Take digitals an agency can use.

What digitals are, and why they matter

Digitals, sometimes called polaroids, are simple, natural photos that show what you actually look like today. Plain background, minimal styling, no editing. They are not meant to be beautiful. They are meant to be honest.

That is why agencies rely on them. A styled, retouched photo shows what a photographer and an editor can do. Digitals show what an agency would be working with. Early on, a clean set of digitals tells them more than any polished shoot.

The five-minute setup

1. 01Find your light. Shoot outdoors in open shade, or indoors facing a large window. Soft, even daylight is the goal. Avoid direct sun, ceiling lights and flash.
2. 02Find your wall. Use a plain, light wall with nothing on it. Stand about a step away from it so your shadow does not fall on the wall.
3. 03Set your camera. Use the normal (1x) rear camera, level, at about chest height. Turn off beauty modes, filters and portrait blur. For full-body shots, stand roughly three metres away.
4. 04Get help. Ask a friend, or use a tripod or a stack of books with the timer. Selfies distort your face and cannot show your full body.
5. 05Dress simply. Fitted, plain clothes in a neutral colour, such as a plain top and jeans. Hair down and natural, little or no makeup, no jewellery, no hats or sunglasses.

The eight shots

1. 01Headshot, straight on, neutral expression, shoulders square to the camera.
2. 02Headshot, smiling.
3. 03Profile, left side, head and shoulders.
4. 04Profile, right side, head and shoulders.
5. 05Three-quarter, turned slightly, from head to about mid-thigh.
6. 06Full body, front, standing naturally with arms relaxed.
7. 07Full body, side.
8. 08Full body, back.

Take several frames of every shot, not one. You will keep only the cleanest of each.

The common mistake

Making them look good. People filter, smooth, crop tightly or pose like a fashion shoot. The result hides the very things an agency wants to see: your face, your proportions, your natural expression. If you have to choose between flattering and accurate, choose accurate.

Other things that make a set unusable:

• Old photos. Digitals should be current, so they match how you look now. Retake them if your hair, weight or appearance has changed.
• Busy backgrounds, harsh shadows, or a wide-angle phone lens that stretches your body.
• Baggy or patterned clothes that hide your shape, or a heavy filter that changes your skin.
• Heavy edits. Do not smooth, reshape or crop in a way that changes your proportions.

Done when

You have one clean, unedited photo for each of the eight shots, taken recently, in even light, against a plain wall. Put them in one folder and keep the originals. You will use them in your model card, in your submissions and in your Portfolio Check.