Any top agent or casting director will tell you that 95% of the photos that get submitted to them make them cringe, the amount of time they waste pleading with parents to update and/or upgrade their kid's photos drives them crazy and models with strong up-to-date photos will typically book five to ten times more jobs - and much higher paying jobs - than those without.
All 'cringe free' photos below by Moda Kids Photography
All 'cringe free' photos below by Moda Kids Photography
Why do child and teen models need professional looking modeling portfolio photographs and comp cards in order to work on a regular basis? Modeling is a competitive business based on first impressions and model/talent agencies aren't just looking for attractive kids and teens. They're looking for kids and teens that have the right tools to book on a regular basis including strong up-to-date modeling portfolio photographs and comp cards that show the model is capable of portraying a wide range of ages, emotions and characters. Kids do not need elaborate portfolios though, a few very recent professional looking photographs will do.
Please note, however, fake agencies (aka portfolio mills) will routinely ask you to give them money for worthless photo shoots, comp cards, modeling portfolios, workshops, acting classes, etc. Click HERE to see the Florida State Law that makes it ILLEGAL for Florida model/talent agencies to 'split fees' with photographers and/or require you to buy photo shoots, comp cards, portfolios, workshops, classes, training, etc. through an agency. (New York and California both have similar laws.)
Advice from the Screen Actors Guild: "Legitimate talent agencies do not advertise for clients in newspaper classified columns nor do they solicit through the mail. If a purported talent agent seeks to send you to a particular photographer for pictures, hold your wallet tight and run for the nearest exit. Chances are the 'agent' is a phony and receives a cut of the photographer's fee. If you need photographs, choose your own photographer - then try another agent."
Without publicity and promotion, a terrible thing happens. Nothing. And the only thing worse than the feeling you get while driving to a casting while worrying about having amateur looking / outdated modeling portfolio photographs and comp cards to show is the feeling you get on the drive back wondering if you just blew another big booking.
When you go on a casting for print work, the first thing the interviewer may say to you is, “Can I see your portfolio?” If you say, “I don’t have one,” you are not going to make a good first impression and you are taking a huge risk that you will not be taken seriously.
The interviewer will be thinking, “No modeling portfolio? This can’t be a real model, he/she is not serious about this, he/she might not show up on time, he/she might not show up at all, he/she might not be able to pull this off," etc. - and negative thoughts like these are the last thing in the world you want going through a casting director's mind.
In England it’s called a Zed card and in the U.S. it’s called a comp card. Whatever you want to call it, however, you need one. Here’s why:
Whenever you walk into a real agency you will see at least one or two walls with display racks filled with printed comp cards. Several times a day, the agency will get calls from clients asking for a certain type of model and the booker will then walk over to the racks and start “pulling comps” to send to the client.
• If you don’t have comp cards on that rack your card will never get pulled, your card will never get sent to any clients and you will never be seen. In other words, if your comp card is not on that rack then you, in effect, do not exist.
• If the bookers do not see your name and face every time they walk into the office and looks at the racks they will very quickly forget about you.
• On many castings, you will often find yourself sitting in a reception area with a dozen or more other models and someone will come out and say, “Ok, everyone hand me your comp card and modeling portfolio.” They will then take the portfolios and comp cards in to the casting director or whomever is authorized to make the actual hiring decision. And if you don'tt have a modeling portfolio and cards you will not be seen that day and again, in effect, you do not exist - and you just wasted your time and gas money going there.
• On other castings, you may see a decision maker without first handing your modeling portfolio or comp card to an assistant. At the end of the interview, however, they will often ask you to leave a card. If you don’t have one to leave, you not only look unprofessional and unprepared, the interviewer will forget all about you within a few minutes of you leaving.
NEVER FORGET: This is a first impression business. A strong up-to-date modeling portfolio and comp card says, "I respect you taking the time to consider hiring me." "I am a professional.” “I will show up.” “I will be on time.” “I can pull this off.” “I’m worth $1000 a day” while weak / outdated modeling portfolios and comp cards say just the opposite.
