Lol, why thank you, young grasshopper.
Here's some of my technique:
1. I familiarize myself with the thread first. It's very rare to find a model that doesn't already have a thread. One time I was frustrated with the poor quality and number of missing old posts for a model, so I started a new thread, but the mods intervened and merged them.
2. Normally I stick to threads that have one or two pages only - they're easier to review and search. When I discovered Maggie's thread, it already had 50 pages! And this was around the time that the search function by thread was disabled - ARRGH! - happily, it is back.
3. Maggie's thread has had some veteran posters who found some wonderful shoots, so I make note of the photographers they identified, the magazine shoots or fashion shoots that the model was in, and mark those as done. Saves me a lot of time in searching out the same stuff that the master posters have already found.
4. A simple Google or Bing search for the modelling agency pages, the model's social media, and any interviews or editorials brings up a wealth of sources. One thing I always try to do is when a FB or IG post identifies the photographer, I click through to the photographer's account, and hopefully their own webpage. Many photographers get lazy about identifying the models in their shoots, so quite often, it is easy to find unlabelled photos of our Maggie.
5. Get creative with your search engines. Instead of just typing Maggie Rawlins in the search box, try "Maggie Rawlins" or "@maggierawlins" or try combining it with the name of the photographer or vendor like GUESS.
6. I try to collect as many photos from one photographer as I can, before posting them. This way, I can sort, eliminate dupes, find better quality versions of the same image, and sometimes even post them in order! Once I have found a few, Bing Reverse Image Search will often bring to light similar images from the same shoot. Google Reverse Image Search is not as good for that, but it will find different versions of the exact same photo.
7. Before I post anything, I always search the thread first for the photographers name, or the ad campaign. This makes it a challenge, as many newbie posters don't bother to identify the photog or their source. And yes, scrolling through 50+ pages is a chore, but I try to do that too. I'm not always successful, and that is why if I discover that I HAVE made a duplicate post, I will edit and delete the pics.
8. When I post, I try really hard to remember to include the name of the photographer at the very least (assuming that it is possible), to give them their due credit. This is not always possible when we find pics on VS or AdoreMe or other retailer's websites, because many of these are product shots and don't identify the original photographer.
So thank you for asking. Good luck and good hunting! And just for you, here's a Maggie pic from photographer Gilles Bensimmon, the one he used for the cover of the latest MAXIM mag: