Why Tearsheets are Just as Good as Money

Money is always good, I'll always stress that, but when it comes to other important assets to a model's career, tearsheets are gold. If you are ever offered a modeling gig that is willing to give tearsheets instead of pay, take it!

Tearsheets are important because they show legit proof that you have been booked for a particular gig and that it has been published. This type of payment is often better than money because it is a quick way to build up your resume and portfolio.

Clients tend to take a model more seriously when they see that he/she has a good collection of tearsheets. As opposed to a really nice image from a photo shoot, a tearsheet contains all the elements that show it has been published: text, captions, logos, etc.

For those of you who aren't familiar with what a tearsheet is, it is literally a copy of an image that has been torn out of the actual publication. While seeing a piece of paper with a torn side may sound unappealing, having a portfolio filled with tearsheets is a very good thing to have.

Sometimes models and photographers end up getting tons of copies of the magazines, brochures, etc. of the work they have appeared in. Because it can be annoying to tell someone to look through the table of contents to find the page you're on, it's much easier to tear out the actual page.

For those who do modeling online and have appeared on websites, online galleries, and advertising banners, you don't actually have anything to tear out. A good alternative to including online work in your portfolio as a tearsheet is to simply print out the actual web page.

Depending on what kind of options your computer has, you can set your printer to print the entire page that shows it is currently on a live site and not something you just photoshopped. Try to print online modeling images on good photo paper.

Below are two of my own tearsheets:

This image goes across two pages in the magazine Mocha Bride so it's okay that the fold shows...it's just additional proof that it actually was published:

So when it comes to gigs with tearsheets, definitely go for it!

Comments

pinup_girl said…

Well, I just learned what Tearsheets were! Thanks :]

August 14, 2007 at 7:14 PM

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