Modeling is a business and while the shoots, shows, fittings and castings are all well and good, there is a huge business aspect to having this type of career as well.
Freelance models operate as their own agency representation and that means being the direct point of contact between all clients you interact with.
Unfortunately, sometimes you'll have to go a bit out of your way to make sure that things are on the up and up. We're all human and sometimes even the most legit and reputable client may be forgetful, have last minute stuff come up or other mishap that could interfere with a project you've agreed to work on together.
For this reason, I highly suggest that freelance models make it a priority to practice "confirming" all of their modeling assignments. This includes informal and formal meetings in addition to the actual gig. Like I said above, things happen and you simply can't completely rely on a client to remember to keep you in the loop about such things. Sometimes they may even have thought they checked in with you but didn't.
In my career I've had experiences where a shoot or other related assignment was set between myself and the client but when the day/time came, they either did a no show or did not contact me any further to discuss/confirm details. As a result I ended up wasting an entire day on something that never materialized, when I could have gotten another gig to replace it. It only took this happening twice for me to realize that I had to take it upon myself to get that almighty confirmation that things were still going to happen according to what was discussed previously.
Here are some examples of when and how to confirm things with clients so that you're not left hanging:
- Once you've been officially booked for a shoot, fashion show or other related modeling assignment, send a follow up email to your contact person at least 2-3 days BEFORE you're scheduled to work. Keep it short and simply state that you want to confirm the details of the project. Make sure to list the date, time and location in your confirmation email. This is a must because it will help the client identify exactly what project you're talking about. It's also helpful in case any or all of those details have changed and they need to get you the updated information. Be sure to state that you need them to reply back to confirm the information you've sent so that you know they received it.
- The reason you should send your confirmation email 2-3 days in advance is because this gives the client enough time to get back to you and prevents you from waiting on pins and needles to find out if you'll even have a gig to show up for the next day. In demand clients juggling multiple projects may not get your message right away, especially if they happen to be traveling.
- If you've sent your confirmation email well in advance and still haven't heard from the client, follow up with a text or phone call to find out if they got your message (it's best to have this form of contact information available as well and not just an email address).
- Want to make sure your confirmation email gets taken seriously? In your message be sure to state in a professional way that if you do not receive a response from them confirming the details within at least 24-48 hours of the intended shoot date, then you will assume things have changed and will not plan on showing up. This may sound bad to say to a client but it is business situation and if they're legit, they'll understand what you're trying to say and not take it personally. It's important to also phrase this the right way. If it helps, mention something about having experienced no calls/no shows from clients before and that the confirmation reply from them is just a way to make sure that everyone is on the same page. Putting things into perspective for the client will help them to understand why you would consider not showing up if they don't respond back to you.
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