How to avoid spending several hundred to several thousand dollars for no reason
If an agency is interested in your child, they will typically will ask you to leave at least 10 to 20 comp cards with them.
If you don’t have already have printed comp cards, a real agency will not ask you for money to have cards printed for you. Instead they will instruct you to go to a printer and have comp cards made with the agency name and agency contact info on them which will cost you anywhere from $400 to $500.
Then you may walk into 4 or 5 other agencies that will all say the same thing - and you will be faced with the prospect of spending $2000 to $3000 or more on comp cards to make them all happy OR you will end up with no one willing to book you because you don’t have any cards.
Fortunately, however, you can not only avoid this problem you can avoid hearing icy comments like, “Do you have a problem with having printed comp cards made?” by getting a short run of comp cards to make it easy for agencies to get you your first few bookings.
Why not wait for magazine and catalog "tear sheets" to come out to put on your child's modeling portfolio or on comp cards? Because waiting for magazine and catalog tear sheets to come out can cost you thousands of dollars in wasted time and lost bookings.
1.) Without good test shots you probably won't book many jobs (if any) and you will end up wasting months or even years of your time wishing and hoping for something to happen.
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 and have comp cards made your photos and cards will already be out of date. (Agents and casting directors know that tear sheet images on kids comp cards are usually 6 months to a year old or more and this is a huge turn off.)
3.) If you have photos from The Gap, for example, and you show them on an interview for H&M Sweden, H&M Sweden will not want to book your child or teen because The Gap is direct competition for them and H&M Sweden will not knowingly book the same models as their competition because it would be too confusing for the public.
4.) Magazines and catalogs can be very hard to locate and you may not even be able to find one.
5.) If you do find one, you will then have to scan the photos which may be too small to use and when you scan them, they will have a very visible dot pattern on them and they will look terrible when reprinted.
6.) Images that appear on web sites are usually 72 dpi (dots per inch) JPEG files but you will need 300 dpi TIFF files to work with or they will look terrible when reprinted.
7.) Images used in advertising are chosen to flatter the product NOT the model and showing unflattering photos will always do more harm than good.
Want proof positive that having 'Photos by Moda Kids Photography' on your kid's comp cards can make a huge difference in the quantity and quality of their bookings? Talk to a few of the parents of the dozens of top child models we have launched. (Complete documentation available upon request.)
Click HERE to request more info, dates and times
Please note, however, fake agencies (aka portfolio mills) will routinely ask you to give them money for worthless photo shoots, comp cards, modeling portfolios, workshops, acting classes, etc. Click HERE to see the Florida State Law that makes it ILLEGAL for Florida model/talent agencies to 'split fees' with photographers and/or require you to buy photo shoots, comp cards, portfolios, workshops, classes, training, etc. through an agency. (New York and California both have similar laws.)
Advice from the Screen Actors Guild: "Legitimate talent agencies do not advertise for clients in newspaper classified columns nor do they solicit through the mail. If a purported talent agent seeks to send you to a particular photographer for pictures, hold your wallet tight and run for the nearest exit. Chances are the 'agent' is a phony and receives a cut of the photographer's fee. If you need photographs, choose your own photographer - then try another agent."
Without publicity and promotion, a terrible thing happens. Nothing. And the only thing worse than the feeling you get while driving to a casting while worrying about having amateur looking / outdated modeling portfolio photographs and comp cards to show is the feeling you get on the drive back wondering if you just blew another big booking.
When you go on a casting for print work, the first thing the interviewer may say to you is, “Can I see your portfolio?” If you say, “I don’t have one,” you are not going to make a good first impression and you are taking a huge risk that you will not be taken seriously.
The interviewer will be thinking, “No modeling portfolio? This can’t be a real model, he/she is not serious about this, he/she might not show up on time, he/she might not show up at all, he/she might not be able to pull this off," etc. - and negative thoughts like these are the last thing in the world you want going through a casting director's mind.
