Digitals

Digitals, also called polas in the modeling industry, are simple, unretouched photos in natural light that show what a person looks like without styling, filters, or retouching. Agencies and productions use them to realistically assess whether someone is a good fit for a project.

Why Digitals are more important than glossy pictures

Professional photos show what can be achieved with lighting, makeup, and editing. Digitals show who will actually arrive on set on the shooting day. That is exactly what matters for casting: skin type, hair, build, tattoos, and presence. If you send only heavily edited pictures, you risk disappointment at the casting on both sides.

That is why you do not need an expensive shoot for your application. Good Digitals can be taken with a smartphone.

Which shots belong in the set

• Front-facing portrait, neutral facial expression, hair away from the face
• Profile portrait
• Full-body shot from the front and side
• Optionally, one picture with a natural smile

Wear simple, close-fitting clothing in muted colors, such as jeans and a top. Little or no makeup, no jewelry, no sunglasses. A bright, uncluttered wall is suitable as a background, and a window during the day provides suitable light.

What a reputable agency will not ask for

No nude pictures or intimate photos are needed for the first application, including for erotic productions. Anyone who asks for them before the first conversation is a warning sign. Whether and which additional shots may make sense later will be discussed in the initial interview and depends on your boundaries.

Privacy with Digitals

Photos often reveal more than you might think. Make sure that no address, mail, window with a recognizable view, or family photos are visible in the background. Smartphone photos also contain metadata such as the place where they were taken and the device used. Remove it before sending the photos or turn off location storage in the camera.

If you do not want to show your face, say so in your application. This is possible for some formats; for the casting assessment, portraits that remain internal are sufficient.

How often you should update them

Digitals become outdated quickly. A new hairstyle, a different hair color, a new tattoo, or a significant change in your figure makes fresh photos necessary. Agencies therefore regularly request current pictures, often before every major booking. Keep a small set of current Digitals ready that you can send quickly. The same applies to couples, supplemented by a joint full-body shot so that productions can assess how you work together.

In brief

• Send current pictures, no more than a few months old.
• No filters, no beauty apps, no editing.
• Show tattoos and piercings instead of hiding them.
• Send pictures only through the form or secure channels, not via unfamiliar messenger contacts.

More tips can be found in the article Application photos that work. You can apply directly via Apply.