Frequently Asked Questions and Laws that Govern Model / Talent Agencies
Do children need to have professional photos, a portfolio and comp cards? Elaborate portfolios are not necessary for babies and toddlers but if your child is older you might want to consider having professional photos done to show on interviews and castings, especially if you are looking to find work in more lucrative markets such as New York, Los Angeles, Orange County, California, Dallas, Fort Worth, Chicago, Atlanta, Georgia Miami, Miami Beach, Orlando, Tampa, Florida, etc.
Can I go on castings with just snapshots? Sure you could go on castings with just snapshots but the hidden costs will add up very quickly, you will not make a good impression, you will waste a lot of time going on fruitless castings and - over a very short period of time - you will end up spending a lot more money on gasoline to go to interviews and castings with than a professional photo shoot would have cost. Not to mention the cost of thousands of dollars in lost bookings.
What about babies and toddlers? Babies and toddlers grow and change very quickly so there's no need to spend a lot of money on pictures, comp cards elaborate or portfolios for modeling or casting purposes. All that is needed for kids under age three are a few good, clear pictures that show the child as how he or she normally looks.
We went to an 'open call' at an agency and the so-called agent we spoke to was very insistent that we shoot with one of ‘their’ photographers. Is this normal? A REAL agency makes money from booking jobs and taking a commission ONLY so if an agency tries to pressure you to buy a photo shoot or anything else from them you're in the wrong place. So called agencies that do this are known as portfolio mills, they often shoot 10 to 20 model hopefuls in one day and it is very unlikely that you will get usable / high quality photographs this way. In fact, the photos you get from them will invariably do you more harm than good. Also, most real agencies will not accept photographs and/or comp cards from such places as legitimate agencies do not want to lend credibility to portfolio mills.
Why? New York, Florida and California all have laws that makes it illegal for booking agencies to charge advance fees of any and/or to 'split fees with photographers and/or require you to shoot with one particular photographer and/or to buy classes, training, photography services, comp card printing, etc. through the agency. In New York and Florida it is only a misdemeanor and there is very little enforcement but in California under the Krekorian Act it is a felony offense punishable by large fines and 90 days in jail. In all other states this practice falls under the more general category of Fraud.
More on the Krekorian Act: When the Krekorian Act was first signed into California law in 2009 supporters hailed it as a way to protect performers - specifically children - and their families from being taken advantage of by talent representatives. And since the Krekorian Act has gone into effect, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office has used it to regulate pay-to-play workshops and to prevent agencies, managers, casting directors, etc. from charging potential models and talent to audition or for classes, photo shoots, etc.. The City Attorney's Office reached out to various people and institutions may have been in danger of violating the law and asked them to change the way they operated and most did. Among those that did not comply was Nicholas Roses, a former manager at Luber Roklin Entertainment who pleaded no contest to operating an advance fee talent service. Soon after, Patrick O'Brien of Pat O'Brien Talent Management also pleaded no contest on similar counts. The Krekorian Act forbids talent representatives from charging fees to clients in exchange for the promise of securing employment and Roses and O'Brien were the first to be convicted under it. "These convictions send the message to talent managers and talent agents that you will be prosecuted in California if you try to sell classes, photos or websites to models and talent," said Deputy City Attorney Mark Lambert who prosecuted both cases.
Someone claiming to be a model/talent manager approached us recently but they were not licensed. Do managers need to be licensed or just agencies? According to New York, California and Florida state law you are considered to be a talent agent if you, for compensation, engage in the occupation of procuring or attempting to procure bookings for models and/or talent. This means that you must have a talent agency license to legally operate in New York, California and Florida - and this requirement applies to to anyone and everyone no matter what title they go by: agent, manager, talent manager, model manager, personal manager, etc.
The only exception to the law would be for someone managing only one person or a family member, in which case no agency license is required. Otherwise, operating as a model/talent agent or manager in New York, Florida and California without a Talent Agency (TA) license is a felony. So allowing a person with no TA License to 'manage' your kids is obviously not a good idea. In addition, the hiring of or the use of an unlicensed agent or manager to procure bookings for you is also illegal and could subject you to prosecution.
Why not wait for 'tear sheets' to put in my kid's portfolio and make comp cards with? Waiting for tear sheets to come out can cost you thousands of dollars in lost bookings as 1) Without good test shots you probably won't book many jobs, if any. 2) Magazines, catalogs, etc. usually don't come out until several months after the shoot, sometimes longer, so by the time you get the pictures they will be out of date. 3) If you have tear sheets from The Gap (for example) and you show them on an interview for H&M Sweden, H&M will not want to book you because The Gap is direct competition and H&M won't want to use the same models. 4) Magazines and catalogs can be very hard to locate and you may not be able to find one. 5) Even if you do find one, you will then have to scan the photos which may be too small to use and/or when you scan them, they will have a very visible dot pattern to them which will make them look terrible when reprinted. 6) Images used in advertising are chosen to flatter the product,NOT the model - and showing unflattering photos will always do you more harm than good.
What is the difference between a casting, a request casting and a direct booking? A casting is when a client or a casting director has a large number of kids come to see them in person to see if they look the part and would be right for the job. A request casting is is when a client or a casting director looks at a number of kids' photographs and/or comp cards in advance, narrows it down to a small handful of kids that look the part and then has them come in for a casting. A direct booking is when a client or a casting director books the kids "direct" from looking at their photographs and/or comp cards - no in person casting required. (A direct booking does not mean the client calls the parents "direct" to book the kids, a direct booking is booked through an agency the same as any other type of booking.
Do clients ever direct book child models off of snapshots alone? It's possible, but not very likely.
Do child models get paid to go on castings or fittings? Models sometimes get paid to go on fittings but getting paid to go on castings is very unlikely.
What is the going rate for child modeling jobs? Most print bookings for kids pay anywhere from $85 to $125 per hour, $400 to $500 per half day, $800 to $1000 per full day. Commercials are another story, however, as pay rates range anywhere from $250 per day to tens of thousands of dollars for a day or two of filming depending on whether it is a local commercial or a national commercial that pays residuals.
Will the client cover travel expenses? If you need to travel plane tickets, hotels, food, etc. are almost always covered by the client. If you live more than an a two hour away by car there is the possibility that the client will pay anywhere from $100 to $200 per day on top of your hourly rate to cover travel expenses.
Want proof positive that 'Photos by Moda Kids Photography' on a comp card can make a huge difference in the quantity and quality of your bookings? Talk to the parents of the dozens of top child models we have launched. (Complete documentation available upon request.)
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