A

Advance – An advance can sometimes be given to in-demand models to secure their acceptance for a booking, similar to a deposit or down payment. However lesser known models generally do not receive advances.

Advertorial – Created and paid for by an advertiser, but has the appearance of an editorial.

Agency – See Modeling Agency

Art director – The art director is the person who is responsible for visual style and images of an ad or editorial presentation at a magazine, photo shoot and the like.  The art director’s decisions will determine the overall design and the kind of models used in the production, they may even be involved in selecting specific models.

Audition – Auditions are also often referred to as open calls, go sees or castings. These auditions are held so that agencies can find fresh new models that they may book for modelling jobs. These open calls allow will usually last a few hours. Clients may also hold auditions with models from different agencies in attendance.

B

Book – Refer to Portfolio

Booker – A Booker is an employee of the model agency who acts as a middleman between the client and the model. As the name suggests the booker negotiates the modelling jobs with their clients.

Bookout – A bookout is simply a period of time that you are unable to work be it for professional or personal reasons. As you are not available no clients will be able to book you in for that period.

Buyouts – A buyout refers to the purchase by a client to the rights to a model’s image for a designated period of time, there will also be conditions such as type of media and geographic region.

C

Call Time – The time at which a model should be at the specified location, however as with any new job being around 15 minutes early is recommended.

Call Back / Recall – A call back refers to a model being asked back for another viewing to help narrow down the agency or clients selections. Receiving a call back may or may not result in a model being selected.

Call Sheet –  Call sheets are used throughout multiple industry’s to detail the specifics such as the where and when associated with the project. They can include, but are not limited to information such as the location and directions to the shoot, hair and makeup requirements, direction of the campaign etc. However sometimes the agency will simply provide the model with a phone call or email with his or her particulars.

Casting – A casting is a notice sent out to models, agencies and sometimes modeling websites advising of the details required for upcoming productions. These can range from a call where everyone and anyone can apply to advising specific or predetermined models to introduce themselves to the client.

Casting Agency – See Modeling Agency

Casting Detail Sheet – See Call sheet

Cattle Call –  See Audition

Catwalk – A catwalk, or sometimes referred to as a runway, is an area or space used by models during a fashion show to show off the clothing and accessories to the audience. A catwalk is usually a long and narrow elevated platform, however in more recent times there has been a shift to same level runways.

Close Up – A close up is an image or video of a model taken a close range. It provides a more detailed image than regular shots.

Commission – Commission when relating to modeling is the fee you pay to your manager or agency. This will usually be a percentage of the amount your receive for completing your modeling job.

Composite Card – Composite cards can have multiple names such as comp card, sedcard or zedcard, either way they are a models business card. The composite card consists of a piece of card on which at least two of your images are placed preferably in various outfits, poses and settings. The card should include your name, statistics and contact information, it should also show your agency’s information. A good agency will compile and print your comp cards for you.

Cover Shooting – A cover shoot is a photo shoot designed to be placed on the cover of a magazine , a cover shoot can be a huge deal for an aspiring model.

E

Editorial – Editorial images or photographs are created to illustrate a story or idea within the context of the subject, they cannot be used for commercial purposes. Editorial works most commonly appear in magazines, newspapers, on the internet and sometimes can appear on television.

F

Fitting – A fitting is where the clothes to be modelled are fit onto the model in a session before the actual photo shoot. They clothes may be altered to fit the particular model so there may be a fair amount of standing around while items are made to measure.

G

Go&See – The term go&see quite literally means to go and see someone, in a commercial environment the model will meet up with a casting person about a particular job, however with fashion it usually means to see someone who will keep you in mind for future jobs.

L

Lingerie – Lingerie is a word used to describe sexy or appealing underwear.

Location – Location refers to where a photo shot or job takes place. If you are booked for an on location job it is recommenced that you prepare yourself accordingly for the advised environment.

M

Modeling Agency – A modeling agency is a company or business that matched models to clients. Agencies usually earn their income via commission paid from the client to the model.  The agency represents the models and works to actively promotes them.

Model Release – A Model Release is a legal document releasing the rights to the images taken by the photographer at a particular session. Should the images be used without the release or in a way not documented in the the release the model and grounds to sue for breach of contract.

N

New Faces – As the term suggests new faces refers to models who are new to the modeling world and usually do not have a professional book or portfolio yet.

P

Plus Size – A plus size model is the term used to describe models who primarily model plus-size clothing. They are becoming increasingly popular in recent years.

R

Runway – See Catwalk.

S

Sedcard – See Composite Card.

Senior model – A senior or mature age model is a professional forty plus model. Mature models are used to target particular demographics.

Set – See Location.

T

Tearsheet – A tearsheet is a page that has been ripped out our removed from a publication to show physical evidence to a client that their advertisement was published.

U

Usage – Also see Model Release – Models get paid for their time on set as well as the right for the client to use the images from that photo shoot to advertise. A model will receive additional payment for each usage purchased by the client. However sometimes the fee will be a flat fee which means the on set time and usage are combined.