Find Models to Photograph — Who Actually Want to Shoot

How it works with CLOS

Finding a model and shooting with one are usually two separate problems. In CLOS they are one loop: match in Discovery, plan in chat, then shoot in the same app.

01

Create your profile in Discovery

Open the CLOS app, tap the plus button and choose Find New Collaborators. Add your portfolio, links and a profile photo — models judge your work the same way you judge theirs.

02

Browse models and match

Search for models who fit your next concept, like the profiles you want to work with and skip the rest. When a model likes you back, a chat opens and you plan the shoot together.

03

Shoot together, wherever you both are

Set up a virtual room, invite your match and direct the session: you control the camera on the model's phone while every frame lands in the cloud in real time.

Why matching beats cold DMs to find models for photoshoots

Ask any photographer how they find models and you will hear the same list: Instagram DMs, aging portfolio forums, local Facebook groups. All three share the same flaw — you are pitching people who never said they wanted to be pitched. Half the messages go unanswered, and half of the arranged shoots quietly fall through.

Discovery flips the direction of intent. Everyone you see has already created a profile because they want to collaborate — and every profile is reviewed by the CLOS team before it appears, so you are not wading through spam or empty accounts. The conversation starts at “what should we shoot?” instead of “would you ever consider…?”. You evaluate a model’s look and portfolio before you like; they evaluate your work the same way. A match is two people who have already said yes to each other’s photography — which is why matches turn into sessions instead of ghosted threads.

TFP, test shoots and paid collaborations

Finding models for portfolio shoots usually runs on trade: in a TFP (time-for-print) collaboration, photographer and model both shoot unpaid and both keep the images. Discovery is built for exactly that exchange — new photographers building a book, working photographers testing a concept before a client shoot, and paid bookings when a budget exists. Agree the terms in chat before the session: what each side gets, how many finals, and where the images may be used.

Because CLOS captures full-resolution files — with RAW and Apple ProRaw on Pro — a trade shoot still ends with portfolio-grade images on both sides, delivered through real-time cloud delivery the moment the session wraps.

Your pool of models is no longer your city

The reason most photographers run out of models is geography: once you have shot the willing faces within driving distance, the book stops growing. With CLOS the shoot happens through a virtual room — the model poses with their own phone while you hold remote camera control over framing, focus and exposure. A match in Lisbon, Lagos or Los Angeles is equally shootable from your desk.

That widens more than the pool. Different cities mean different looks, light and backdrops, so a remote-first portfolio reads broader than a local one. Our guide to doing a remote photoshoot covers the session itself, step by step.

Who uses this

• Photographers building a portfolio who need more faces than their city offers — see how CLOS fits working photographers.
• Established photographers testing concepts with a willing collaborator before pitching the idea to a client.
• Photographers moving into new genres — portrait, fashion, editorial — who need genre-specific work in the book before the first booking.
• Remote-first photographers who already shoot over CLOS and want a native way to find subjects.
• Casting and creative teams scouting fresh faces — a lighter-weight cousin of virtual casting sessions.