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See, what’s going to happen to you if you don’t have a portfolio?

Nothing! Literally nothing will happen because...no one will call you back...no agency will sign you on...and your career as a model will go nowhere.

That’s how important it is to create a knockout portfolio.

But how do you do that? Here are a few tips – based on our own experience as an event staffing and modelling agency (we’ve literally seen thousands of portfolios over the years):

• First, you have to know your market. Are you aiming to be a high-fashion model or a print model? Or a promotional model? This is going to determine what your portfolio will ultimately look like.

• In your photos, go natural! So don’t cake yourself with makeup. Wear little or no makeup in your portfolio photos. “Huh? Why?” you might be asking yourself, gazing wistfully at your wondrous makeup collection. It’s because agencies want to see how you look without makeup on so they have a much better idea of what kind of modelling projects you’d be best for.

• Find a decent photographer to take the shots. Don’t whip out your smartphone camera. Ugh. Smartphone photos never, ever make for a good portfolio. It’s got to look highly professional. But here’s the good news: you don’t have to break the bank when looking for a professional photographer. Many models simply do what’s called a “TFP” – a trade for print. Basically, the photographer shoots photos of you for free, and gives you the photos – but you’re taking part in the photographer’s photo project without pay. How to find this kind of arrangement? A local camera club could work – or browse relevant modelling forums online.

• Final tip: keep your portfolio updated! Nothing quite gets under the skin of agencies like seeing an awesome portfolio...only to discover that the prints in that portfolio are 5 years old!

So there! Use these tips to create a fab portfolio that agencies actually love looking at.

Up next tomorrow: how to find the right agency. You won’t want to miss that!