"Modeling" - Queen Creek,AZ

I have always heard that you aren't supposed to have to put any money up front. And I would think that as long as you were able to pick and choose what she auditioned for, it would be fine...Good luck! :)

Sherry had some awesome advice for you!

In my experience there is NOTHING legit or profitable in the valley for children. If you want this for your child you must go to L.A. They just don't shoot national ads here and there isn't work unless it is little local things that don't pay.

My oldest modeled while we lived in southern California. It was lucrative (but not if you broke down the time commitment into an hourly wage) and I can tell you from many open "cattle calls" it is less about the child's looks than personality.

In huge "cattle calls" you are eliminated in the first 3 seconds that your child doesn't smile and warmly greet casting agents as they go around the room. The best personalities make it to the end, so make sure she isn't shy and has the stomach for hours of "smoozing" strangers (this is counter intuitive to all our protective lessons that we try to teach children).

If you just want to have fun and do a couple of local mall fashion shows and maybe some extra work in the rare film shooting here watch the local parenting mags, classifieds and online ads for auditions. I work for a local magazine and we do not pay our models but it is fun once in a while to get your child on the cover (it is mostly who you know).

We all have people tell us our children should model...I bet this "agency" phoned you at home after the interview to tell you the great news didn't they? I bet the other 150 got the same call and if one or two parents buy their expensive pictures it was a profitable day.

You are wise to be leery of ANY company who insists that you need a "portfolio". What good is a portfolio for a child who isn't going to look the same in 6 months? A clean, clear, black and white glossy headshot of your child, updated every few months is all you need.

Best of luck!

You have received some excellent replies so far, especially from the first two. It is very true that there work in the valley is VERY seldom.

My extra bit of advice for you.... 2 yo change alot. Reputable agencies will not request a portfolio for under 3 yo because of this.

Hi M.,

I work for a company that sells clothing and produce a catalog for them. We hire models for our photo shoots to wear the clothes we sell. We do hire children every couple of years. I don't know how much the kids we hire work regularly but I know the parents are always there and usually both are on site for the whole shoot.I think besides safety reasons it also helps relax the child. As far as paying money for a portfolio, I don't think that is right. I am almost sure that I hired an 8 month old baby from a snap shot his parents took. What happens is the modeling agency sends us a bunch of men, women and children through email and we select which ones we want to show up at a casting call for us. We don't do this for the children, we hire them from photos only, like the 8 month old boy, we were his first gig. Soooo cute. Anyway you can tell the kid photos are not all professional. If you want to go this route, contact some model agencies and seee what they require. If they need pro photos you should be able to have them done yourself. When we look at photos they are of various jobs the models have done, so many different looks. That's one reason I know they don't have to take your photos for you. Good luck I hope this helps a little.

Hi M. - ANY legitimate Agency will NOT ask for money upfront - They Know from just a few snap shots of your child or model that a child or person can work or not - They dont need to take Porfolio pics - your Portfolio is built from the Tear sheets of the Jobs that you do - Not of Studio Portraits from an Agency - Pls look them up in the Better Business Bureu and also Pls try Legit Agencies in New York before you go to Any here that want to charge you - Even local work, they can submit random pics of a child to the Client or send the child on a go see. Do Not pay for modeling or Acting lessons if they offer them - if a child photographs well and has an attitude they can work with they should Know it and that is it - sometimes they will teach them to walk runway - but even as a smaller child, its not like Catwalk - they dont make a child learn runway walk unless it is truly in Paris or New York for a Designer - other than that, pls dont pay for lessons. Pls do your home work esp Online, for Legit Agencies, there are about 2 in the valley I think for children - not Starmakers or things like that - Some change their names b/c they get sued or go under with one name and then choose another - but it will be the same Swindlers runing the thing!! Many children's stores have their own open calls where you are seen Directly by the Designer/Store - OR - another thing is to call or email them and ask where They get their models - They Will go thru Legit agancies you can then send Pix to or go to an open call - Like The Childrens Place, Baby Gap, or locals like Neiman Marcus and Nordstroms - who do they work with locally? Im from LA - Ive been thru this ALOT, Ive had work with legit people and Ive been offered Scams WAY too much - Good Luck and do your research first and Leave the checkbook at home :) - S. :)

Hi, M. -
Yes, I've had experience in this area. My daughter is 5 and is represented by the Deborah Maddox Agency here in town. I did my research as well, and they appear to be one of the only reputable agencies in Arizona that represents children. You are right. Any agency offering to "represent" your child, then asking for money is not legitimate. My daughter recently did two print ads for an insurance company and was paid $1,000. It was two longish days work, but she had fun. Like you, we figured if she thought it was fun and we could put money into her college fund, why not? You must protect her, so be extremely cautious. Also, be warned that modeling for children means some work for mom and dad!
Good luck!

