For each site, I've included a link to the site, a rating from 1 to 5 stars, a short description of the site, and my reasons for liking or disliking it. My descriptions are by no means comprehensive; if a site piques your interest and you want to know more, just follow the link!

My star rating simply indicates how useful the site is to an amateur or semi-professional photographer who wants to hire (not test) a model through the Internet and does not take into account whether or not I would personally want to hire any of the models listed or whether the agency has a good reputation in the "real world." Also please note that the star rating does not to take into account the site operator's competence as an agent since I have no good way of evaluating that.

One- and two-star ratings are reserved for sites that are simply not very useful. Three stars are given to sites that are useful but not remarkable (generally sites with numerous but ad-hoc listings). In order to attain four stars, a site must have a good selection of actual, confirmed models that are available for hire. Five stars are reserved for those sites which are truly extraordinary.

I consistently refer to models as "she" even though some of these sites include male models as well. I trust that you'll make any necessary translation.

Top Sites

These sites have received 5 stars.

eModel.com

Models1 Model Management

One Model Place

Directories and Agencies

These sites feature model directories and agencies of varying quality. In general, my feelings about any site are proportional to the site's ratio of content to pretentiousness. A lot of these sites are highly pretentious but have slim content, which earns them my scorn. But some are quite useful and not pretentious at all. Once the number of sites in this directory reaches a critical mass (to be determined), I'll break them up into categories or maybe group them by quality.

Artmodels Online

USA and Europe

November 19, 2001

If you want a glamour model then this is your place; the portfolios of the models on this site tend to show more skin than clothes. There aren't a huge number of models here (38 at last count), but all of them have complete details available and a good selection of pictures by talented photographers that show the models at their best. This site gives you what most other sites don't: confidence that the model that you select will be serious and at least moderately experienced. To contact a model through this site, you must fill out a form, providing your own details and information about the job, but it's unclear whether the form is automatically emailed the model or if someone from Artmodels gets involved. It's also unclear whether Artmodels is acting as an agent or if you hire the model directly. Those nits aside, this is definitely one for the shortlist.

Ashley Redding Graphics

UK

November 19, 2001

Ashley's model index page has photos and information (measurements, sizes, etc.) about 16 models that he has photographed. Each model has a separate page with four or five photos shot by Ashley in various styles, so you can get a very good idea of what the models are like. Ashley includes contact information for some models, but requests that you email him for others. He functions as a "creep filter" only and does not charge a fee. Unfortunately Ashley hasn't updated his page in some time.

Blush Models Management

Unknown

November 19, 2001

It's rather hard to judge this site because I can't view the modeling directory. The site looks good, and Blush appears to be a legitimate agency, but you need to be a Blush client in order to view the directory. The material that is available on this site seems more geared toward models rather than photographers; for example there is a "Modeling Guide" on this site, which is worth reading, but it won't help you find a model. If you're near Southbury, Connecticut, and you plan to hire models on a regular basis then you might want to give these folks a call.

eModel.com

Nationwide

November 21, 2001

With thousands of models in its directory, eModel.com bills itself as the world's largest modeling agency. However it's more of a promotion service than an agency in that models pay a fee to be listed in the directory. eModel.com requires that you fill out an application with professional references before they will allow you to access the model directory. They seem to be pretty selective; the first time I applied, they turned me down! I suspect that they will grant you access if you can demonstrate that you legitimately want to hire models. Once in, you'll find thousands of models in the directory. Not all of them are truly model material, but with a directory of this size, that's not surprising, and many of them are outstanding. Each model has an online composite with all relevant details. eModel.com also has a comprehensive search facility, a boon with a directory this size. Well worth a look.

