Expert: Kitty Kavey - 1/16/2008

Question
hi Kitty,
    I live in Chicago and recently submitted photos of my 3 children (ages 10,9 and 5). Question is, I received a call from one of the local agency (Baker and Rowley Talent)- wondering how reputable of an agency are they and how aggressive they are in finding work for their talents.  We have an interview this week, and would like to get your opinion. They don't require compcards for now in their age group, but rather, regular photos which when submitted will be posted in their website for a fee. Is this ok?

Answer
If the agency earn their money by taking a percentage off of the work your children book through them, (and assuming the web posting fee is nominal) then it is likely that they will work hard to make sure their talent works.
The agency you mention is affiliated with several unions, so at the very least they comply with union regulations/rules - and you have somewhere to complain if they violate any of those rules.
They also have the ability to get bookings with bigger union scale jobs, also an advantage over non-union affiliated agencies.
Chicago does have less work than Los Angeles, but you can certainly ask them what the market is like there, and the agency you mention has a list of bookings they have done on their website.
It sounds good to me.
Good luck to you,
~Kitty