July 28, 2026 · CLOS Team · industry
Where to find models: every platform compared
Model Mayhem, PurplePort, Facebook groups, Instagram, Backstage and CLOS Discovery compared honestly — where photographers actually find models in 2026.
Photographers today find models in six main places: two legacy portfolio directories (Model Mayhem and PurplePort), two social networks used as casting tools (Facebook groups and Instagram), one paid casting marketplace (Backstage), and one matching app built for collaboration (CLOS Discovery) — and each rewards a different kind of shoot.
This is the platform-by-platform version of that answer: what each one is genuinely good at, where it will waste your time, and how to pick. If you want the method-level view — including ways to find models that involve no platform at all — start with our guide to finding models for photoshoots. If you want a structured feature-by-feature scoring instead of a narrative review, see our comparison of the best apps to find models and photographers.
Model Mayhem
Model Mayhem is the oldest and largest dedicated portfolio directory still running — a searchable database of models, photographers, make-up artists and stylists that has been the default answer to “where do I find models?” since the mid-2000s. Its scale is worldwide, its search filters are genuinely useful, and in a big city the sheer volume of profiles is hard to beat.
The trade-off is age. The interface has changed little in a decade, and the most common complaint is dormancy: profiles that look promising but have not logged in for years, and the flaking that follows when you message them. Our CLOS vs Model Mayhem comparison goes deeper on that gap.
Best for: wide local casting in larger markets, where volume matters. Watch out for: dormant profiles, slow replies, and a dated experience.
PurplePort
PurplePort is Model Mayhem’s younger UK-born rival, and inside the UK it is arguably the stronger platform: an active community, regular member-organised events and studio days, and a culture of references left after shoots, which makes vetting easier than on any other directory.
The limitation is geography. Outside the UK and a few neighbouring markets the member base thins out fast, so its usefulness depends almost entirely on where you live.
Best for: UK photographers and models who want an active, referenced community. Watch out for: sparse coverage almost everywhere else.
Facebook groups
Local “models and photographers” Facebook groups are free, immediate and hyper-local — post a casting call and you can have replies from people in your city within hours. For TFP work on a zero budget, they remain one of the most effective channels there is.
They are also completely unvetted. There is no portfolio requirement, no reference system and no moderation standard beyond what each group’s admins enforce, so screening falls entirely on you. Read our guide to vetting a photography collaborator before you arrange anything from a group post.
Best for: free, fast, local casting. Watch out for: zero vetting — you are the safety filter.
Instagram is not a casting platform, but it doubles as the industry’s biggest portfolio site: nearly everyone you might want to shoot with is on it, and their feed is their book. Hashtag and location search will surface models no directory lists, and a strong grid of your own does half the persuading.
The cost is the cold DM. You are one unsolicited message among many, response rates are low, and there is no signal separating serious collaborators from accounts that just enjoy the attention.
Best for: reach, research, and approaching specific people whose work you already admire. Watch out for: low cold-DM response rates and no built-in intent signal.
Backstage / StarNow
Backstage — which absorbed StarNow — is a different animal: a paid casting marketplace where the listings are jobs, not trades. If you have a budget and want to hire talent for a defined production, it is the professional route, with structured listings and applicants who expect to be paid.
That framing is also its limit for collaborative work. Subscriptions and paid listings make it poor value for portfolio trades, and posting an unpaid TFP concept in a paid-jobs marketplace lands badly.
Best for: paid, professional castings with a real budget. Watch out for: subscription costs, and a poor fit for unpaid collaboration.
CLOS Discovery
Discovery is the collaborator matching feature in CLOS, our remote photoshoot app, and it takes the opposite approach to a directory: instead of searching profiles and cold-messaging, you browse portfolio profiles, like or skip, and a chat opens only when the interest is mutual. That one mechanic removes the two chronic problems above — every conversation starts with confirmed intent, and there are no dormant profiles to message into the void.
The other difference is that the shoot itself can happen in the same app: CLOS lets the photographer direct and capture through the model’s phone camera remotely, so a match in another city — or country — is still a shoot, not just a chat. Discovery is free to use for everyone in the CLOS app, with Pro from $7.99/month adding RAW capture and manual controls for the shoots. The honest caveat: as the newest platform here, its network is still growing, and it is built for collaboration rather than paid-job listings.
Best for: verified-intent collaboration and remote shoots, worldwide. Watch out for: a younger network than the legacy directories.
The comparison at a glance
| Platform | Best for | Biggest drawback | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Model Mayhem | Wide local casting, large markets | Dormant profiles, dated UX | Free tier; paid upgrades |
| PurplePort | UK community, events, references | Geo-limited outside the UK | Free tier; paid upgrades |
| Facebook groups | Free, fast, hyper-local casting | Completely unvetted | Free |
| Reach and targeted outreach | Cold DMs, low response rates | Free | |
| Backstage / StarNow | Paid professional castings | Subscription cost; not for trades | Paid |
| CLOS Discovery | Mutual-intent matching, remote shoots | Younger network | Free plan; Pro from $7.99/mo |
How to choose
Match the platform to the shoot, not the other way round:
- Wide local casting in a big market → a directory. Model Mayhem for volume; PurplePort if you are in the UK.
- Zero budget, shooting this weekend → local Facebook groups, with your own vetting doing the safety work.
- A specific look you already have in mind → Instagram outreach, with a portfolio strong enough to answer the first question a model will ask.
- A paid production → Backstage, where everyone in the room expects a budget.
- Portfolio collaboration with confirmed mutual interest — locally or remotely → Discovery. Our page on finding models to photograph walks through that workflow, and the full methods guide covers the routes no platform serves at all.
Most working photographers end up using two or three of these in parallel — the mistake is not picking the “wrong” platform, it is expecting one platform to serve every kind of shoot.