One Model Place

Worldwide, but mostly USA

December 5, 1999

Clearly a lot of effort has gone into this site, formerly Folios.com, and it is attractive and easy to navigate. The database includes extensive information about each model, even such things as how many times her portfolio has been viewed and a link to the page of the photographer who shot her portfolio, and you can search on nearly all of it. Running a search gives you a listing of models with thumbnails and summary information, from which you can link to individual model pages containing all the information in the database for that model. Apparently a lot of smaller agents list their models on this site. Its only drawbacks are that it tends to be on the slow side and doesn't have many international listings. There are also an awful lot of male models listed, which is great if you're looking for that, not so great otherwise. Overall an outstanding site, especially considering that it won't cost you a penny. Its only (regrettably conspicuous) flaw is that it tends to be on the slow side.

Glamourlinks

Worldwide

March 23, 1999

Glamourlinks is just another entry point to ModelsPage (see below). You can access the ModelsPage directory from Glamourlinks and vice-versa, and membership in one gets you membership in the other.

Madison Models

Paris, New York

November 19, 2001

Madison Models used to have a really cool Shockwave site. Now you wait for the Shockwave site to load, and all you get is some porn movie music and a flashing sign that says "Coming soon..." Too bad.

Models1 Model Management

UK

November 19, 2001

Models1 is a well-known London model agency with quite a few big names on their books. All model agency sites should be like this. They list over a hundred models on their site, and each model has a complete composite online. You can rearrange the photos on the composites and even enlarge them for better viewing. All of the models are fashion models. If I wanted a model in the UK for a professional shoot, I'd start here. Bravo!

ModelsData

UK

November 19, 2001

This site does not contain any information about models at all, but does allow you to place an order for ModelsData, which is a print model directory, and also includes updates to the most recent directory. ModelsData requires each model to fill out an extensive form, so the directory contains pretty much everything you might want to know about each of the 200 or so models listed. Some of the models list direct contact information, but others can only be contacted through ModelsData. My only real gripe with the directory is that there is only one small picture per model, but that's just a limitation imposed by the necessity of fitting 200 models in 60 pages. Most of the models in ModelsData are glamour models. There are a handful of male models.

Model Promote

Worldwide

November 19, 2001

This site takes the opposite approach of most model sites: the models pay a fee to list their portfolios on the site, and you can browse them for free. A lot of the models are freelancers, but some are with agencies. Most details aside from rate and booking information are provided, and each model's page includes an email address and usually a link to the model's own page. I liked this site two years ago, but it hasn't changed much--if at all--since then, and the lavender motif is becoming tiring. Still, if you need a model, you can probably find one here.

MODELS UK

UK

November 19, 2001

What a strange site. This is both a model promotion site and an advertisement for The NuTron Test and Programme [sic], which purports to enable you to "lose weight, alleviate inflammatory medical conditions, and feel more healthy" by avoiding certain foods. NuTron advertisements aside, the main purpose of this site seems to be to sell eCards, basically composites in JPEG format, to models. You can browse the eCards online. Each eCard has a set of photos, some basic statistics (the quality seems to vary from card to card), and a contact email address. You could probably find a model here.

ModelsPage

Worldwide

November 19, 2001

Before you can view the model listings on this site, you must register, providing all the usual information plus professional references, then cough up US $12. The amateurish look of the site is not encouraging, but it might be worth registering because there are a large number of models listed (the site claims over 8,000), and each model has her own page with her stats, contact information, and frequently a photo or three. You can search on a fair number of criteria, and the summary list that is returned includes the name, location, age, height, and measurements, and hair and eye color of each model, making selection easy. Unfortunately all models outside the US are lumped together as "International." Overall a decent site that could benefit from some professional graphics design. ModelsPage can also be accessed as Glamourlinks.

Models South

The South, presumably

November 19, 2001

This is not the same Models South site that I previously listed in this metadirectory. That Models South seems to have disappeared. This Models South is a pretty bare-bones site. It gets two stars because there are some ho-hum models listed that you can hire if you want. The models aren't much helped by the black background, awful graphics, and snapshot-quality photos.

Scallywags

London

November 19, 2001

Scallywags is a London agency that specializes in babies, children and teenage models. When I looked at this site two years ago, it only contained minimal information about each model (one photograph, birthdate, height, and hair/eye color), but I ignored that because the models are, after all, children. Now it's down to just a name and a photograph each. Formerly a good site for people looking for these kinds of models, now only so-so.

