I need some help to compose a good email.
I want to "cold" email a few modeling agencies in my city to get extra contracts, but I've never really done that. Is it appropriate? I want to offer them my services & show a few pics or link to my gallery. How would you do it?
Most small business are inundated with sales emails that will never be read. It would be a far better use of your time to visit the agencies in person. Bring your business cards, portfolio, and a small printed portfolio to leave at each agency. Try to setup a meeting with the main talent agent. I would offer to shoot at least 1 model for free to demonstrate your skills and build the relationship. Email will just not cut it.
Most agencies don't want initial contact (if any contact) via email - phone is better. I haven't felt that agencies like cold walk-ins either, especially when it's so easy to call ahead and simply explain who you are and ask for a good time to swing by for a 15-minute sit-down. Agency bookers are very busy people and may take issue with unexpected visits.
But what's the purpose of your inquiry? Are you interested in hiring their models in the future? Testing with them? Looking to be hired by them? If it's the latter two, I'd recommend getting familiar with the nature of paid and unpaid testing before you reach out to anyone - walking in not understanding that there's a whole established culture of testing is the easiest way to make the wrong impression. If it's the former - don't bother. Just get in touch with them when you actually have a project, otherwise you're just wasting their time.
If you're looking to be hired by them for model portfolio development, see above. I've yet to meet the agency that does more than maintain a small roster of shooters for paid tests plus the usual gaggle of folks doing unpaid tests - if anything the nature of the relationship goes the other direction, with agencies having the resource that photographers need, not the other way around. Secondary and tertiary markets could be different, but not in my experience.
I'm looking to get hired by the agencies for shoots.
What is "paid and unpaid testing" ?
I'm not familiar with this at all. I mostly shoot weddings and events, but always paid.
I do a TFP model shoots, but I'm now looking to get paid it now.
In short, agencies don't generally hire photographers, not in so many words. They do lend out models for portfolio development when the photographer meets their standards, and they will pay a small amount for photographers who have proven themselves as able to reliably deliver agency-quality portfolio materials and have established teams. How much this is will depend on the market and the photographer, but the amount will rarely be determined by the photographer and will certainly not be up to the level of your usual rates. Testing is a nice relationship-builder and way to fill out time between client bookings but isn't going to be any great source of income.
Also, you need to understand and be able to generate an agency-appropriate look. I strongly recommend you familiarize yourself with your market in advance and know what the agency portfolios look like there. Agency model books don't look anything like the junk that most internet models fill their portfolios with, at least not in the fashion world.
