Before Your First Agency Submission: A New Model's Action Checklist

The Pre-Submission Checklist Nobody Hands You

Most "tips for aspiring models" lists are about who you should be — confident, healthy, resilient. That mindset work matters, and I cover the honest realities of it in my reality-check guide to becoming a working model. But mindset isn't what stops most people. What stops them is not knowing the actual order of operations before they email their first agency.

I've photographed aspiring models in my Rockland studio for over a decade, and I see the same mistake constantly: people fire off a submission with phone selfies and a vague "I want to model" message, get ignored, and decide the industry rejected them. It didn't. They skipped the work that earns a reply.

So this is the tactical version — a sequenced, do-this-now checklist. Each step builds on the last. Don't jump ahead. Work the list in order, check the box, then move to the next one. By the end you'll have a submission that agencies actually open.

Step 1: Assess Your Stats and Type Honestly

Before you spend a dollar, you need an accurate read on what you're working with — because agencies book to fit, not to flattery.

Sit down with a tape measure and a notebook and record:

• Height (no shoes, measured against a wall — not what your license says)
• Bust/chest, waist, and hips in inches
• Dress or suit size, and shoe size
• Hair color and eye color

Write the real numbers. The single fastest way to burn a relationship with an agency is to pad your stats and then show up to a casting where the clothes don't fit. Then ask yourself, honestly, which market your look serves. In the Boston and South Shore market the dominant demand is commercial and lifestyle — relatable, approachable people across a wide range of ages, ethnicities, and body types who can represent real consumer brands. High fashion, runway, fitness, and mature (40+) are all distinct lanes with different requirements. You don't need to guess perfectly, but you do need a working theory before you can target anyone.

Check the box when: you have written stats and a one-sentence answer to "what type of model am I submitting as?"

Step 2: Shoot Your Digitals (Polaroids)

This is the step almost everyone skips, and it's the one agencies look at first. "Digitals" (the industry still calls them polaroids) are raw, unstyled, unretouched images that show exactly what you look like with no smoke and mirrors.

Shoot them yourself before you book any professional session:

• Plain wall, even natural light, no filters
• Fitted, simple clothing — a tank top and jeans, or activewear
• Front, both sides (profile), and back
• One smiling and one neutral headshot, hair pulled back off the face
• A full-length front shot

Hair down, minimal or no makeup, no heavy editing. Agencies use digitals to confirm your portfolio images are honest. If your polished photos and your digitals look like two different people, that's a red flag — so get the raw baseline on file now.

Check the box when: you have a clean set of front/side/back digitals plus a bare-faced headshot.

Step 3: Build a Small, Targeted Portfolio

Now — and only now — invest in professional images. Notice the order: stats and digitals first, because they tell you what kind of portfolio to build. A first agency submission does not need a 40-image book. It needs six to ten images that do specific jobs:

Primary headshot — clean, studio-lit, accurate. This decides whether they keep reading.

Full-body shot — honest proportions and posture in simple, body-conscious clothing.

Commercial look — approachable and brand-friendly: solid color, natural expression, clean background.

Lifestyle image — relaxed and contextual, the kind of authentic feel brands increasingly want.

That's the core. If you're targeting a specialty lane, add one image that proves it. This is exactly the work I build in my model portfolio photography packages — sessions designed to produce agency-ready submission images, not just nice portraits. I direct posing, expression, and movement the whole way through, so models with zero prior experience walk out with usable frames their first time.

Do this once and do it right. The most expensive path is cheap photos, no response, slightly-better photos, marginal response — three times the cost of a single good session, plus months lost. Pick a photographer with actual modeling and commercial experience, a controlled studio, and clean, accurate editing.

Check the box when: you have six to ten polished, varied, accurate images delivered.

Step 4: Lock Down a Tight Submission Set

You won't send your whole portfolio. You'll send a curated handful, so curate deliberately:

• Your single strongest headshot
• One full-body shot
• One commercial or lifestyle image that shows personality
• Your digitals, attached separately and clearly labeled

Resist the urge to send everything. A tight, confident set reads as professional; a 30-image dump reads as someone hoping volume hides uncertainty. Name your files cleanly (`firstname-lastname-headshot.jpg`), keep file sizes reasonable for email, and make sure every image is genuinely current.

Check the box when: you've selected three to four hero images plus digitals and named the files properly.

Step 5: Audit Your Online Presence

Agencies will Google you the moment your submission interests them, so do that audit before they do.

