Booking A Model: The Process
written by
Lily Dewing
Hi, I’m Lily, and I’m a model booker at Sandra Reynolds Agency. We are a busy London-based model and acting agency, and as a model booker, I provide our clients with models and actors for both photographic campaigns and TV commercials.
I have been lucky enough to work with some wonderful household brands such as Charlotte Tilbury, Tom Ford, Apple, Samsung, Facebook, TUI and more.
The process of booking one of our models is very straightforward, and Team SR are here to help you, every step of the way...
GETTING IN TOUCH
The model booking process begins once you reach out to us with your brief. As well as being experts in our field, we pride ourselves on being friendly and approachable, so you can either call for a chat or send your requirements to us via email.
To match you with the right talent, our model bookers will often ask for the following details:
- The brand
- The type of shoot (stills, video etc..)
- The types of models or actors you’re looking for (age, looks, appearance etc..)
- The number of models/actors
- The shoot location
- The shoot dates
- Your budget
- What the images and/or footage will be used for (territories, timescale etc..)
- If the model/actor is required to bring any of their own wardrobe
FINDING YOUR TALENT
After understanding your brief, we will put together an initial lightbox of suggestions (a shortlist of potential models) and send this to you for your feedback. If you would prefer to build your own lightbox, then our website has search filters that allow you to narrow down suitable models by criteria such as area of work, age, geographical area, appearance, measurements, accent, and skills.
The lightboxes that we send are bespoke to each brief and are a visual representation of potential models for your project. They allow you to clearly see the models that align with your creative brief and will include a selection of recent images and videos as well as natural shots which allow you to see each model without any special lighting or retouching. Once you have received this, you can ask us any questions and start to select the models that you feel are right to feature in your project.
CHECKING MODEL AVAILABILITY
Once you have your shortlist, our next step is to check the models’ availability with your confirmed rates and usage and then pencil them for your shoot dates. Once you know the models that are definitely available, you can let us know which of those you would like to confirm for your shoot, and we can release the others.
CONFIRMING FULL DETAILS
It is important for all parties that the full details of each booking are clearly communicated to all and therefore the next stage of the booking process is to confirm these with you. Along with the previously agreed rates and usage, we will need location details, call time, a wardrobe brief (if required), travel arrangements, and any other information that may be relevant to the shoot.
Once all details are agreed upon, a booking confirmation will be raised and sent to you via email for your review and signature. This will also ask you to agree to our Client Terms. It will include all details such as your name, contact information, invoicing details, booking date and time, location address, duration of the booking, models, fees, and any special instructions or requests.
FINALISING THE BOOKING
Once you have signed the booking confirmation to say you are happy with all the details, these will be fully communicated to the models to ensure they are well-prepared to be able to do a great job for you on your shoot.
Because we only represent models who are as professional, friendly, and reliable as we are, we expect that everything will run smoothly from this point. However, in the unlikely event of there being any questions or issues prior to or during the shoot, we are always available to resolve these. Our reputation has been built up by providing excellent customer service and our booking team will always go above-and-beyond to exceed our client’s expectations – it’s what we do best!
If you have any additional questions about our model booking process, or would like to chat through a brief, please CLICK HERE or call 020 7387 5858 or email me on [email protected] or our Head Booker [email protected].
We look forward to working with you.