Studio Janor

UK

November 19, 2001

Studio Janor is a rental studio in Leicestershire that maintains a list of models that you can hire. It's unclear whether you can hire the models but not the studio. ome basic information (name and measurements) is provided for each model, but there are no rate details or clothing sizes. All of the photos are in the glamour style and tend toward the cliché. Studio Janor was featured in an article in the May, 1999 issue of Practical Photography magazine, which gave the impression that the studio is more closely associated with the sex industry than the modeling industry. As if to confirm that notion, Studio Janor now offers an X-rated members section.

U.S. Models and Talent

USA

November 19, 2001

This web site has far too many banner ads, webring links, and hit counters to make a good initial impression, and they don't let up as you navigate through the site. There is a good number of models on this site, but the photos are small and the quality is hit and miss. Some pages state, "Nudes available to industry professionals. Generic e-mails will be ignored." Nowhere is it explained how you can identify yourself as an "industry professional," but you'll quickly discover that the site will serve up the nudes if you just click on a small little square near the "Nudes available" message. This site is too haphazard and strange to make me confident about being able to hire a model through this agency.

Web Models

USA

November 19, 2001

An active discussion forum is the this site's best feature. This is one of those sites that has lots of menu items with lofty names like "Modeling Services" that just take you to pages that are "under construction." Every single page of this site plugs "THETA (THE Talent Alliance)," which also includes ModelsPage (see above) and Glamourlinks, sometimes two or three times. However, there are only ten models in the "Portfolios" section, leading me to think that before they start forming alliances, these folks should get the talent first.

Wilhelmina Models

New York

November 19, 2001

Another big New York agency, Wilhelmina used to have a nice, useful site, but now it just has an "under construction" Flash animation a la Madison Models above.

World Model Network

Worldwide

March 23, 1999

At first glance, this site holds promise, with some well-done graphics. However, the model directory itself is just a list of numbered links, e.g., "Model #7009." Clicking on the link gives you some basic information about the model, email contact information, and a set of photos, but the photos are links, so you have to click on each in turn to actually see what the model looks like. There are plenty of models here, but the directory is so cumbersome to browse that you'll likely get sick of it very quickly. Clicking "Search" on the first page takes you to a page called "Training." If you click on "About Us," you can read the long, rambling "business plan" for the site, which predicts that the site will capture 5% of the "Model/Commercial/Advertisement" market and will have 100 million regular visitors. No target date is given, but that's probably just as well. Bizarre!

November 19, 2001

This site has not changed at all in 2 1/2 years. It must be some leftover junk hanging around on someone's web server. I'm leaving it in here, though, because it's good for a laugh.

Zolex Studios

USA and Europe

November 19, 2001

On this nicely done web site you will find a directory of two dozen models which you can browse by name and photo, each with her own page with basic info and additional photos. A dozen are based in America and the other dozen are based in Europe. Two dozen may not seem like many, but all of the models have worked with Zolex's owner, Roger Sundberg, or one of his associates, so the listings are more reliable than those of a site that will list anybody. No rate information is given. You must contact the models through Zolex, but as far as I can tell, there are no fees. Virtually all of the European models on this site are also on Ashley Redding's site.

Did I miss your site? Send me the URL and I'll check it out.

Individual Model Pages

These pages are maintained by the model herself or sometimes an associate. Some of these are models that I've photographed myself.

Marysia

Scotland

November 21, 2001

Marysia's modeling page features an extensive portfolio of photos by many different photographers, as well as measurements, hiring and contact information. Add yourself to her mailing list for updates on her whereabouts and projects. Very well-done and complete.

Jessica Burner

Northeast US

November 21, 2001

If you start hunting for models on the Internet, you'll quickly find red-haired freelancer Jessica Burner. This site has a lot of great pictures of her, as well as booking information.