Sourcing Models and MUAs

Model Mayhem, despite all its faults is still the main source of models and MUAs for the level I am at now. The castings are widely read and there is always a good response. It is a good source for models and MUAs who accept TF*, part-pay and paid work. However, it does have its drawbacks, namely the reliability of the people on there. While the majority of my shoots have gone ahead with no problems there are the last-minute cancellations to deal with and there is nothing worse than trying to find a model at 10pm the night before a shoot the next day.

Mayhem has a detailed search section where you can search for models who fit a specific set of criteria and you can also create castings to enable you to either look for a model or assemble a full creative team.

There are other online sites, such as Net Model but Mayhem seems to be the most widely used.. There have also been new ones set up e.g. anothermodel.co.uk but their membership is very low and they are not really any use when sourcing models, MUAs and stylists. 

Agencies are also useful for sourcing models and as my preferred genre is alternative fashion I look at places like Dark Arts to source models -http://www.darkarts.org.uk/home.html

Facebook is also becoming more popular as a way of organising shoots and sourcing Models, MUAs and Stylists. However, the one benefit 'proper' sites have is that they have a search facility and usually some sort of referencing facility so that you can check the credibility of people you intend to work with.