• Instagram is your living portfolio. It should show consistent, quality images and a coherent look. Set it to public or have a clean public option.
• Remove or hide anything that creates brand risk — content a consumer brand wouldn't want associated with a campaign. This sinks more submissions than people realize.
• A simple website or directory profile with your images, stats, and contact info signals you take this seriously.

Think of it as your submission's second page. If your portfolio gets them interested and your profile contradicts it, the interest evaporates.

Check the box when: your public accounts are clean, current, and consistent with your portfolio.

Step 6: Research the Right Agencies for Your Type

This is where targeting from Step 1 pays off. Do not blast every agency in New England. Instead, for each agency you're considering:

• Open their current roster and look for models who share your age range, look, and market segment
• Confirm they actively represent your lane (commercial, fitness, editorial, mature, etc.)
• Find their stated submission process — most agencies publish exact guidelines

If nobody on a board looks anything like your category, that agency is the wrong target, no matter how big the name. The Boston-area landscape includes large commercial/print agencies, boutique shops focused on specific niches, and newer digital-first agencies coming out of social and influencer marketing. Match yourself to the right kind. For a fuller walk-through of the local landscape and the broader process of going pro here, see my guide on how to become a model in Boston.

Check the box when: you have a shortlist of three to five agencies that genuinely represent your type, with each one's submission guidelines saved.

Step 7: Prepare and Send the Submission

Now you assemble everything into a clean submission — and you tailor it per agency.

• Follow each agency's stated format exactly. If they want a web form, use the form. If they want email, write email. If they want specific image specs or measurements listed, match them precisely.
• Keep the email short and professional: a brief intro, your stats, your hero images plus digitals, and your Instagram link. No life story.
• Address it correctly — to the new-faces or scouting department if they name one.
• Send individually, not as one mass email with every agency CC'd.

A tailored submission visibly outperforms a generic one, and the people reading hundreds of these can tell the difference in seconds.

Here's a sample email skeleton you can adapt — keep it this lean:

> Hi [Department/Name], I'm submitting for representation in [commercial/lifestyle/etc.]. Stats: [height], [bust/waist/hips], dress [size], shoe [size], [hair]/[eye]. I've attached three portfolio images and my current digitals. More on Instagram at [@handle]. Thank you for considering — happy to send additional images or come in for a meeting. [Name], [phone].

That's all it needs. Every word past that is a word the reader has to wade through. If an agency asks for an open-call appearance instead of email, treat that the same way: bring printed digitals, accurate stats on a simple card, and the same tight set of hero images. (If you're wondering whether you need a comp card at this stage — for a first agency submission you don't; that comes after representation. I cover the details in my comp card guide.)

Check the box when: each shortlisted agency has received a guideline-compliant, individually-prepared submission.

Step 8: Set Expectations and Follow Up Cleanly

You've done the work. Now manage the wait like a professional.

• Many agencies don't reply unless interested; silence after a few weeks usually means "not right now," not "never."
• One polite follow-up after two to three weeks is acceptable. A second is pushing it.
• If you do get feedback, treat it as market information about fit — not a verdict on your worth. I keep the emotional side of that, and the longer realities of the industry, in my honest reality-check for aspiring models.
• If responses are flat across the board, revisit the list: were your images accurate, your targeting right, your guidelines followed? Fix the weakest step and resubmit to fresh agencies.

Check the box when: you've logged each submission, scheduled a single follow-up window, and decided your next move based on the response.

Work the List in Order

The reason this works is sequence. Stats and digitals tell you what kind of portfolio to build. The portfolio gives you a submission set. The set, plus clean online presence and accurate targeting, produces a submission an agency actually opens. Skip a step and you're guessing — and agencies can smell guessing.

If you're at the portfolio step right now, that's the highest-leverage thing you can do today. Photography Shark serves aspiring models across Boston and all South Shore communities including Hingham, Scituate, Cohasset, Norwell, Duxbury, Marshfield, Plymouth, Quincy, Braintree, Weymouth, Hull, Kingston, Hanover, Pembroke, Abington, Milton, and Rockland. My studio is at 83 E Water Street, Rockland, MA.

Ready to Build Your Submission Images?

Steps 1, 2, and 4 you can do at home this week. Step 3 — the portfolio — is where I come in.

Contact me today to book your model portfolio session, and let's create the images that move you from "thinking about it" to a submission agencies take seriously.

Professional headshots in Rockland