Models.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I was just wondering about the website, Models.com. They put your picture online and you have to pay for your portfolio to be on their page.

They say that your pictures will be seen by the biggest agencies such as Elite, Ford, and Wilhelmina, and the top 30 agencies. But you do have to pay for it.

I know they are not an agency, but I am already signed with two good agencies in Michigan, and was wondering if by doing this, will the big agencies in NY really see my comp card and portfolio?

I am interested because I am looking to expand my modeling career. Is it worth that $60 or $80 a year?

Please reply as soon as possible.

Thanks so much for your time.

A.B.

A.,

Models.com is probably worth the expense simply for the forums. The rate was $59.95/year, which is about $5/month. There is a lot of discussion between models and other professionals in the models.com forums.

But if you are only interested in the possibility of being seen, it may not be as effective, or worth the risk. You would have to determine their top agency placement success rate. How many of the models are there on the site? How many were selected by the top agencies? Those would be the questions to ask them.

Talk to the agencies which represent you, and ask them to promote you as mother agents do to the larger agencies. If they are good agencies, as you said, they should do this for you. Of course there's a financial interest for them, too, so it should not take much to get them started.

The internet is far too passive for a competitive industry. How do you compete with other models and aspiring models whose comp cards and portfolios are sent or who actually visit the agencies in New York and attend their open calls?

The top agencies are mostly interested in fashion models. If you are fashion model material, and within the fashion model age bracket, your chances of getting promoted to a larger market are significantly higher.