Pholio exists to make the first look an honest one.

Who gets chosen will always come down to taste.

The way in should never come down to luck.

That is why Pholio exists.

We only

  1. say what we know.

    A photograph with no date is never called current. A height nobody measured is marked self-reported. An outcome we never saw is never recorded.

  2. charge for what you keep.

    No agency pays us. Nobody pays to apply, to be reviewed, or to be seen. The only thing for sale is craft you keep.

  3. share what you agreed to share.

    Location data is stripped from every photograph. An adult’s age is never printed on their card. Permission is asked one purpose at a time, and starts at no.

  4. let people judge people.

    No scores, no rankings, no guesses at anyone’s potential. Software can tell a close-up from a full length. Who gets signed is a person’s call.

  5. build the part before the decision.

    Bookings, contracts and commissions belong to the people in the room and the systems they already use. We stop at the door, on purpose.

Leul Enquanhone Natan Getahun Alexander Rieder

Pholio is made by

Leul Enquanhone

Co-founder. Designs and builds Pholio.

Natan Getahun

Co-founder. Brings Pholio to the industry.

Alexander Rieder

Advisor. Co-produces Fashion Week Brooklyn.

  1. Leul Enquanhone Co-founder, LinkedIn
  2. Natan Getahun Co-founder, LinkedIn
  3. Alexander Rieder Advisor, LinkedIn

What we are working toward

An industry where the first step costs nothing Instant photographs of one young woman, taken on different days., the rules are written down A woman photographed full length against a white wall, the kind of plain picture agencies ask for., silence has an end A row of empty chairs along a wooden wall., nobody’s face is used without asking A woman hiding half her face behind her raised hand., and nobody makes a living selling hope to the people at the door Women of different ages, dressed in white and cream, standing together and facing the camera..

A better introduction.

Photographs from Unsplash by Yash Mevawala, Chyntia Juls, Matheus Farias, mahdi chaghari, A M, Emiliano Vittoriosi, Behrooz, Amir Abbaspoor, Mecit Tarık Arıöz, Maxim Tolchinskiy, Joeyy Lee, Hardeep Singh, Brian Lawson, Anton K Wibowo, Matthew Moloney, Davide Buttani and Kamil Kalkan. Portraits of the team are their own.