guide

Model Polaroids: How to Take Them and Why

· checked at the source · Mateusz Pawlik

Contents
  1. What are polaroids really for?
  2. When should you take (and update) polaroids?
  3. What do modelling and acting agencies ask for?
  4. Which shots to take?
  5. Polaroids for men
  6. How to take polaroids step by step
  7. Light and colour: skill matters more than gear
  8. Can you take polaroids at home with a phone?
  9. When is it worth having polaroids taken by a photographer?
  10. What is a polaroid session like?
  11. How much do polaroids and portfolio photos cost?
  12. Self-tape: a video for your application
  13. Staying safe when you apply
  14. What’s next: the comp card and tests
  15. Frequently asked questions

Polaroids (also called digitals) are simple photos with no makeup, no retouching and no filters: face, half-body and full body. A modelling agency looks at them when you apply, but that is not where their job ends. Polaroids show the client and the whole crew who will turn up on set. That is why they need to be current and true, not pretty.

The name dates back to when agencies photographed candidates with a Polaroid camera. Today the same shots are taken with a digital camera, hence the other name, digitals. Agencies use the two interchangeably. In colloquial Polish they’re also called polasy.

Tests, or test shoots, are something else: styled photos, some of them retouched, that show how you come across in a shoot. They’re what a model’s book (portfolio) is built from. Polaroids show you with no styling and no retouching. In the Tests (900 PLN) and Extended Tests (1400 PLN) packages we do both: you leave with polaroids, a comp card and photos for your book.

I shoot polaroids in Warsaw for models and actors. This guide covers what matters in polaroids from the point of view of a photo set.

What are polaroids really for?

Polaroids are for everyone who will work with you, not just the agency:

  • the client checks whether you fit the concept of the shoot,
  • the makeup artist sees the skin and features they will work with, and which products they may need for that concept given your skin and complexion,
  • the hairstylist judges the length, colour and thickness of your hair and plans how to style it to strengthen the concept of the shoot,
  • the stylist looks at your figure and proportions to know what will sit well on you, and picks the clothes. The comp card clients use helps here: besides photos, it has your height, clothing and shoe sizes and measurements.

An example from set: the client’s vision needs fair, pale skin. The model arrives with a deep tan and clear tan lines from a swimsuit. The concept falls apart, and the client will most likely never book her again, because she sank their project. Outdated polaroids are not a formality. They put your next jobs at risk.

Don’t hide imperfections: scars, birthmarks, tattoos, discolouration. Hiding them works against you, because it misleads the client, and it will come out on set anyway.

When should you take (and update) polaroids?

Ideally after every change that shows in a photo:

  • hair colour or length,
  • a new tattoo or piercing,
  • getting or removing braces,
  • a change in your figure,
  • a tan.

If you know you’re changing your hair next week, don’t take polaroids today. Paying for photos right before a change is usually money down the drain. Let’s book a date after the change, so the photos serve you longer. The exception: a client or agency needs current photos now and wants to catch you before the change. Then we shoot right away.

And if nothing changes? Agencies don’t give a single deadline, and guides say anything from “every three months” to “no older than a year”. For adults, I consider every 6–12 months a sensible rhythm. Updating every six months is a very professional approach. Once a year is enough if nothing visible has changed. Just because you and the people who see you every day don’t notice changes doesn’t mean there are none.

For children, teenagers and young adults, update polaroids more often, because the face and figure change faster at that age than in adults.

For the curious: until when do the face and figure change?

That the face and figure change fastest in young people is confirmed by studies that measured the same people over many years. In a study from age 5 to 45, the facial profile changed most in girls between 10 and 15, and in boys between 15 and 25 (Bishara et al., 1998). A study spanning 50 years shows that the face still changes clearly between 15 and 30, and only then do changes slow down (Al-Taai et al., 2026).

The figure is similar. During puberty, height grows fastest in girls at around 12 and in boys at around 14. Towards the end of puberty girls gain body fat, so body proportions change too (Wheeler, 1991). After twenty, the figure doesn’t stand still either. In a study that followed more than 5,000 people for 25 years, weight increased fastest between 20 and 30 (Dutton et al., 2016).

What do modelling and acting agencies ask for?

Modelling agencies ask for 2–8 photos: almost always your face and full body, often profiles, usually without makeup or filters. The details differ, including whether an agency explicitly asks for polaroids. Before you take photos, check the form of the agency you’re applying to. Or tell me in your enquiry which agencies you want to send photos to: I’ll check their requirements and we’ll shoot a set made exactly for them.

