How to Include in Your Contract That You Would Like Photos for Your Portfolio

Never sign a contract if you are not satisfied with the terms.

One of the most important assets you have as a model is your portfolio. Your photos are displayed for booking agents to view and many times you are booked for a runway show or photo shoot based on the photos in your portfolio, which is why it is important that your photos are the best. When you sign with a modeling agency, you can negotiate your contract to include photos for your portfolio. These photos will be more professional and appropriate for the modeling industry because agencies know exactly what booking agents are looking for.

Instructions

1. Agree to sign only a non-exclusive contract. This means that the agency representing you is paid a commission when the agency provides you with go-sees and you book the job based on the interview. If you find yourself a job without the help of your agency you are not required to pay the agency a commission from that job. Exclusive contracts require you pay the agency for all bookings, regardless whether you booked the job without the agency’s assistance.

2. Tell the agency you will only sign the contract if it includes photos for your portfolio. This is where the request becomes tricky; if you are signing with an agency in a small market, such as a local agency rather than a national agency, you are typically expected to provide your own photos and portfolio. Agencies may not agree to include this clause in your contract, which means you have to decide whether or not to continue with the agency or move on until you find one that will agree to your terms. Larger market agencies are more likely to oblige to this request because they can control the portfolios and photos they provide for you. You may have to change your hair, weight or other aspects of your body or looks with this clause.

3. Consider the terms of the contract; read every last sentence and all of the fine print before you sign the contract. Once you sign it, you are required to adhere to the terms of the contract for the length of its validity. In the modeling industry, contracts are typically valid one to two years.

Tips & Warnings

• In addition to photos to start your portfolio, you need to include a clause in your contract that you will have new photos taken every six months. That is a standard time frame in the modeling industry.

References

• Modeling Advice: The Modeling Agency