Direct booking in modeling: meaning, example and tips

How it works

The client sees the model on the agency's website, in a magazine or in another client's campaign and books them outright. The model flies in for a day or a few, works and flies out. Travel and the hotel are normally paid by the client.

Direct bookings are the most profitable: no weeks of castings, no housing and pocket money eating into earnings on a long trip. That is why they go mostly to models who already have a strong portfolio and clients' trust.

The term is sometimes also used for work without an agency, when a client contacts the model directly. Then all the negotiating and the paperwork fall to the model.

In practice

A German brand sees a model's campaign and wants her for a two-day catalogue shoot in Hamburg. There is no casting: the client books her from the pictures on the agency's website. The client pays the flight and hotel, the model flies in the evening before, works two days and flies home. Only commission is taken from the fee, as there were no apartment or pocket money costs.

What to watch for

Check who pays for travel and the hotel.
Ask whether the travel day is paid.
Do not change your look: the client chose from pictures.

Related terms

How a job happensBookingA booking is a confirmed job: the client and the agency have agreed the date, the hours, the fee and the usage, and the model has accepted.Agencies and representationPlacement agencyA placement agency represents a model in one particular market, such as Paris or Tokyo, and works together with the model's mother agency.Agencies and representationFreelance modelA freelance model works without an agency: finds clients, negotiates fees, signs agreements and invoices by themselves.Money and rightsDay rateThe day rate is what the client pays for a model's working day, usually eight hours; the half-day rate covers four.Money and rightsAdvanceAn advance is money or costs the agency pays for the model up front and later deducts from their earnings.

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

01Why is a direct booking better than a stay in a market?

There are no apartment, pocket money or waiting costs, so more of the fee stays with the model.

02Is commission taken on a direct booking?

Yes, if the job goes through the agency. Commission is taken on the fee as usual.

Direct booking