Expert: Kitty Kavey - 6/3/2009

Question
Hi Kitty,
I have no experience what so ever with modeling but my son is 9 and I finally took him to an interview for a modeling job since everybody would always tell me how gorgeous he is. The company that is interested in him only wanted me to give them pictures from my camera at first and they seemed very interested in him. Now they want me to meet with them and work with him a little to get the feel of him and they said that we would be taking pictures for the comp card, with a photographer that they recommend, as my choice for 2 looks $ 550.00. 3 looks would be $710.00 that includes stylist,makeup artist and fashion designer. People tell me that if they are interested enough I shouldn't have to pay anything ...is that true??
Basically the way I was introduced to this company is that we went to Orlando with PROSCOUT and there was about 25 agencies there and 6 of them said they were interested in my son. This one company, that I'm talking about, is one of them. I don't know what questions to ask them , I don't even know anything about the business, just that everyone, anywhere I go , stop me to tell me my son should be a model! HELP???
thanks
Annie

Answer
Generally, if a child is under age 12 or so, they do not need to use a comp card to work.  The reason behind that is that unlike an adult, kids can look completely different in six months, or even less if they are really young.  Many agencies in that case use snapshots or a simple headshot, which is much less expensive for the parent to keep updating.

If you are located in Florida, try the agency list (under SAG Commercial Modeling Agencies) here: http://www.florida-models.com/agencies.htm

If you are in another state, you can use the agency list on http://www.sag.org/content/find-agent to locate agencies nationwide.

Not all of the SAG agencies have a modeling division, but many do.  Nor do all represent models and or talent of all ages.  You can use your favorite search engine to locate the website of agencies you are interested in.

If you are in Florida, make sure the agency is licensed.  You can check with the state to see if there have been any complaints filed against them.  

While an agency in Florida can give you a list of recommended area photographers, they are not supposed to recommend one.  Nor should they have a direct connection to any conflict-of-interest-type businesses, such as photography, printing, etc.

Your son's agent should be earning a commission of approx. 10-20% taken off of the money he earns through them (modeling).  If the agency earns money in another way, then I would suggest finding a different agency to work with/through.

There may be a time in the future when you will be asked to provide a comp card for your son, but for now, before you spend any money, I recommend finding a better agency for him.

Good luck to you both,
~Kitty