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Send your portfolio
A link is fine — website, Instagram or a PDF. We want to see real client work, not only self-directed shoots. Follower count is not the thing we are reading.
Now Building the Bench · Tampa Bay & Chicago
Work with us, not for exposure.
If you are a makeup artist or hair stylist tired of chasing leads, negotiating your own rate and getting paid whenever the client feels like it — this is the other side of that. We are a licensed talent agency and we are hiring artists onto a standing bench in both markets.
Independent contractor · Written agreement on every booking · Paid on our terms, not the client's · Portfolios reviewed weekly
Credits include
- Licensed talent agency
- FL TA1765
- Since 2006
- Tampa Bay
- Chicago
- 70+ artists
- 22+ markets
The Work
What the work actually looks like.
The range you would spend years assembling
Weddings, editorial, commercial, broadcast, corporate and activations. Most freelancers get one or two of those and stay there.
The rooms you would be working in
Real call sheets, real load-ins, real volume. Fifty guests an hour at an activation, a floor of executives, a studio day that runs long.
Why Artists Join
The six things freelancing does not give you.
- Booked work, not leadsWe do the selling, the quoting, the contracting and the client management. You are sent a confirmed job with a call time, not a warm lead to chase and negotiate yourself.
- Rates set at the top of the marketWe charge more than everyone else, and that is deliberate. It is what allows us to pay artists properly, staff jobs correctly, and refuse the work that is not worth doing.
- Paid on terms, not on hopeInvoicing is our problem. You are not the one following up with a producer's accounts department ninety days after a shoot wrapped.
- A contract and a real call sheetScope, timeline and rate agreed in writing before the day. No surprise second location, no eleven faces when you were booked for four.
- A kit budget that is not yours to argueAirbrush, lashes and prep products are part of the service we sell, so they are never something you are quietly expected to absorb.
- A bench, not a booking appWe work with the same artists repeatedly and we know who is right for which room. You are a colleague we have vetted, not a name in a marketplace.
In Their Words
“Everyone looked polished, confident, and still like themselves — which is exactly what you want for headshots and work photos. The team was professional, efficient, and great at working with multiple people while making each of us feel comfortable and listened to.”
“They showed up on time & full of positive energy, laughter & personality. They made each girl feel confident, listened to what they wanted, & executed flawlessly.”
How Applying Works
Three steps, no cattle call.
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A conversation, not an audition
We talk through your experience, your market, your rate expectations and what kind of work you actually want. You are interviewing us too.
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A paid trial booking
On a real job, alongside a key artist who knows the standard. Paid at your agreed rate, not a test you do for free.
Then you go onto the bench, in rotation for work that fits your discipline and your market. We review portfolios weekly and you will hear from a person, not an autoresponder. We are hiring in Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg and in Greater Chicago. We are not currently taking on talent representation — this is a hiring page for artists who want to work on our bookings.
The City Lights Standard
One standard, whatever it is being paid for.
A bride, an event guest and a commercial shoot get the same thing. Shine and sweat are controlled in the skin prep, not patched afterwards with powder and setting spray. Airbrush is a tool chosen for the face and the lighting, never an upsell — and alcohol based is too dry for most faces, so it cracks where the skin creases. Lashes are cut to the eye. Hair is built to survive the weather, because telling a client to wear it up when it is windy would never fly on a commercial set and should not fly on hers either. If that reads like how you already work, we should talk.
Where We Are Hiring
Who we are looking for.
Tampa Bay & St. Petersburg
Artists based across Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater and Sarasota, licensed where Florida requires it for the services you perform.
Apply →Greater Chicago
The city and the suburbs, licensed where Illinois requires it. Convention weeks and festival season are our heaviest months.
Apply →What every application needs
Professional on-set or on-location experience, a portfolio of real client work, and someone who arrives early, holds a standard and says something when a detail changes.
Apply →Questions Artists Ask
Answered before you have to ask.
Am I an employee or a contractor?
Artists on the bench are independent contractors, booked job by job with a written agreement for each booking that states the scope, the call time, the hours and the rate before the day. You are not required to be exclusive to us and you keep your own clients.
How much do you pay?
It depends on discipline, market and the type of booking, and we agree it with you in the conversation rather than publishing one number. What we will say plainly is that we price at the top of the market on purpose, because that is the only way to pay artists properly and still staff a job correctly.
When do I get paid?
On our terms, not on the client's. Chasing a producer's accounts department ninety days after wrap is our job, not yours.
Do I need my own kit?
Yes, a professional kit for your discipline. What you are not expected to absorb is the cost of the things we sell as part of the service: airbrush, lashes and prep products are built into what the client pays, so they are never quietly taken out of your rate.
Do I have to do weddings?
No. We book you into the work that fits your discipline and what you told us you actually want. Some artists on the bench never touch a wedding; some only want weddings.
What is the standard you keep talking about?
One standard for every booking, whatever it is being paid for. Skin prep that controls shine before powder and setting spray are reached for. Airbrush treated as a tool chosen for the face and the lighting, not an upsell. Lashes cut to the eye. Hair built to survive weather rather than a client being told to wear it up because it is windy. A bride, an event guest and a commercial shoot all get the same thing.
Do you take talent representation submissions?
Not at the moment. This page is for artists who want to work on our bookings. If that changes we will say so here.
I am in another city. Can I still apply?
Yes, and it is worth doing. We are actively hiring in Tampa Bay and Chicago, but we place vetted local artists in 22+ markets when a production lands there. Tell us your market and we will keep you on file for work in it.
How long does the process take?
Portfolios are reviewed weekly. If it is a fit, the conversation usually happens within a couple of weeks, and the trial booking depends on when the right job lands in your market.
What makes an application easy to say yes to?
Real client work in the portfolio, a clear statement of your market and discipline, and evidence that you are reliable. On hour eleven of a shoot day, reliability is worth more than range.
Apply
Send us your portfolio.
Tell us your market, your discipline and where we can see your work. We review portfolios weekly, and if it is a fit you will hear from a person, not an autoresponder.
Questions first? Call (888) 619-0628 or email [email protected].