SilentKnight

I've been fortunate to have a LOT of contacts over the years, but even knowing a lot of people we still had to make considerable effort to get models. We're good friends with the owners of an adult/BDSM retail store in Niagara Falls that catered to local strippers, fetish scene people, etc - so that was useful for making model contacts over the years.

That aside, we also advertised quite a lot at our local university campus - students looking to make extra money on the side for pub night. We've worked with a few local models from MM, although they were often flaky and unreliable. I also met several through a local urban explorers group (photographing old abandoned buildings). Adult conventions are also another good source of contacts - as are fetish scene parties (munches) - although the latter tends to be older, more BBW crowd...not our calibre of model. Our adult store friends often hosted fet-nights and asked me to photograph the events over the years - sometimes a few shots were good enough for portfolio pics.

You have to seize the opportunity to make contact with potential models whenever the opportunity arises. Both my wife and I always carried business cards with us - and never hesitated to take time and explain to people what we do, what we're looking for, etc. Sometimes we met models in the most unlikely of places.

I've always found a laid-back, nonchalant approach works best - don't be too pushy, desperate, over-eager or come across like a cheap salesman. Confidence in your pitch goes a long way. It's a fine art to talk big without bragging...but in a subtle way.