In this instructional video, veteran actor and commercial model Aaron Marcus explains why many actors struggle to land commercial modeling gigs and offers concrete solutions. He first clarifies that commercial modeling differs from fashion modeling, encompassing a wide range of looks and ages, and is used for still ads such as print, billboards, and online graphics. The primary barrier he identifies is the lack of effective test shots: actors often submit generic, non‑advertising‑style photos that fail to capture the attention of art directors. Marcus advises creating test shots that mimic real ads—using stock‑photo concepts, avoiding logos, and tailoring the scenario to a specific character type (e.g., a mom doing yoga with a child). The second barrier concerns SAG‑AFTRA union rules: many modern commercial modeling jobs now include video components, triggering union contracts and additional pay, which many clients are reluctant to cover. He outlines two work‑arounds: (1) ask the client or agency to sign the union contract, or (2) personally cover the union fees out of pocket when the pay justifies it. Marcus concludes by inviting viewers to share their experiences, and encourages subscriptions and engagement.
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Hey, I'm Aaron Marcus, and after 40 years as a full-time actor and with over 700 commercial modeling bookings, I want to share with you why actors don't book commercial modeling jobs and how to fix them. Okay, let's get started. You know, it's a funny thing— when people hear the word modeling, they immediately think of fashion. Look, there's a whole other world of modeling out there that I happen to love, and it has nothing to do with fashion modeling. It's called commercial modeling. And commercial models are sometimes beautiful women, incredibly handsome guys, but quite often they're also people who look like me— just regular people, you know, your next-door neighbor. And the thing that's great about commercial modeling is there are— unlike fashion, there aren't height restrictions, age restrictions. They need all types. People who are in great shape, people who are overweight. So first, let me show you a couple of examples of commercial modeling jobs. These are ads that you see. These are still shots that you see— newspaper, magazine ads, billboards, posters, sides of buses, on the internet, on packages. And the number one reason why actors don't get them, and for models as well, is that People don't know how to create the right test shots. And what I mean by test shots, those are the sample photos you hire a photographer for and you take some pictures, and then those photos are submitted to either photographers or art and creative directors at advertising agencies. And sometimes they, or maybe ultimately the client, will decide on who gets cast. So typically what happens— and look, this is what, full disclosure, this is what happened to me when I first got started because I didn't have a clue as to how to go about doing this. I walked into a photographer's studio, I said, you know, what should I do? And he said, well, you look like, you know, this young business guy here. Why don't you stand here and do this? And look, most of the time you get these very generic shots. You know, somebody holding a cell phone, somebody looking like a business person. Those things aren't interesting. They don't grab the attention of industry professionals who make final decisions on who gets cast. What you want to do— and let me tell you, this took me years and years and years to figure out— you want to create test shots that look like ads for specific products. Now, you never, ever, ever want to use a logo or brand name because that could really hurt your chances of working for a competitor. But if you are, let's say, someone who fits the description of a young mom and you've got, you know, you've got a young child, well, what you need to do is set up a shot that makes you look like a young child, maybe. And maybe you could even combine a couple things. Maybe if your body isn't really good shape and you do yoga or you do Pilates, maybe you can set up a shot where you're teaching a young child how to get into different poses. And that way you are immediately seen as a mom and someone who can do exercise shots. So that's the way you want to be thinking. And what you can do is you can go to stock photography websites, get ideas. I will list some in the description. And take a look at a lot of stock shots, and when you find a shot that actually looks like an ad, then, you know, use that concept for your next test shot. Okay, number 2, and this affects me greatly. Never used to, but now it does. If you are a union actor, if you are a member of SAG-AFTRA, It's much harder in today's world to get commercial modeling jobs. The reason for that is unlike years ago, you would get cast to be in a commercial modeling job and they would shoot a still shot and that was it. There were never any issues with the union because they don't care about still shots. They only care about videos or film. Well, in today's time period, there are lots of commercial modeling jobs where they shoot video as well, and they can use it on websites, they can use it on social media. And so if you are a union actor and you're following the rules, which I do, then if you are cast and they're shooting video then a SAG-AFTRA contract has to be signed, and basically you will get paid 2 different ways. One, just for the commercial modeling job, and then you will be paid separately for the video. Now, a lot of— unfortunately, a lot of companies don't want to spend the extra money when they shoot video. Not, not every commercial modeling job shoots video. I want to make that clear, but quite a few of them do, and I've had to turn down a lot of commercial modeling jobs because of that. So here's a solution. If, if there are— if they are shooting video, then you can ask— if once again, this is only if you're a union actor— you can ask the agent to ask either the client, ad agency, whoever is being invoiced for the job If they would be willing to sign the union contract. If they aren't, and there's a good chance they won't, but maybe they will, here's what I have done a couple of times. Basically, I didn't even ask because I knew it wasn't going to happen, and the pay was pretty good for the job. So what I did was I actually paid everything into the union contract out of pocket. So that way the union was happy and the clients, they didn't even know that I was doing that, and it allowed me to do the job. Makes sense. So those are the 2 problems that cause actors not to get commercial print work, and hopefully this will solve that for you. Look, if you have done— if you are a union actor and you've been able to do some commercial modeling jobs, please share it here. Or if you've done any commercial modeling jobs, let us know what it was about, what it was for, if you're allowed to do that at this point, and what, what it was like being on set. Love to learn from you. And look, if you found this helpful, please subscribe, click the notification bell, give it a thumbs up, share it with your fellow actors. That's always really helpful. I'm Aaron Marcus, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya.
