Photographers, Models: Getting Your Portfolio Started

I'm always surprised at how many of my fellow photographers haven't heard of Model Mayhem. If you're a photographer just getting your feet wet, you might try the site. You'll even find some pros scouring the site for the next new face to put into their portfolios. Model Mayhem, and sites like it, have been around for quite some time. They allow aspiring models, makeup artists, photographers, and the like, to view each others' online portfolios and potentially work together, often in trade.

Now for the bad news. If you've had any experience with sites like this, you've no doubt come across everything from scam artists, to flaky no-shows, to all out nut cases. Read the forums on these sites to get an idea of the pitfalls and what to avoid.

But once in awhile you'll meet some cool people who are really on their game. The really great aspiring models will often show up on several photographers' sites in succession. Once someone finds a girl who actually shows up, is good in front of the camera, and is easy to work with, word gets around quickly.

Pictured is Phoebe. She was actually referred to me by makeup artist, Timea awhile back for a set of photos we were both working on. Timea needed some examples of her work for her portfolio. So did Phoebe and I. So, one TFCD (trade for CD) later we all had some new photos to work with.

There's often a burnout point for many of the models who eventually tire of doing shoots with too many photographers unwilling to pay a modelling fee (Phoebe, I think, has moved on). But, for those models (and photographers) who need a few good shoots under their belt, it's a great way to gain experience and free portfolio pictures.