Thursday, March 31, 2011

Canon Powershot G12

Canon Powershot G12

Modeling Comp Cards – Are They Becoming Obsolete?

Posted: 30 Mar 2011 06:35 PM PDT

Fifteen years ago photographers were only using rolls of film and the models would receive a touch sheet which contained all of their images after their photo shoot. From that point, you prime the images you wanted to recite yourself and you proceeded to a printing company. The printer would then originate a uncomplicated layout for you and your comp cards were the final product. Comp cards were ready in discrete quantities ranging from 50-500. The more you purchased the economy the cost. The entire process was long and tedious.

Today, the majority of photographers have gone digital. The benefits of digital vastly outweight that of film. Digitals can be manipulated with a computer software called Adobe Photoshop. This is a good and a bad thing.

Canon Powershot G12

You can play around with Adobe Photoshop and improve your best features such as your eyes or hair. The most important thing to note is that you don’t want to go overboard with the enhancements. You want to make sure your photographs look like you when you go on an audition. The worse case scenario is that you go on an audition and you are asked to leave. One of the best benefits of digital is that it saves you money on printing costs. You don’t need a ton of comp cards printed.

Personally, I propose that you order quantities of 100. That is more than adequate to give to your agents. Your agent will download/scan your comp card into their theory and submit you for assignments via the Internet normally with a site called actorsaccess.com. You are also able to update your comp card frequently as you get tear sheets from former jobs. Having the quality to update your comp card will help keep you current in an every changing industry.

Keep in mind, some modeling agencies are still using comp cards as some clients are not as tech savvy. Other agencies have their own websites where they display their talent for their clients to see and book their models.

Some of the experts I’ve spoken to in the industry are predicting it will be about 2 more years before comp cards come to be wholly obsolete and the modeling industry goes all digital. It is best to be proactive and ahead of the competition so now is a excellent time to learn Photoshop.

In the meantime with all of that extra money you are going to save, why not buy a domain name or start a blog and store yourself? Domain names are cheap and can be purchased right now and stored until you are ready to use them in the near future. By having your own website or blog you are able to house your own photos hence eliminating the need to have your photographs printed. You can simply contribute your agents or potential clients if you are a free lance model with the link to your page.

Modeling Comp Cards – Are They Becoming Obsolete?

Thanks To : Pentax K-5

Posted by Mike Reeve at 11:48 AM

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