In England it’s called a Zed card and in the U.S. it’s called a comp card. Whatever you want to call it, however, you need one. Here’s why:
Whenever you walk into a real agency you will see at least one or two walls with display racks filled with printed comp cards. Several times a day, the agency will get calls from clients asking for a certain type of model and the booker will then walk over to the racks and start “pulling comps” to send to the client.
• If you don’t have comp cards on that rack your card will never get pulled, your card will never get sent to any clients and you will never be seen. In other words, if your comp card is not on that rack then you, in effect, do not exist.
• If the bookers do not see your name and face every time they walk into the office and looks at the racks they will very quickly forget about you.
• On many castings, you will often find yourself sitting in a reception area with a dozen or more other models and someone will come out and say, “Ok, everyone hand me your comp card and modeling portfolio.” They will then take the portfolios and comp cards in to the casting director or whomever is authorized to make the actual hiring decision. And if you don'tt have a modeling portfolio and cards you will not be seen that day and again, in effect, you do not exist - and you just wasted your time and gas money going there.
• On other castings, you may see a decision maker without first handing your modeling portfolio or comp card to an assistant. At the end of the interview, however, they will often ask you to leave a card. If you don’t have one to leave, you not only look unprofessional and unprepared, the interviewer will forget all about you within a few minutes of you leaving.
NEVER FORGET: This is a first impression business. A strong up-to-date modeling portfolio and comp card says, "I respect you taking the time to consider hiring me." "I am a professional.” “I will show up.” “I will be on time.” “I can pull this off.” “I’m worth $1000 a day” while weak / outdated modeling portfolios and comp cards say just the opposite.
How to avoid spending several hundred to several thousand dollars for no reason
If an agency is interested in your child, they will typically will ask you to leave at least 10 to 20 comp cards with them.
If you don’t have already have printed comp cards, a real agency will not ask you for money to have cards printed for you. Instead they will instruct you to go to a printer and have comp cards made with the agency name and agency contact info on them which will cost you anywhere from $400 to $500.
Then you may walk into 4 or 5 other agencies that will all say the same thing - and you will be faced with the prospect of spending $2000 to $3000 or more on comp cards to make them all happy OR you will end up with no one willing to book you because you don’t have any cards.
Fortunately, however, you can not only avoid this problem you can avoid hearing icy comments like, “Do you have a problem with having printed comp cards made?” by getting a short run of comp cards to make it easy for agencies to get you your first few bookings.
Why not wait for magazine and catalog "tear sheets" to come out to put on your child's modeling portfolio or on comp cards? Because waiting for magazine and catalog tear sheets to come out can cost you thousands of dollars in wasted time and lost bookings.
1.) Without good test shots you probably won't book many jobs (if any) and you will end up wasting months or even years of your time wishing and hoping for something to happen.
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 and have comp cards made your photos and cards will already be out of date. (Agents and casting directors know that tear sheet images on kids comp cards are usually 6 months to a year old or more and this is a huge turn off.)
3.) If you have photos from The Gap, for example, and you show them on an interview for H&M Sweden, H&M Sweden will not want to book your child or teen because The Gap is direct competition for them and H&M Sweden will not knowingly book the same models as their competition because it would be too confusing for the public.
4.) Magazines and catalogs can be very hard to locate and you may not even be able to find one.
5.) If you do find one, you will then have to scan the photos which may be too small to use and when you scan them, they will have a very visible dot pattern on them and they will look terrible when reprinted.
6.) Images that appear on web sites are usually 72 dpi (dots per inch) JPEG files but you will need 300 dpi TIFF files to work with or they will look terrible when reprinted.
7.) Images used in advertising are chosen to flatter the product NOT the model and showing unflattering photos will always do more harm than good.
Want proof positive that having 'Photos by Moda Kids Photography' on your kid's comp cards can make a huge difference in the quantity and quality of their bookings? Talk to a few of the parents of the dozens of top child models we have launched. (Complete documentation available upon request.)
Click HERE to request more info, dates and times