Modelling Terms, Plainly | Metty Unuabona

In short: the words you'll hear from agencies, clients and photographers, each explained in a sentence or two. Where a guide covers a term properly, "Read more" takes you there.

Agencies and boards

Model agency: A company that finds models work and manages their careers, paid through commission.
Mother agency: Usually your first agency. It develops you and places you with agencies in other cities. Read more
Placement: When your mother agency arranges for another agency, often abroad, to represent you there. Read more
Booker: The person at an agency who manages your work, castings and diary.
Scout: Someone who finds new models, in person or online, for an agency. Read more
Open call: A set time when an agency sees new people without an appointment. Read more
Board: An agency's group of models of one kind, such as women, men, curve or New Faces. Read more
Mainboard: An agency's established models, who are booked regularly.
New Faces: Models new to an agency, still being developed and sent on castings before moving to a main board. Read more
Development: Models an agency is developing. At some agencies it comes before New Faces; at others it's another name for it. Read more
Freelance model: A model who works without an agency and finds and manages their own work.

Building your book

Digitals: Plain, unedited photos of you in fitted clothes and natural light, showing what you look like today. Read more
Polaroids: Another name for digitals, from when agencies used instant cameras. Read more
Comp card: A printed or digital card with your best images and measurements, given to clients. Read more
Book: Your portfolio: the edited set of your strongest images. Read more
Test shoot: A shoot to build your book and practise, rather than paid client work. Read more
Collaboration shoot: A shoot where the photographer and model both give their time and both get images. No money changes hands.
Tear sheet: A page from a published job, kept as proof of real work.
Mood board: A set of reference images that shows the look and feeling a shoot is aiming for.

Castings and bookings

Casting: A meeting where a client chooses models for a specific job. Read more
Go-see: A general meeting with a client or photographer so they know who you are, not for one job. Read more
Callback: Being asked back after a casting because you're still being considered.
Option: A client holding a date for you before confirming. A first option has priority over a second.
Confirmation: The client has booked you. The job is happening.
Release: A client letting go of an option, so the date is free again.
Direct booking: A client books you without a casting, usually because they already know your work.
Client: The brand, magazine or designer paying for the job.
Casting director: The person a client hires to choose the models for a job. Read more

The work

Call sheet: The plan for a shoot day: times, address, team and what to bring.
Wrap: The end of a shoot.
Editorial: Shoots for magazines and fashion stories, where the idea comes first. Read more
Commercial: Work that sells a product or service, such as adverts and catalogues. Read more
E-commerce: Product images for online shops, usually shot quickly in a studio. Read more
Campaign: A brand's main advertising images for a season or product. Read more
Lookbook: A designer's or brand's set of images showing a collection.
Fittings: Trying on clothes before a show or shoot so they can be altered.
Runway: Walking in a fashion show, also called the catwalk. Read more

Money and rights

Day rate: What you're paid for a day's work, before any usage fee. Read more
Overtime: Extra pay when a job runs past the agreed hours.
Usage: Where, for how long and in what media a client can use the images. Read more
Buyout: A fee paid for usage, agreed separately from the day rate. Read more
Commission: The share of your fee an agency keeps, set out in your contract. Read more
Agency fee: A charge the agency adds to the client's bill for arranging the booking.
Exclusivity: An agreement not to work for competing brands, or with other agencies, for a set time. Read more
Contract term: How long an agency agreement lasts and how either side can end it.
Model release: A signed agreement that sets out how images of you can be used. Read more

Safety and practicalities

Measurements: Height and body measurements agencies ask for. Take them accurately and keep them current. Read more
Chaperone: An adult who stays with a younger model for the whole shoot. Read more
Self-employed: How most models in the UK work, meaning you handle your own tax through Self Assessment. Check your own contract.
Upfront fees: Money asked for before you've worked. Legitimate agencies earn from commission, so read Is This Legitimate? first. Read more