Expert: Kitty Kavey - 6/20/2008

Question
where can i order casting cards online at?im new at all this my 9 year old daughter and 12 year old son have won a talent show contest through modelproductions but the web page they gave us procardsprinting.com does not exsist.so what else is cheap and good online?and how many should i order?

Answer
There are a lot of good printing companies that have websites.  Some are cheaper than others, some offer a higher quality (photographs vs. lithographs).  
http://www.ggphotoscan.com
http://www.compcardexpress.com
http://www.modelcards.com
http://www.buycompcards.com
http://www.compcardprinter.com
http://www.zedcardprinters.com

The above are just a few examples of websites that offer both modeling composite cards and actor's headshots, and generally there's a special deal on one or more of the websites at any given time that can help make it affordable.

Depending on which agency or agencies you are submitting your children's information to, they may not need professional photographs yet.  Usually, with models/talent under 12, a snapshot will be fine to submit to agencies for consideration, or even to book work with.  

Since your son is a little bit older, the agencies you are interested in may ask for professional materials for consideration - but it's worth it to find out first what they want to see before you invest in composite cards and/or headshots.

Once your children have agency representation, they may ask for anywhere from 20-100 copies of your children's materials - it really depends on the agency and the amount of work that goes through them with clients who ask for "hard cards."

If you need professional materials to submit to the agencies you are interested in, you probably should start out with as few as possible, and then reorder more once your children are represented.  If it takes some time for them to get representation, you don't want to be stuck with a huge number of prints, as both their look and possibly even their style can change so quickly at that age.

Good luck to you and your children, and congratulations on the win at the talent show.

~Kitty