Model Digitals
What Are Model Digitals?
Digitals are reference images. Clean, unretouched photographs that show exactly what a model looks like on a given day: skin, bone structure, proportions, hair. No production lighting, no heavy retouching, no styling choices that belong to an editorial shoot. The camera is close. The background is neutral. The images are straightforward.
Every modeling agency uses them. Before representation, before a booking, before a go-see/ digitals are how the industry evaluates a model without the interference of production. They answer one question: what does this person actually look like? Casting wants to see exactly how you look, right now, as you are, so they can imagine how the designs will look on you and where you fit in the production.
They are shot regularly throughout a model's career, not once. A model who booked at twenty-two looks different at twenty-six. Weight changes. Hair changes. The face changes. Digitals need to reflect who you are now, not who you were when you started.
Typical shots:
Full body, facing front, left/right, back, angled
Closeup of face/headshot facing front, left/right to see jaw (lift hair to reveal jaw if you have long hair)
What Digitals Are Not
Digitals are not a portfolio shoot. They are not an opportunity to test looks, try wardrobe, or build a book. There are no looks. There is no styling. There is no creative direction.
Social media has blurred this. The term "digitals" now appears regularly in photographer marketing as a way to describe extended shooting sessions with multiple outfit changes and edited galleries. That is not what digitals are. That is a portfolio shoot with a different name attached to it.
The confusion is not accidental. Free or low-cost sessions marketed as digitals attract models who are early in their careers and looking for portfolio material. The photographer gets content. The model gets images that may or may not serve their career. Neither party is being honest about what the session actually is.
Digitals are a specific tool with a specific purpose. Treating them as something else does not serve the model.
When You Need Digitals
You need digitals when your appearance has changed enough that your current reference images no longer reflect what you look like. That is the only measure that matters.
For actively working models, that means updating them regularly (at minimum once a year), more often if your look has changed significantly. Update your digitals if you get a new haircut, experience change in weight, shift in how your face reads as you get older. Agencies notice when digitals are out of date. Be noticed for fresh digitals. Don’t be noticed for being out of date.
For models pursuing representation, digitals are often the first thing an agency asks for. Before they review your book, before they consider a meeting, they want to see what you look like without production. If your digitals are not current, accurate, and cleanly shot, the conversation may not get further than that.
For models early in their careers, digitals establish a baseline. They are not glamorous. They are not the images you post. They are the images that tell the industry what it is working with.
How to Get Them
Modeling agencies routinely take digitals for their signed models. If you are represented, your agency handles this. It is part of what representation provides.
If you are unsigned, you can shoot digitals yourself. A clean background, even natural light, and a phone camera are enough to produce usable reference images. Many models do this and it works. Agencies review home-shot digitals regularly and do not penalize a model for the production value, or lack of it, as long as the images are current, honest, and clearly lit.
If your self-shot digitals are not getting the response you want, hiring a photographer is a reasonable next step. But the photographer you hire should understand what digitals are. The mistake many models make at this point is replacing poorly lit home images with heavily retouched, over-styled, high-production photographs. That is not an upgrade. That is a different problem with a different name. Digitals need to look like digitals. Clean, direct, and accurate.
Professionally shot digitals are included in every portfolio development session at Scott Parker Photo. They are shot first, before hair and makeup, before looks. They are delivered the following day.
If you are not ready for a full portfolio development session, a test shoot may include digitals depending on the scope and goals of the session. That conversation starts with the form on the test shoots page.
There is no standalone digital session currently available. That may change. When it does, it will be listed here.
Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I update my digitals?
Any time your appearance changes enough that your current images no longer accurately represent what you look like. For actively working models, that typically means once a year at minimum. A significant change in hair, weight, or how your face reads on camera is reason enough to reshoot regardless of when your last set was taken. Agencies notice when digitals are stale. Current and accurate is the only standard that matters.
What should I wear for digitals?
Something simple and fitted that shows your body without competing with your face. A fitted t-shirt or tank top in a neutral color is standard. Avoid busy prints, large logos, and anything with strong styling choices that pull attention away from you. The point of digitals is to show what you look like. The clothing should support that, not complicate it.
What background should I use for digitals?
A clean, neutral background. White, off-white, or light gray are standard. The background should not compete with you or cast strong color onto your skin. A blank wall in good natural light is sufficient for self-shot digitals. What matters is that the background is consistent and undistracting.
Should my digitals be retouched?
No. Digitals are reference images. They are supposed to show what you actually look like. Retouching defeats the purpose. An agency that books you based on retouched digitals and then meets you in person has been misled. That is not a relationship that benefits the model. Light color correction for accurate skin tone is acceptable. Anything beyond that is not a digital anymore.
What is the difference between digitals and a comp card?
A comp card is a marketing tool. It presents the model's best work across multiple looks and is designed to make an impression. It is produced, styled, and retouched. A digital is a reference image. It is none of those things. Both have a place in a model's career. They serve completely different purposes and should never be confused for each other.
Can I use my headshots as digitals?
It depends on the headshots. A clean, simply lit headshot with minimal retouching that accurately represents what you look like can function as a digital for the face. What headshots typically cannot replace is the full body reference that agencies require. Digitals include headshot, three-quarter, and full body frames. Full body facing front. Full body facing left/right. If your headshots only show you from the shoulders up, they are not a substitute. If they are heavily retouched or shot with strong production lighting that flatters rather than reveals, they are not a substitute either.
Let’s start a conversation
Tell me a little about where you are and where you’re trying to go.
There are no wrong answers here.
This is the beginning of a conversation, not an application.