Diary of a model

Lily spends her days as a model, rushing from shoot to show and on to yet another casting. On Amayzine, she tells you all about what her life is really like. Under a different name, of course, but that means she can share all the juicy details. This week: a lesson in model slang.

Sometimes I get comments from girlfriends like: ‘You always say this or that, but I actually have no idea what it means.’ Apparently, the modeling world has completely invented its own ABC. Today, I'm going to give you a lesson in ‘model slang’, so hold on tight.

Let’s begin with the beginning.

Scouting:

Many models are scouted. This means that an agent approached him or her (online or in real life) with the question of whether he or she would like to become a model. It can happen that you are scouted by multiple agencies as a model. Even if you have been modeling for a while, agents still occasionally approach you to scout you.

New face:

Girls who have just been scouted and are still new to the industry.

Agent:

Agents (also known as bookers) work for the modeling agency. At some agencies, each agent represents a few models, while others divide the clients among the agents.

Mother agent:

Your mother agent or mother agency is the agency that oversees all your jobs. They are a bit like the overarching agency. They are also in contact with your other agencies abroad and actually manage your schedule and thus your life.

Agency:

A model has multiple agencies. Each agency represents the model in a country or specific region.

Go see:

A go see is a general casting. It is not for a specific job, but rather to meet potential clients. Think of a photographer, stylist, or casting director.

Casting:

At a casting, you go in with your portfolio for a specific job (here you can read how castings work).

Callback:

If the client liked you but wants to see you again, you get a callback. That means you go back again (makes sense). Maybe you meet someone else or the casting director just wants to see you one more time.

Fitting:

The next round is when the client wants to see how the clothes fit. You go back again for the fitting (yay for going back and forth to the same casting multiple times). Clients: clients are usually the designers or owners of a brand.

Casting directors:

They need to find the right models for the job for the client. Portfolio (also known as ‘book’): a book (or sometimes an iPad) with photos of your best shoots. You give this to the casting director to browse through.

Comp card:

A kind of business card with your photo, your measurements, eye and hair color, shoe size, and your agency.

Option:

If you are on option, it means that the client might want to book you. Often, there are many girls on option for the same job, so the chance that options go through is usually very small. As a model, you can also have multiple options in one day (first option, second option, etc.). This means that your agent prefers option one, but if that doesn't go through, there is still another option. It's a puzzle and a strategic chess game, which as a model, you fortunately don't have to deal with much. Job: if you are confirmed for the option, it becomes a job. A job can be a shoot or a show.

Shoot.

There are different types of photoshoots:

• Editorial: shoot for a magazine
• E-commerce: shoot for an online webshop (30-50 outfits per day)
• Lookbook: a few looks from the new collection in print or online (10-20 outfits per day)
• Catalog: a booklet to show the vibe of the new collection, so shot more dynamically than a lookbook (10-20 outfits per day)
• Campaign: the photos you see on billboards and in magazines (5-10 outfits per day)

Callsheet:

A document with all the information for the shoot, such as call time, location, names of the team, etc.

Call time:

The moment you need to be present at the job.

Location vs studio:

Speaks for itself, but studio is shot in a studio (duh) and a location can be anywhere: a house, a desert, a car, or an abandoned parking garage.

There are probably more words that sound very logical to me but sound quite strange to the ‘non-model community’. From now on, I will try to keep track of them, and who knows, there might be a Models for Dummies part 2.

XX kisses from Lily