Comp Card Photos: Which Shots to Use and How to Take Them

Which photos belong on a comp card

Aim for variety with a purpose. Each photo should show something the others do not.

• A clean headshot. Your face, shoulders up, in plain light. It shows your features and expression.
• A full-length shot. Standing straight, so a booker can see your shape and posture.
• A profile or three-quarter view. It shows your bone structure from a different angle.
• One image with more personality. A smile, a movement or a styled shot, to show you are more than a set of measurements.

Put your strongest photo first and largest. Do not repeat yourself, because two near-identical headshots use space a different angle would have used better.

How many photos to use

Three to five is plenty. A comp card is a summary, so extra photos weaken it. If you have only two or three good photos, use those and add more later. A short card of good pictures reads as confident, and a padded one does not.

How to take comp card photos yourself

You do not need a studio to take photos that work.

1. Use natural light. Stand facing a large window, or outside in shade on a bright day. Avoid strong overhead light and harsh shadows.
2. Keep the background plain. A clean wall or a simple backdrop keeps attention on you.
3. Wear simple clothes that fit well. Plain tops and fitted jeans work well, and nothing with busy patterns or large logos.
4. Keep hair and make-up natural. The photos should look like you on a normal good day.
5. Hold the camera at eye level. Ask a friend to take the pictures if you can, and take plenty so you can choose.
6. Stand straight and relax your face. Take some with a neutral expression and some with a smile.

For the plain, unstyled photos agencies often ask for first, read modeling digitals and polaroids.

What to avoid

• Heavy filters and retouching. Bookers want to see you, and a mismatch causes problems at the first meeting.
• Old photos. If your hair, weight or look has changed, take new ones.
• Group shots and cropped-out friends. Every photo should be of you alone.
• Low-resolution or blurry images. A sharp phone photo beats a blurry professional one.
• Busy backgrounds and strong colour casts. They distract from your face and skin tone.

Should you pay for a photoshoot?

Not at the start. Many models begin with simple, honest photos taken at home, and add a professional shoot later if an agency or photographer suggests it. A genuine agency does not make you pay to be considered, so read modeling scams before you pay anyone for photos.

Ideas for each shot

The headshot. Stand square to the camera, relax your jaw and look just past the lens or straight into it. Take a set with a closed mouth and a set with a gentle smile. Pull your hair back from your face in some and leave it natural in others, so you can see which shows your features best.

The full length. Stand tall with your feet slightly apart and your arms relaxed. Keep the whole body in the frame, with a little space above your head and below your feet. Wear fitted clothes so your shape is visible, and avoid baggy layers.

The profile or three-quarter view. Turn your body about 45 degrees and look back at the camera, or turn fully to the side. This shows your jawline and nose from the angle a booker will not see in a front-on picture.

The personality shot. This is the one with movement or expression: a laugh, a step, a turn. It does not need to be dramatic. It simply shows that you are a person and not a still life.

Outfits and colours

Keep clothes plain, fitted and simple. Black, white, grey and denim work because they do not compete with your face. Avoid busy patterns, large logos and anything that hides your outline. A well-fitting top and jeans are the standard for a reason: they let a booker see you.

Colour matters a little. A top close to your skin tone can wash you out, and a strong colour near your face can change how your skin looks. If you are unsure, take the same photo in two tops and compare them side by side.

Light, angles and common fixes

• Harsh shadows under your eyes. Move so the light is in front of you, not above you.
• A flat, grey look. Face the window more directly, or step into brighter open shade.
• A strange body shape. Do not hold the camera too close or too low. Eye level or slightly below usually flatters least and shows most honestly.
• Red-eye or glare. Turn the flash off and use daylight instead.
• Blur. Hold still, brace your arms, or rest the phone on something steady and use the timer.

How to choose the final set

1. Take far more than you need. Fifty photos to find five is normal.
2. Remove the weak ones first. Cut blurred, badly lit and badly cropped shots without a second thought.
3. Compare the headshots. Pick the one that looks most like you.
4. Choose a full length and an angle that differ from it. Make sure each photo shows something new.
5. Ask someone who knows you. If they would recognise you instantly from the set, it is honest.

A checklist before you use them

• Every photo is recent and looks like you today.
• Each one is sharp, well lit and uncropped at the wrong place.
• No two photos are near-identical.
• You have a headshot, a full length and at least one other angle.
• Nothing in the background distracts, and nothing private is visible.