Examples from the casting forms of Polish modelling agencies (checked on the agencies’ websites on 2 October 2026):

Agency Photos What they ask for
AS Management 4 face from the front, both profiles, full body
Model Plus up to 4 two profiles, portrait, full body; daylight, no makeup or filters
Specto 3 “digitals”: face, profile, full body
Avant up to 3 no makeup, daylight, no filters; full body in tight-fitting clothes
Neva 4 no makeup, natural light, no retouching
Vanilla 6 portrait, smile, full body and 3 others; no filters, no makeup or light makeup
8fi up to 5 natural, no makeup, light background, swimsuit (women)
Gaga 8 in the example face and full body from the front, in fitted clothes and in swimwear (women: bikini, men: shirtless)
BIBIMODELS* up to 3 polaroids, a phone is fine
Uncover 2 a selfie and a full-body photo, nothing professional
Zevra 8 face with hair down and tied back, both profiles, full body from every side; no makeup, mirrors, selfies, filters or backlight

Some agencies just ask for “a photo” with no details, and Infernal explicitly rejects mirror selfies taken with a phone.

Acting agencies more often also ask for hands and a video, i.e. a self-tape:

Agency Hands Video
Infernal portraits smiling and showing your hands yes
Gawagai a photo of your hands; a separate route for hand models yes, landscape
Twarze.pl in the video, both sides up to 1 minute, waist up
BOSKA in the video, with profiles and full body yes, landscape

Which shots to take?

The standard set of polaroids:

  • face from the front,
  • left and right profile,
  • face smiling,
  • half-body,
  • full body from the front, side and back,
  • hands: worth adding a close-up. Acting agencies often ask for them, and some also look for hand models (for example Gawagai: shape, skin and nails).

You come across as much more professional if the photographer crops the photos so that they look even side by side on a comp card: the face in the same place on every portrait, the body at the same scale in every shot. I crop to a fixed template. How it works and how to download it for free is in my post about the overlay for cropping digitals.

Polaroids for men

For male models, the rules of light, framing and keeping polaroids current are the same as for women. A few things differ:

  • clothes: jeans and a fitted T-shirt, white or black,
  • underwear: if you plan polaroids in underwear, bring plain boxer briefs,
  • facial hair: the way you usually wear it, but groomed. Not three-day stubble because you forgot to shave or trim your beard and came straight out of bed.

I shoot polaroids for male models too.

How to take polaroids step by step

  • Background: plain, no patterns, ideally white or a neutral colour. It mustn’t draw attention away from you. A coloured background also distorts skin colour: it reflects its colour onto the skin, and on top of that the surroundings change how the eye perceives skin tone (Chou et al., 2010).
  • Clothes: simple and fitted, in neutral colours (black, white, grey). They should show your figure, not hide it. A swimsuit only if the agency asks for one or you want those photos.
  • Hair: one shot down, one tied back, with your face uncovered.
  • Face: no makeup. That’s what most modelling agencies ask for (including Avant, 8fi, Neva, Model Plus and Zevra, see the agency requirements table; abroad, for example Storm and Elite). Only some agencies explicitly allow light makeup (for example Vanilla), but none says what that means: you won’t find permission for BB cream, foundation or mascara. If in doubt, skip them. The one exception I recommend: a dab of concealer to cover something you don’t usually have, such as a fresh spot. Acting agencies (for example BOSKA and Twarze.pl) allow natural makeup, nothing heavy. Take off false lashes.
  • Piercings: remove the extra ones, keep at most a discreet one.
  • Glasses, hats and large jewellery: take them off. Model Plus and BOSKA want photos without glasses or headwear, and Elite in New York also asks you to take off large jewellery such as hoop earrings and bracelets, because they’re distracting.
  • Nails: subtle, nude, natural or French. Not too long, not eye-catching.
  • No retouching or filters. The agency needs to see you, not the editing.

For the curious: how do signed models do their makeup for polaroids?

For a first application, the agency wants to see you without makeup: “No makeup. 100% clean face” (Unique Agency). Models who are already represented sometimes wear makeup for polaroids that doesn’t show in the photo. Before polaroids at her agency, Elle Trowbridge uses a few products, each in a minimal amount: a mattifying primer where the skin gets shiny, concealer under the eyes and on redness, a tinted moisturiser instead of foundation, a brow pencil, a drop of cream bronzer and blush, a little mascara and a lipstick in her lip colour (video). The tinted moisturiser evens out her face with her tanned body before the underwear shots. Millicent Lambert, a model from Perth, describes a similar kit. Both have the same goal: to look as if they’re wearing no makeup.

