Hand models are in demand for close-up photography that showcases products like jewelry, makeup, skin care, and beverages. Putting together a knockout portfolio and mastering go-sees can help you land commercial and print modeling gigs. The next step toward a lucrative parts-specific career is getting signed by a specialist modeling agency.
Getting to grips with the array of modeling agency options can be daunting, but we’ve compiled a list of five of the best hand modeling agencies.
Breakdown: Established in 1986, this long-running agency works with high-profile clients and is highly selective about the models it represents. The company has a preference for those with previous modeling and/or acting experience, so knowing your way around hand modeling is a plus when applying here.
The New York City–based company has dominated the market for nearly 40 years and works with the cream of the crop. Its models have graced magazines including Vogue, Glamour, Allure, Town & Country, and Men’s Health. Hand models represented by Parts Models have also appeared online and in catalogs for Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Ads for Gillette, Maybelline, Coach, Revlon, and Verizon have all booked talent from this agency.
Before founding Parts Models, agent Dani Korwin was a hand model, and her unique perspective makes her an ideal parts-modeling champion and mentor. Korwin’s agency has over 200 hand and feet models, and she has long advocated for this modeling arena. “Parts modeling is the unsung stepchild of the modeling industry,” she says. Korwin explains that because your face isn’t visible, you can do multiple campaigns for different brands—even on the same day. That isn’t to say you don’t have to show some personality: “The hand or foot model’s job is to sell the product and to do it nonverbally. You have to make that product the sexiest, most wonderful, most appealing can of tuna.”
Submission Policy: Applicants must be 18 or older. Parts Models asks that you submit two or three images of your well-groomed and neutral-manicured hands by email. The professionally shot photographs should include hands palm up and palm down. Other requirements include smooth, flawless skin and evenly shaped nails. Male hands should have minimal hair. For a complete list of requirements, consult this list from the Parts Models website. If the agency is interested, they will schedule an appointment.
Breakdown: Body Parts Models Inc. has hired talent for various commercial, print, editorial, TV, and film jobs that have called for all age ranges and skin tones (“from flawless to imperfectly perfect,” as its website says).
Body Parts Models Inc. founder Linda Teglovic opened the agency in 2001. Over the following 20-plus years, it has established itself as one of the highest-profile body parts agencies in the country. Teglovic began her modeling career at 14 in New York City, walking runways before becoming an in-demand leg model. She has experience across all sectors of the industry. She appeared as a body double in “Thelma & Louise” and the 1999 Pierce Brosnan remake of “The Thomas Crown Affair.” It is no wonder that BPM describes itself as “a one-stop shop for all your body parts modeling needs,” since over the past two decades, BPM has seen its models’ various parts used in thousands of different jobs, from Coca-Cola to the Season 1 key art for Showtime’s “Dexter.”
The SAG-AFTRA–franchised agency handles over 250 clients and strives to have a diverse roster of models to cover body parts in 14 categories. BPM has booked editorial work and high-profile brand campaigns, placing models in Vogue magazine and in ads for Apple, Amazon, Cartier, and Estée Lauder. The company has also repped models in major marketing campaigns, including the Super Bowl, the Oscars, and the Olympics.
Submission Policy: BPM doesn’t hold in-person open calls. Instead, submit your photos and information using the website. Photographs should be well-lit and capture your natural skin tone. Your hands should be well-groomed and moisturized—take note of the manicure preparation suggestions. Apply only if you live in the Greater Los Angeles Area.
Breakdown: This NYC-based specialty hand model agency, run by Carmen Marrufo, represents models in film, TV, and print media, and it is SAG-AFTRA franchised. Marrufo says she finds hand models everywhere, telling MentalFloss: “I once had a woman come into the office and leave me an envelope. I looked at her hands and said, ‘Oh my god.’ I ran after her. She was in the business for a while and made a lot of money.” Carmen’s Hands Models works with various household-name brands, such as McDonald’s and Wendy’s; many are showcased on the agency’s YouTube channel.
Submission Policy: To submit your portfolio, contact the agency.
Breakdown: Closeup Models, which hires models based in Los Angeles and New York, offers an avenue for both those looking to expand their portfolio and newcomers wanting to get their foot (or hand) in the door.
Founded in 2015, the agency takes a long-term approach to developing talent and nurturing its relationships with its roster of models. Closeup Models have appeared in campaigns for globally renowned brands like Adidas, Chanel, Google, Whole Foods, and Budweiser.
In addition to high-profile clients and a solid social media presence, the company has diversified with a luxury hand cream line. (After all, a hand model must take extra-special care of their skin.) The agency’s website also offers professional tips to help you along on your journey as a hand model.
Submission Policy: Submit photos and information on the website. As with other agencies, Closeup Models seek flawless, soft skin with evenly shaped nails. You are asked not to wear nail polish or false nails; male hands should have minimal hair.
Breakdown: This boutique agency focuses on everything related to hand modeling, representing not only hand models but also leading manicurists. This Los Angeles–based firm was founded in 2015 by celebrity and editorial manicurist Christina Aviles Aude and fashion photographer Yu Tsai. The agency has worked with massive stars like Viola Davis, Jessica Chastain, and Taylor Swift, in addition to brands like Smartwater, Apple, Coach, Murad Skincare, and Beauty Blender.
Aude has years of experience and offers deep insight into the demands and needs of clients and models alike. Aude says that working with actors and models on an intimate level gives Star Touch Agency a unique approach that distinguishes it from the competition.
Submission Policy: Contact head agent Jason Marks for more information and to submit your portfolio.
