Expert: Kitty Kavey - 8/24/2010

Question
My 13 year old daughter really, really wants to get into modeling and I think she has the talent to do so and I need some advice. One agency responded like this:
"...As we do for all prospective new talent, we recommend that you get headshots.  We strongly suggest you contact ******, who does wonderful headshots and has worked with our talent for many years. His website is ***.com and you can contact him at his email or by phone.  Just let him know that you were referred to him by *** Agency, and he will give you all the appropriate info. Once you contact him, let us know what you decide! If you decide to work with this photographer, we will contact you once your pictures come in so that you can set up an appointment to come into the agency....."
This doesn't sound right to me. What do you think?

Answer
I agree with you.  In places like Florida and California where it's against the rules/laws to refer to a specific photographer, an agency can still keep a list or board of area photographers.

If the agency has already signed your daughter, then maybe they can recommend a few photographers to you, or send her for a test shoot.  But it seems that they are asking you to go to a photographer, get headshots and then they will make an appointment to see IF your daughter would be right for their agency.

I suggest moving on to other agencies.  Another thing that catches my eye is that they are recommending your daughter get headshots, as opposed to a modeling composite card.  A modeling composite card usually has a face shot, but the term "headshots" is generally used to refer to an actor's head shot (with one's resume on the back).

A modeling photo is generally done a bit differently from an actor's headshot, and a modeling composite card idealy has several photos that can show a model's range of looks, while a headshot should look like the person walking in the door of the casting agency.

What's important in the end is that your daughter does get useable (at any agency) photos, and is able to submit them to an agency who will only ask for a percentage (10 or 20% is standard) off off the money she earns working through them.  No other fees, classes or training.  

You can use the Screen Actor's Guild list of franchised agencies to locate agents closest to you in the US:
http://www.sag.org/content/find-agent
Those agencies marked as "full service" generally have a modeling division, and "all ages" will probably cover your daughter's age group - although you can check the website of most agencies for details on what types of talent/models they represent, what ages, and what they want to see for consideration.

Just use your favorite search engine to locate website of agencies you are interested in from that list, and I hope your daughter finds the right agency for her.

Good luck to you both,
~Kitty