Light and colour: skill matters more than gear

Polaroids don’t need an expensive camera. They need good, soft light, ideally from large windows. In my experience agencies increasingly accept well set up artificial light too, but not all: some forms still ask for daylight or natural light (for example Avant, Model Plus, Neva and BIBIMODELS*, see the agency requirements table). That’s why it’s worth telling me before the session which agencies you plan to send polaroids to.

What to look for:

  • no harsh shadows on the face and body,
  • no blown highlights: bright areas of skin mustn’t turn into white patches with no detail,
  • no shadows under the eyes (“raccoon eyes”) from light coming from above,
  • enough light for the pupils to contract so your eye colour shows.

I set skin colour when taking the photo, not afterwards in editing, from memory. On polaroids I do at most a gentle adjustment of brightness and contrast. The colour is set beforehand, so nobody has to guess what exactly your skin tone was.

What can change skin colour:

  • light reflected off leaves outside the window turns skin green: a typical problem in a low-floor studio with trees outside,
  • a colourful building façade outside the window or a colourful wall in the studio reflects its colour onto the skin,
  • afternoon sun makes it yellow,
  • too much shade makes it cooler.

That’s why, when choosing a studio and a time, I look at the time of day, the direction of the sun at that hour and the studio’s surroundings. On set I set the colour in the camera manually. The goal is one thing: accurate colour reproduction. You get photos in which your skin has its true tone, and the client and makeup artist see exactly what will walk in.

For the curious: how do I set colour?

On set I photograph a colour chart (color checker), a card with patches of known colours. Based on it, I manually set the white balance in the camera and correct it along two axes: amber–blue (A-B) and green–magenta (G-M). Colour temperature alone doesn’t remove, for example, a green cast from leaves outside the window. A correction on the green–magenta axis does, but only when the whole photo is evenly lit by that one light. If it mixes with another source, a single correction can’t even out the whole frame. Then it’s best to shoot in a studio on a higher floor, out of reach of the trees.

Can you take polaroids at home with a phone?

Yes, if the agency doesn’t require photos from a photographer. Some agencies explicitly accept phone photos (for example BIBIMODELS*, Neva, Model Plus and Uncover, see the agency requirements table). It also happens that an agency invites you for a meeting based on a selfie alone, then takes polaroids itself or with a photographer it works with. In my experience agencies are less strict today than they used to be, but each in its own way, so always check the form of the agency you’re applying to.

You pay a photographer for skill, not for gear. Modern phones take very good photos if you take care of everything else: light, background, camera position and distance. The risk of rejection grows when a photo comes out blurry, shaky, too dark, too bright or with distorted proportions.

A good spot at home is a white wall facing a large window. I often shoot exactly like this in the studio myself. Ideally during the day, when the sky is evenly overcast: the light is soft then and casts no shadows.

The most important things:

  • camera perpendicular to you, not tilted up or down. A tilted camera distorts proportions: it lengthens or shortens the legs. A good starting point for a full-body shot: the camera at a height between your navel and the middle of your chest. This applies to any camera, not just a phone.
  • distance: proportions are distorted by distance, not by the lens itself. Up close, whatever is nearest to the camera gets bigger: in a selfie from about 30 cm the nose looks about 30% wider (Ward et al., 2018). Better to stand further back and zoom in.
  • full resolution, no portrait mode or beauty filters. Portrait mode and skin smoothing are filters too, and agencies ask for photos without filters.

For the curious: which phone zoom?

First, a point of reference: in photography, a perspective close to natural vision comes from a so-called normal lens, a focal length of about 40–58 mm in full-frame terms (normal lens). You can look up that equivalent focal length for every phone zoom step, so it’s easy to see which zoom comes closest.

On popular phones the closest to that range is 2x (46–52 mm), but the resolution then drops, because the phone uses only a crop of the main sensor (on iPhones from 48 to 12 MP). 0.5x is out: it’s ultra-wide, the furthest from 40–58 mm. Proportions depend on distance, not on zoom. A 1x photo taken from the same distance and cropped so your figure fills the frame looks like a 2x photo. You get the same number of pixels too (about 12 MP out of 48 MP), and even fewer at the default 24 MP. So it’s simpler to stand further back and use 2x straight away.

