Whether you are just starting out in the industry or are a seasoned professional with years of experience, you will need to attend a fair number of castings, auditions, or go-sees throughout your modeling career. This is the opportunity to present your best self to clients and photographers, showing off your skills with the hopes of receiving a call back for future projects. Therefore, your model bag or ‘call bag’ must have all the essential items needed for a successful morning or afternoon on-the-go. After all, it’s always better to be over prepared than underprepared. Here are a few tips on what to pack.
Water and Snacks
Depending on the number of auditions you have, it may be hard to find the time to have a sit-down lunch. And you really don’t want to be stuck in the middle of a shoot or catwalk with a grumbling stomach. With that being said, you can never go wrong by having a few snacks and a water bottle in your bag at all times. Even if you do have a moment to grab something to-go, you never know how long certain auditions will go on for, as some can even last late into the night. Be sure to opt for healthy choices like fruit and nuts that will keep your energy levels high.
Contact Lenses
For those models that need vision assistance, it’s a good idea to swap out glasses for contacts so that the booking director can have a better look at your face clearly with no accessories. Also, the camera will be less likely to catch unattractive glares this way. If you really want to shake things up, instead of going with your natural eye color, opt for coloured contacts that provide an extra brightness to the eye and can be ordered with or without a prescription. However, always be sure to write your real eye color down on your intake form since the staff will need to keep these records on file for future jobs.
Portfolio (Digital or Physical Copy)
It goes without saying that you’ll need your ‘book’ with you at every casting, no matter the importance of the client or brand. Even if you are new to the modeling scene, always keep a few high-quality headshots with you. Also, thanks to the advanced technologies we now enjoy, all of this content can be kept stored digitally on a tablet or mobile phone for enhanced organization.
Hair Products
As stated above, casting days are long. This means that the hair you leave the house with will most likely not look like the same hair you end the day with. That’s why your bag should contain some basic hair products like a small bottle of dry shampoo, clips, a comb, elastics, and the list goes on. If it is compact enough to stash in your bag and you feel like you may need it throughout the day, bring it. The same goes for small makeup products you might want to reapply. One thing’s for certain – your clients will be very impressed with your fresh look.
A Book
Even though many clients will have a waiting room stacked with magazines whose covers feature major stars like Harry Styles, it can be nice to take along something extra to pass the time with. What could be better than your favourite book? Swap out social media scrolling for reading – it’s bound to help ease those pre-audition nerves!
Phone Charger
I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again: do not forget your phone charger at home. This can not be stated enough, since, aside from having general communication with friends and loved ones, you will probably need access to a GPS all day. If you don’t know the location of a casting and have no way to find it, you’ll lose that potential job opportunity. Therefore, be sure to turn around and triple check that wall plug before leaving your apartment.
Travel Sewing Kit
How many of us have ripped a hole in our pants or caught our shirt on something that caused it to rip almost instantly? A travel sewing kit can be a real lifesaver during moments like this when you have nowhere else to turn but must keep presenting yourself in auditions for the remainder of the day. Info about the best on the market for on-the-go apparel repair can be found online.
Images from Mario Lopez for Salvatore Ferragamo Men’s Tornabuoni 1927 Collection – See the full story here
