in working with you, they may pay you, but don’t count on it, especially when you are just starting out. Unless you are doing nude work, most Male Models do not get paid for portfolio building type work. For fashion, commercial and editorial work, don't expect to be paid a lot or anything at all right away. Remember at this point, you only have 7 or 8 photos in your portfolio, so you really will need to network and partner with photographers to get more shots – it’s all about building your portfolio at this point baby!  Another common exchange between Photographer and Model is called a ‘TFP” or “Trade For Photos”. In this scenario, the Photographer provides the Model with the best shots in exchange for the ability to post those photos in his or her photographer portfolio.

We’re not going to get into legal or Model safety issues in this paper, but you would be wise to review our safety tips and make sure your photographer is not on our list of known scumbag photographers before you make any firm plans to shoot. Although you desperately need shots for your portfolio, you don’t want to work with someone who is unprofessional – please trust us on this – the horror stories are plenty and the bottom line is - it’s just not worth it guys!!!

We encourage our Amateur Male Models to look for TFP type shoots.  This will help you learn how to work in front of the camera and will also help you learn from different photographers. Take advantage and listen closely to the direction they give you during your shoot. By working with multiple photographers, you can take all the feedback and come up with your own shoot style when you are in front of them camera. The only way to do this is with practice – sorry the bathroom mirror won’t cut it.

As we’ve mentioned a couple times before, don't take it personally if you are rejected. In fact, you should prepare yourself for it and even expect it. If you get offended at having been rejected, you won’t last long in the business, it really does just come with the territory.

So, here’s the best way we know of to build your first Male Model Portfolio: Start locally and find Photographers near you. Ask them if they would consider a ‘TFP’ type shoot with you so you can build your book.  When you email them, send them your images, links, contact information and measurements. Be straight-up in terms of  what you will and wont do as far as nudity is concerned and tell them the type of modeling you are interested in doing.  If no one will shoot you for free locally, then ask them how much they would charge. The only way you're going to build an amazing book is to be an amazing model and the only way you're going to be an amazing model is spending a lot of time in front of the camera. I don’t care how hot you are, you need to practice!!! Once you do a shoot, you need to get the images and look for the best ones to add to your collection.

We strongly recommend staying away from self portraits for your Portfolio. For an aspiring professional Model you will need to partner with, collaborate with and take direction from photographers and producers. Self portraits provide almost no value in terms of you ability to work well on the set with others, so think that through carefully and try to avoid self-portraits.

In Conclusion:

Building a truly professional Male Model Portfolio is a process that you need to be actively engaged with. If you go to one of these cheesy portfolio places, you will get exactly what you paid for - Crap. You need to study other people's ports, look at top model portfolios and magazines and try to emulate them, but add yourself to it. Take what they have done and expand on it. You need to study and make a conscious effort to try something new on each photo shoot. You need to network with Photographers who will shoot you under different conditions so you can show diversity and versatility to your Clients.

The better your portfolio is, the better your chances of landing the gig you really want. It really is that simple. Here at ACEMALE Models ™ we take pride in the work we have done to help develop portfolios for our Male Models. We do offer a 2 day Male Model Portfolio Building Workshop in Ft. Lauderdale Fl, where you will work with at least 2 commercial photographer and leave with a both a leather bound and online portfolio. Interested? You can read more about the Male Model Portfolio Building Workshops here or email us for more info.

Either way, good luck and drop us a line if we can help in anyway or if you want to share a story. And remember, we are trying to crack-down on ‘scum-bag’ photographers so please let us know who you worked with and what your experience was like.   Good Luck and yes, it’s ok to smile for the camera!!   :) 

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2 Day Male Model Portfolio Building Workshop:

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