I have had alittle experience with this for my older son. He was 15 at the time. Also my nephew was in the paper modeling for Dillards almost weekly. My nephew made some decent money for a kid but nothing huge. About $100-$300 for a very long day of work once or twice a month. With my son I found that for the money he made I always spent more!We both decided it was not worth it.
My neighbor's daughter was "discovered" while at the mall shopping. They were legit, approached her mother, didn't ask for a penny, paid for her pictures and she now is working in New York!
These agencies make their money off the models not off any work they will supposedly get you!

M., you were smart to listen to your intincts and turn down that company...even if they are legit, one should NOT have to pay up front for any of that stuff. I'm not in the business, but my sister is an actor in Northern Cal, and has been told me to consider getting my kids into modeling and or acting as well to help fund their college education. The advice she had for me was to go with an agecy like, Robert Black, Leighton (who was her agent here in Phx), Dani, or Signature.
What you need to do is get a professional head shot of your daughter and submit it to any or all of these agencies. Or you can talk to one of them first. From my understanding, your daughter could fit one Company (like Target or baby Gap) for an ad, but not fit the look for another company. And since children's looks change often, you probably will need new head shots of her at least a few times a year. Go with an agency that lets YOU be in charge - or at least have a HUGE say- in when, how, and where on any photo shoots. She is very young, so you really need to be her advocate and keep her grounded as she grows, if this is something that could be long term for her. I think a good agency like the ones I mentioned are good at working with the parents. Again, I'm not in the business, just have some info from my sister who is.
Good luck...and ALWAYS trust your inner wise mamma instincts:)

A.

Hi M.,
I agree with the other posts, with one exception -
If you do want to jump in and get her signed with an agency and get her a lot of exposure she will need to build her portfolio. A lot of agencies will recommend getting her portfolio together because it makes it easy to see the versatility in her looks.
If it's not something you are going to go after heavily, I certainly wouldn't waste the money on shoots for the portfolio - it's expensive. Let it build up over time. You can always change your mind later to add to it. Plus it needs to be updated annually anyway since her looks will change quickly as she grows.

M.,
I agree with everyone that said a legit agency that really wants to put your kid to work to earn THEM money would not ask for any money from you upfront. I used to model a little here and there and went to several of those events where they "choose" people to be in their agency, and the fact that you were chosen and others weren't sounds like they're picky and maybe more legit but if they're asking you for money they're not the real thing. I fell for it once and paid them $500 to take some pictures of me and put together a portfolio. They had a whole spill on how they've gotten work for all these people but after they got my money I never heard from them again. Well, actually they did call me for a job but I wouldn't call it modeling at all. I'm planning to do this too but I have a friend that got her kids to do a little modeling by sending a good picture of them to a few reputable agencies in town (she didn't even use professional headshots) and one called her back and booked her kids for two jobs so far. So try that and good luck to ya!

Hi M.,
There are plenty of professional photographers who can put together a professional portfolio for her, including head shots.

Hire your own, and try again, if you're still interested.

Just remember, if it's going to become her "job," it inherently will stop being "fun" (for you and her), so decide in advance at what point you would stop, or take a break.

Care.
T

I have no experience or tips to offer, but I wanted to applaud you for initially going with your gut feelings. If you're leery about something, then don't do it. There's a reason you're leery, and it's your 6th sense kicking in (whether it be maternal or not).

Personally, I'd be flattered if my kids were declared modeling material, and the potential income it could bring in would be tempting, but honestly I don't think I would go down that road just because of all the other things that may come with it. To me it's not worth it, but that's just my personal opinion.

Good luck in whatever you decide!