How many pixels you actually get also depends on your settings. By default an iPhone saves photos at 24 MP. Full 48 MP needs Settings > Camera > Formats > Resolution Control and the HEIF Max format, and even then resolution drops when you zoom, use Night mode or flash (Apple). Android can be similar: on my phone, full 50 MP works only at 1x.

iPhone:

Zoom iPhone 16 Pro, 17 Pro, 18 Pro, 18 Pro Max iPhone 16, 17
0.5x 13 mm 13 mm
1x 24 mm, 48 MP 26 mm, 48 MP
2x 48 mm, 12 MP crop 52 mm, 12 MP crop

Samsung Galaxy:

Zoom Galaxy S25 Ultra, S26 Ultra Galaxy A56 Galaxy A36
0.5x 120° angle 13 mm 16 mm
1x 23–24 mm, 200 MP 23 mm, 50 MP 25 mm, 50 MP
2x about 46–48 mm, crop about 46 mm, crop about 50 mm, crop

Sources: Apple’s specifications (16, 17, 16 Pro, 17 Pro, 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max). Samsung doesn’t list equivalent focal lengths, so for the Galaxy phones these come from tests and reviews (DXOMARK on the S25 Ultra, DXOMARK on the S26 Ultra, Digital Camera World on the A56, Wikipedia on the A36), and 2x is simply twice the 1x focal length.

Up close at 1x you get more pixels, but distorted proportions. From further away the proportions are true, but you get fewer pixels, whether you use 2x or crop a 1x photo. It’s a balance between image quality and keeping your body’s true proportions, which is why technique matters more than gear.

When is it worth having polaroids taken by a photographer?

A polaroid session with a photographer makes sense when:

  • you want the whole set to look professional and consistent,
  • your skin colour needs to be accurate (see Light and colour),
  • you don’t have a suitable spot and plenty of light at home,
  • you have no one to ask to take the photos: the back view and profiles are hard to do on your own,
  • you want someone to take care of all the details for you,
  • you want to be sure every shot is done well and none is missing. It’s easy to forget, for example, that your ear should be visible in a profile shot.

What is a polaroid session like?

A polaroid session is fairly mechanical and quick, because these aren’t artistic photos. I set up the light and colour, then we go through a fixed set of shots. You don’t need to know how to pose. I tell you how to stand and where to look.

The shooting itself takes about 30 minutes. I book the studio for an hour, because that’s usually the shortest hire possible. It gives us time to get ready calmly, choose what you’ll finally wear and pack up without rushing. Rushing helps no one, especially when it’s your first time. The order:

  1. Underwear or swimwear, if we’re doing them. We start with them, because fitted clothes leave seam marks on the skin, and we don’t retouch them out of polaroids. For the same reason: no hair tie on your wrist, before or during the session.
  2. Full body, then close-ups, and finally a few lightly posed full-body shots with a smile.
  3. Hair tied back first, then down. On profile shots I make sure your ear is visible.

I work with a laptop: every few shots we look at the photos together, check everything is fine and adjust if needed. I take each frame 3–4 times, because people blink or move, and I pick the single best one.

What to prepare and bring to the session is in the offer.

How much do polaroids and portfolio photos cost?

With me, polaroids cost 600 PLN, studio included (Digitals package: 20 unretouched digitals, approx. 30 minutes of shooting, a comp card). Tests, i.e. polaroids plus 10 retouched photos in 1–2 outfits, cost 900 PLN, and extended tests (20 retouched photos, 2–3 outfits) 1400 PLN. Current prices are in the price list.

Among five other photographers and studios from Google results, a polaroid session costs from 300 PLN to 1250 PLN; where they state the number of photos, it’s 8 to 20 (checked on 2 October 2026). Not every price includes studio hire. If a photographer charges for it separately, add the cost of the room: the median price of an hour of studio hire in Warsaw is 150 PLN (October 2026). So when comparing offers, check:

  • whether the studio is included,
  • how many photos you get,
  • how long the session lasts.

Self-tape: a video for your application

Besides photos, agencies, most often acting agencies, ask for a short video, a self-tape. Photos don’t let anyone hear your voice. From the video the agency learns whether your voice and way of speaking suit, say, an advert or social media content, and whether you speak fluently.

The intro the video starts with (required by, among others, Gawagai, Twarze.pl and BOSKA):

  • first name and surname,
  • age,
  • height,
  • city,
  • agency, if you already have one.

Then 2–3 sentences about yourself: what you do day to day, what you’re passionate about.

After the intro you usually show your full body, and for commercial castings sometimes also your profiles and hands (Spotlight).

How to record:

  • landscape (explicitly required by, among others, Gawagai, BOSKA and Gudejko), framed from the waist up,
  • keep it short: Twarze.pl and Gudejko say up to 1 minute,
  • eyes close to the lens,
  • light from the front: the window behind the camera, the same rules as for polaroids,
  • a plain background, stand about 1 m from the wall,
  • sound without echo, hiss or background noise: a quiet room.

