A comp card, short for composite card, is a model's business card: a printed or digital card showing a headshot on the front, several additional photos on the back, and the model's name, measurements, and contact or agency information. Clients use it to remember and compare models after castings.
You will also hear it called a zed card, sed card, or simply a comp. Whatever the name, it remains a standard tool in modeling, even in an era of online portfolios, because it puts your essential information in one glanceable place.
What Goes on a Comp Card
A standard comp card includes:
- Front: your strongest, cleanest image, usually a headshot or beauty shot, with your name
- Back: three to five photos showing range, such as full body, three-quarter, editorial, and commercial looks
- Stats: height, bust or chest, waist, hips, shoe size, hair color, and eye color
- Contact: your agency's details, or your own if unrepresented
The photos should be recent and honest. A comp card that no longer looks like you works against you the moment you walk into the room, because the first thing a client does is compare the card to the person.
How Comp Cards Are Used
Comp cards circulate at every stage of the modeling workflow. You hand them out at a go-see or casting so the client has something physical to keep. Agencies send them to clients when pitching models for jobs. After a casting, decision makers spread the cards out, literally or digitally, and narrow down their choices.
That last image explains why the card matters: when the client is choosing among twenty models they met for three minutes each, your comp card is what stands in for you.
Getting Your First Comp Card
You need photos before you need a card, and for brand-new models those usually come from a test shoot or a simple session of clean digitals. Choose four to six images that show different looks while remaining unmistakably you, then have the card laid out in the standard format. Printing is inexpensive, and a PDF version covers online submissions.
If you sign with an agency, they will guide or control the card's contents, since it carries their branding. Until then, keep it simple, current, and accurate. A modest card with honest photos beats a glamorous card that oversells, because in modeling, the product has to match the packaging every single time.
