There are so many articles online that claim to help you become a model, the problem is that most of the information is out-dated and written by people who have no real industry experience.

Many claim as a new model, you should never have to pay for your own marketing. Not only is this flat out wrong, it hurts those who have real potential from investing in themselves. This rumor was started in the 1980’s when a modeling agency would cover all expenses to start, then recoup them after a booked job. Some agencies will front these cost to select talent however, most will have to invest in themselves, especially when just starting out.

With the rise of digital media, models are paid less and this has caused agencies to have various fee’s they pass along to the models.

In this article, we discuss the things that new models must invest in, versus what is a waste of money.

These are a must for any model or actor. Without professional photography, it will be very hard to land casting calls. For every one casting call, there are literally hundreds if not thousands of people applying for the same casting.

To stand out, you must have real photographs, however you do not need to spend thousands of dollars on them.

In the past, comp cards were printed out and mailed, now they are digital in most major markets like New York or Miami. Comp cards are hard to generate on your own. Many agencies and companies such as Latitude Talent Studios have software to help generate comp cards on demand.

You can try to model yourself and build your brand, but there are so many models doing it, so its easy to get lost in the mix. Getting help from a talent marketing service is worth it if you are trying to become a model.