You are so excited. You were booked and just shot a print ad. If you think that getting the job was the hard part, you will soon realize that getting a tear sheet (copy of the ad) sometimes
can be more difficult than booking the job. It is crucial that you do everything you can to try and get a copy. This is how you build up your portfolio, add photos to an agent’s web site and
have great material for a new composite sheet.
If your agent is willing to take care of making sure you get a copy then that is wonderful. That pretty much never happens for me. I do all of the work of making sure I get the ad. When the shoot is completed, I will ask the art or creative director from the ad Agency (if they are on the set) when the ad will be completed. I will also ask if I can contact them at that time and get a JPG of the ad E-mailed to me. If they are not present, then ask the photographer these questions. Get the persons card so you know how to reach him/her.
In my calendar, I write in the date I am supposed to get back in touch with whomever I need to contact in order to get a “Tear”. At that time, I will send an E-mail, along with all of the details from the shoot. The product, name of the photographer, and if there were a number of models, I will explain what I was doing in the shot, so they send me the right ad. If after a week, you don’t get a response, E-mail the person again. If you still don’t get a response, then try calling. Always remember, they are doing you a favor, so make sure you never have a nasty attitude when asking them for the tear sheet.
They might not get back to you because the ad did not run. I have been in situations where the company decided to delay the launching of a new product. I also had a pharmaceutical ad not run because the FDA did not approve the medication, or maybe the company simply decided to scrap the ad campaign. There are many reasons why the folks from the ad agency might not send you the JPG.
So, if you are not hearing back from those who promised to send you the tear, then here is another option. You will know where the ad is running. There is a list of questions you need to ask the agent prior to the shoot. One of the questions you need to ask is finding out what is the usage. That means, is the ad running in a magazine, newspaper, direct mail piece, etc… Actually, in my book, How to Become a Successful Commercial Model, I have an entire list of questions that must be asked prior to the session. You will know the name of the magazine,
or newspaper, or for whom the product is being advertised. You can always try doing a little detective work and buy a copy of the publication or contact the headquarters of company and see if you can get a copy that way.
There is a fine line between being persistent and a pain, and you don’t want to cross that line. I once did a job that was shot in Hawaii. I did everything I could to get a tear sheet, but could not. Sometimes you just have to give into the fact that you won’t be able to see the finished product. Having said that, it is so important that you do everything you can to make sure you have samples of your work.