Always do what the specific casting asks for: if it gives its own list, that list matters more than general rules (Unique Agency on self-tapes, in Polish).

Staying safe when you apply

  • Send photos through the form or address given on the agency’s official website.
  • If someone writes to you as a “scout”, verify them using the contact details on the agency’s official website.
  • Asking other models and photographers for their opinion of an agency or a person is normal in the industry, not rude. Bezpieczny Modeling explains well how to check photographers and agencies and how to spot a scam (also: scams – how not to get fooled; both in Polish). Warnings about fake castings are also collected by the Facebook group “FEJK’owe castingi. POSTY OSTRZEGAWCZE.” (in Polish): before replying to an offer, it’s worth searching it for the name of the agency or person.
  • Nude photos are not needed to apply. A request for them is a signal to cut contact.
  • If you’re under 18, a parent or guardian should know about your application and be there at the first meeting.

If someone is blackmailing you with photos or videos: don’t pay, take screenshots, block the person and report it to the police (112 in Poland) and to the platform’s administrator (Polish police on online blackmail, Polish Ministry of Digital Affairs on reporting to platforms). If you’re under 18, call the free helpline 116 111. Content involving minors can be reported in Poland at dyzurnet.pl.

What’s next: the comp card and tests

Polaroids become a comp card: photos and measurements on a single card. The agency and clients see in one place what you look like and what your measurements are. I show versions for sending to an agency, for print and for social media in the post What Is a Comp Card?. With polaroids taken by me, the comp card is part of the package, in four versions. The fourth, a video comp card for reels and TikTok, is my own addition, not an agency requirement.

The second step is your book, or portfolio. It’s built from tests, or test shoots (modelling tests): lightly retouched photos where light makeup is fine. Styling, light and background stay fairly simple so they don’t pull attention away from you.

Frequently asked questions

What if the agency doesn’t reply?

No reply usually means the agency didn’t pick your application. Some agencies say outright that they only reply to selected candidates, for example D’Vision, and among acting agencies BOSKA and Gudejko. How long to wait depends on the agency: AMQ replies within 2 working days, D’Vision replies on Fridays (checked on 3 October 2026). If the agency gives a timeframe, check it in its form. A rejection doesn’t have to be final. An agency, like any business, has periods when it’s looking for new faces and periods when it isn’t. In my view it’s worth trying again in six months or a year, with fresh polaroids.

Where do you apply to become a model?

Directly to modelling agencies, through the casting form on their official website. You’ll find links to the forms of more than a dozen Polish agencies in the agency requirements table. Polaroids and basic details are usually enough to apply: age, height and measurements. How to spot a fake casting is covered in Staying safe when you apply.

How tall do you need to be to model?

It depends on the agency, and most don’t state a minimum at all. Those that do on their casting pages (checked on 2 October 2026) include:

Agency Height Age
Mango 172–182 cm 13–23
8fi 173–182 cm from 14
MalvaModels 173–182 cm (girls), 185–191 cm (boys) from 14
Neva min. 174 cm (women), 185 cm (men) —
Osmo min. 165 cm (women), 180 cm (men) any age

The other agencies in the requirements table don’t state a minimum, but their forms ask for your height. Vanilla accepts applications from people of every age and size. So modelling isn’t reserved for very tall people. For comparison: in 2026, 160 cm was enough to apply for “Top Model” on Polish TV channel TVN (application rules, season 15, in Polish).

Can a model have tattoos?

Yes, but it depends on the agency. Some accept tattoos, others only small ones in discreet places, and others none at all. On polaroids, don’t cover tattoos, just as you don’t cover scars and birthmarks. BIBIMODELS* explicitly asks for tattoos, birthmarks and scars to be clearly visible on polaroids. 8fi treats having no tattoos as a bonus, not a requirement.

Do I need swimwear photos?

Not always. Most agencies don’t ask for them. 8fi wants photos in a swimsuit (women) or boxer briefs (men) with the application. Gaga shows bikini shots (women) and shirtless shots (men) in its example application photos. In a session with me, it’s your choice. If the agency wants them and you don’t, we don’t take them. If the agency doesn’t need them but you want them, perhaps because you’ll apply elsewhere too, we take them. They fit into the same session and the same pool of 20 photos.

Need polaroids for an agency? Write to me with the agencies you’re applying to. I’ll tell you whether home polaroids will do or whether a session is worth it. Packages and prices.