Modeling is learned quickly on set and very slowly in emails. Nobody explains what an option is, why the call sheet arrives at 11 pm the night before, what rights you granted by signing an email, or why March’s fee arrives in June. This guide covers the path from the first digital to the first transfer — what you’re told at the first casting, and above all what you’re not.
Photo01Digitals and the book
It all starts with digitals — the French say polas. Simple photos, taken in daylight against a plain wall, no make-up or retouching: front, profile, full length, three-quarter. They’re not meant to be beautiful; they’re meant to be true. It’s what every booker looks at first, and what every client asks for before confirming you.
The book comes next. It’s built with tests — unpaid, or nearly, shoots with photographers who are building their portfolio too — then with the first editorials and campaigns. Ten to fifteen strong images beat forty average ones. The comp card sums it up on a card: three or four photos, your measurements, your agency. Today it’s mostly a link.
Digitals, measurements and comp card live in one place and share as a link. Odette reminds you to reshoot digitals in early August and early January — the two moments when bookers prepare their season.
02Finding a modeling agency
Agencies take online applications — a few digitals, your measurements, your city — and hold open calls, walk-in sessions with no appointment. A reply can take a week or never come; it’s not a judgement, it’s a full roster.
A serious agency never charges to sign you. It earns a commission on your jobs — often 20% in France, up to 25% in Milan, New York or Los Angeles — and rebills certain expenses agreed in the contract: comp cards, book development, sometimes an apartment on trips. Read the contract before signing: exclusivity, term, notice, expenses, and who takes what if you work in another city.
| Mother agency | Local agency | Direct | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Role | Manages your career, places you in other cities | Books you on one market: Paris, Milan, New York… | No agency: you deal with the client |
| Commission | 20% in France, often a share on local agencies | 20 to 25% depending on the market | None — but you invoice, remind and negotiate |
| Contract | A framework contract, often exclusive, 1 to 3 years | One contract per market, sometimes per season (Tokyo) | A contract or an email per job |
| Payment | Runs payroll (employee status in France), pays the net | Pays the mother agency or you, per the contract | The client pays you at your invoice’s due date |
| What Odette tracks | Contract, commission, statements, balance | Commission split, currency, withholding tax | Invoices, reminders, tax set-aside |
An agency that asks you for money before booking you is not an agency.
03Castings, options, confirmations
A casting is an appointment: book under your arm, heels in the bag, a simple outfit that shows your silhouette. The client watches you walk, takes a digital on the spot, asks two questions. A go-see is the same thing with no specific job behind it: you introduce yourself.
A successful casting doesn’t give you a job; it often gives you an option. The client holds a date without committing — they “put an option” on you, sometimes on three models for one role. The option has a release date: it’s confirmed, or released. While it runs, you can’t accept another job that day without saying so. The confirmation comes by email from your booker: date, client, fee, call time. That email counts as a contract. Keep it.
PhotoSeasons set the rhythm. Show castings land one to three weeks before the February–March and September–October fashion weeks — New York, London, Milan, Paris, in that order. The rest of the year, e-commerce, catalogues and campaigns are what a career lives on. August is quiet every year: it’s the month for digitals.
04The first job and the money
The booking email gives the essentials: client, date, rate, call time, image usage. The call sheet follows, often the night before: address, crew, schedule, contacts. On the day, arrive on time, no make-up, with the underwear requested — and keep every taxi receipt.
On the money side, two lines coexist. The day rate pays for the day. In France, an agency model is presumed an employee: the agency runs payroll, withholds commission and contributions, and pays you the net. Image rights — what the client pays to use the photos, on a given medium, territory and term — are paid separately under another regime. A €1,100 gross day rate through an agency at 20% becomes about €880 net; it frequently arrives 60 to 90 days later, because the client pays the agency, then the agency pays you.
What to keep, from day one
Five lines per job. That’s all Odette does — and all it takes.
05The beginner mistakes that cost money
They’re always the same, and they cost money rather than jobs: not keeping the booking email; not knowing what rights you granted and finding your campaign extended by a year with no supplement; not chasing a payment at 90 days for fear of being a bother; not reading an agency statement and letting a €280 “miscellaneous fee” slide; accepting expenses that appear in no contract.
Checklist · before the first casting
Odette was built for exactly these five points. She reads the emails you already get, keeps what you granted, puts every payment on its 90-day bar and matches statements to your jobs. The rest — castings, sets, cities — is yours.
Frequently asked
Do you pay to join an agency?
No. An agency earns a commission on your jobs. Real costs (comp cards, book) may be advanced then deducted on your statements, but never a “registration fee”. An agency that asks for money before booking you is not an agency.
Can you model without an agency?
Yes, working direct — especially in e-commerce, with small brands and tests. You then handle contracts, invoices, payments and image rights yourself. Odette knows both frameworks.
From what age?
Odette is for models aged 18 and over. Modeling under 18 is regulated: it runs through licensed agencies and legal guardians, and Odette doesn’t store minors’ data.
How long until the first job?
Often a season: digitals in August, the agency in September, first castings with fashion week, first e-commerce jobs in the following weeks. Nothing is guaranteed, everything is prepared.
