Expert: Michelle Renee Krehl - 6/13/2010

Question
i have identical ten month old twin boys everyone keep saying how i should put them in modeling and how beautiful they are how would i go about doing this i live in Gettysburg pa

Answer
Sam,

Congratulations on your adorable babies! Modeling for infants is a real niche market, as the babies change so quickly all the time. I would suggest that you visit some legitimate agencies in your area (I am not sure if you are closer to Pittsburgh or Philly) to test the waters, but likely the majority of work for children nearest to you would be in New York.

Wilhelmina has a completely separate agency that just handles children, and Ford also handles children, although I am not certain at what age they take new talent.

Having twins is helpful often moreso with acting, as the days are very long, and there are strict laws about how long a young child can be working, so twins are often used because they can be subbed in and out of production without telling the difference, but it is less of an issue for modeling.

You will need to have photos of both boys, in the case of infants it can often be a headshot or a full body pic, and with children under 2 there photos generally need to be updated at least every 3 months. Keep them natural, smiling is best.

Some agencies may allow you to submit online, but when children are involved they do often want an in person meeting anyway, as things like temperament and personality definitely are a factor when working with young children and they must be very patient and even.

My son once made it very far in the casting process for a diaper commercial and when we went to meet with the director he really blew it, dumped everything off a table and then went under a chair, oh well! It is understood that kids will be kids but some are more difficult to work with than others.

If you have a very open and flexible schedule (most castings,auditions, and jobs happen between 9-5 M-F, so a parent must be free to take the children sometimes on very short notice). I would suggest making the rounds to local agencies first, and do mail in or electronic submissions to agents in the city if that is their method, (some may request photos first and some do open calls only).

Best of luck,

Michelle