For brands & houses

The Casting Standard

The strongest books decide in seconds. A professional casting call needs one striking image, exact location and dates, transparent pay and usage, and a brief that reads like a treatment. This is what our talent expects to see before they apply — in the order they look for it.

The five pillars

Every call needs these five

Model in sharp tailored coat posing against a studio backdrop

Pillar 01 — The cover image

01The cover imageThe single frame that decides whether a model opens your call. Use a high-resolution editorial or campaign photograph that conveys the mood and styling of the project — a look from the collection, a previous campaign, a moodboard hero. No stock graphics, no flyers buried under promotional type, no blurry screenshots. Models read the image first and the words second.

Professional studio lighting rig and camera setup with model on backdrop

Pillar 02 — Location & call details

02Location & call detailsSay exactly where and when. City and venue type — 'New York — daylight studio in Chelsea' — the call date, and the fitting or shoot dates if they're fixed. Vague postings like 'downtown studio, sometime next month' get scrolled past by the very faces you want. Add the practical criteria too: categories (runway, editorial, e-commerce, lookbook), gender, and minimum height — Solis filters by these, so complete details put your call in front of the right books instead of everyone's.

Creative directors reviewing campaign lookbook proofs beside a wardrobe rack

Pillar 03 — Compensation & usage

03Compensation & usageState the number. '$2,500/day + usage' will always outdraw 'competitive' or 'TBD' — the strongest books ignore calls that hide the rate. If it's trade or TFP, say so plainly and say what the model receives: retouched selects, team credits, tear sheets. Then state the usage: how long, where, and which channels — 'one year, global web and social' is a sentence that builds instant trust. Asking for broad usage without pay ends the conversation before it starts.

Models walking a runway lineup during a casting review

Pillar 04 — The creative brief

04The creative briefThree to five sentences, written like a treatment: the concept, the aesthetic reference, the wardrobe direction, and what the model should prepare or bring. 'AW26 tailoring story shot against raw concrete; relaxed suiting, minimal grooming; bring nude and black basics' tells a model exactly how to walk in. On Solis you can format the brief with line breaks and emphasis — use them. A brief that reads like a moodboard gets applications from models who already understand the job.

Finished editorial campaign frame of a stylized model under studio spotlight

Pillar 05 — The application window

05The application windowTell talent how the call runs: when applications close, when they'll hear if they're shortlisted, and what happens next — in-person callback, video walk, or direct booking. Models hold dates for the houses that communicate; silence costs you the face you wanted. On Solis every applicant lands in your dashboard with their book and comp card attached — shortlist, book or decline from one place, and each outcome emails the model automatically.

Do this

Lead with a real campaign or editorial image — the mood of the job in one frame

State the pay rate and usage terms in the first lines of the brief

Give an exact city, venue and call date — plus fitting dates if fixed

Set categories, gender and minimum height so the right books find you

Answer every applicant — shortlist, book or decline, from your dashboard

Not this

'Competitive rates' or 'negotiable' with no number attached — top books scroll past

Vague locations like 'downtown studio' or dates like 'sometime in March'

Broad or perpetual usage rights without compensation

Flyer graphics buried under logos and promotional type

Asking models to pay anything, or to move the conversation off-platform

Posting on Solis

What posting costs

Post by membership, or keep it simple and pay per call. New houses start with a 14-day free trial on Starter — card required, nothing charged until day fifteen.

Starter

$49 / month

3 casting posts monthly

Studio

$149 / month

12 casting posts monthly

Atelier

$349 / month

Unlimited casting posts

Recasts always free — expired calls reopen at no charge

No membership? No problem

Publish any single casting for $19.99 — no subscription, edit it freely while it's live.

Members who run out of monthly posts can add a single call the same way. Recasting an expired listing is $19.99 — always free with Atelier.

Post your casting See the standard in action