Children in Modeling?

Hi K.,
Be ware who you sign your children up with, there are some scams out there. We were taken for several hundred dollars and never heard from them. People said the same about our son.
Homeschool Mom and owner of a propserous wellness business,
S.

Hi K.,

I was always told the same thing about my kids, so I know how tempting it can be. I guess all I really learned through the process is do not get caught up in those talent scout schemes. You know, the ones that come to town for the weekend and set up at a hotel. You show up one day so they can see you and then they call you back in the evening to tell you how much potential you or your kid has. So you go back the next day and they have a contract for you to sign and then they want a ton of money from you. Any reputable modeling agency will not ask for any money up front. They will spend the money to get the portfolio done because they believe that they will make money in the long run.

I was always told to send several pictures to the modeling agency themselves. If they are interested, they will call you. However, keep in mind that most child models you see just happen to be the kids of employees. Agencies very rarely book children. As far as I know, the closest agency in the midwest if John Casablanca in Minneapolis. I really never went very far with this because as a single parent with two kids, I knew I wouldn't be able to drop everything and fly to the big cities for a weekend for a photo shoot.

I hope something I said may have been helpful to you. Best of luck to you.

Your children are certainly very beautiful, especially to you! I used to work for a company that did major photography for a large, nationwide department store. We used children once in a while, often an employee's child. The agencies at the time were mostly interested in ethnically diverse children, and when there is a photo shoot the kids need to be the right age and with a certain "mix" of models in an age category. You can have a photo package made up of your kid/kids and submit them to all the agencies you can find. Please bear in mind, like the previous replies, that you will be responsible for transporting your kids wherever the photos are being shot, and you may wait around for a long time for a few shots to be taken. To me it always seemed like an extremely difficult way to make a small amount of money. Good luck!

Everyone keeps telling me the same thing and i keep thinking the same thing you dodo it and put the money away for them and i really think i might check into it for at least on of my children if not both

Not a silly question at all!! In fact, we get the SAME thing with our youngest son who is 5. We too have wondered where to start & who to trust. GOOD LUCK!!

Hello-

My youngest daughter who is 7 models at The ROCK Agency in Madison..they are located on Monona Drive. You need to call them to see when they have an open casting call where you go in and meet with the director and she will tell you yes or no. For little ones your 2 ages, they will tell you what kind of pictures to email them to put on their website for people looking for a certain look. They look not just for cuteness but uniqueness and ethnicity does help. My daughter has been at the modeling agency and has had around 6 auditions and has only modeled for 2 . One was a swing set company so she had fun doing that and the other was for a learning materials catalog. It can be expensive to start up and she got paid enough to get a fun toy she wanted..basically I wanted her to do it to help her shyness and she is pretty quiet and she has fun doing it, dressing up and getting her picture taken...It will not be a way for a child to make money..thats for sure:) Hope this helps:)

first of all... you have to consider the type of people that are in modeling. and what happens to the kids.

it may seem cute and wonderful on the outside.. but really, do the kids ever get to just be kids? ? do they ever get any time where they can just not have to be looking 'cute'???

there are millions of cute kids out there, and mand many moms who are pushing their kids into modeling for one reason or another. this isnt a decision you just make because everyone tells you your kids are cute. one persons cute is another persons plain. modeling is a tough tough business, cutthroat, mean, rejecting...

i would really really consider not doing this. enjoy your children, let them be kids. if when they are adults modeling is somethign they will enjoy, then great! they can make their good decisions about money and saving then... and still have plenty of time before retirement. chances are for years and years you may be running from here to there and all over to different auditions (or whatever they call them) and you may never make a penny.

think about the stories you hear about childrens modeling ... they are not happy stories. there are too few that are actually successful, happy, normal families...

i highly recommend that no one make their kids model. however, magazines like parents or parenting (i cant remember which one but maybe both) usually do yearly cute kid contests. these seem to be low-key, and simple... and fun. doing something like that might be ok. but i really dont know how much fun a kid in the modeling industry could really have.... and all the pressures to be perfect and cute... all the time?? where does that end? what kind of older children do they turn out to be? what kind of teenager??

you do what you think is best for your children and your family. just being told that your kids are cute isnt really reason to jump into a vicious, evil industry... it could cost you more than its ever worth... even if they would "make it big"... it could cost them their lives.

just let kids be kids... let them choose to model as an adult. theres more money in that anyway. :D

when I was little my sisters and I and some friends took some 'modeling' classes to boost our self confidence. a cool lady agreed to teach us all. we had a big show for all our parents complete with catwalk and even a monologue we had to memorize... and we 'modeled' some funky eighties clothes. (it was the eighties). doing it that way was a good experience, we probably weren't the cutest kids, but it boosted our self confidence. we had a great time, but we paid for it. So if your object is for money... this probably wouldn't work, but if it's something fun for the kids this is a great idea you could get together and do with your friends and their kids. we got to 'be models' and feel great about ourselves, with no stress and no mess.

I don't have personal experience, but I've had others tell me about it. One thing I think about trying it is just to see how they like and react to the camera. They may be cute, but if they don't cooperate with the photographer it won't be fun. They have to be agreeable to numerous clothing changes too.

Hi K.,
We just moved here so I don't have any direct experience here but my son did model a bit in our former location. We chose to do this for fun (yes, for fun o.p.!). My son LOVES to get his picture taken -- he loves the attention -- so for him, it was very fun. This would not be fun for some others, anyone who is shy, doesn't take direction well, or doesn't like the camera would not enjoy it. What is neat from the experience is that he has a few magazines, ads, etc. for his baby book. What we didn't get from it is a lot of money, lol! We had to send in photos quarterly, which usually cost me about $35 to process (snapshots) and he made $100/hour -- 20% of which went to the agency. He usually got one job/quarter -- which I think is actually a lot for child modeling from what I've been told and the jobs usually took 1-2 hours -- so not like he was making money hand over fist.

Yes, there are scams out there -- you should not have to pay for anything upfront, including "special" photos, classes, etc. -- although the agency will want you to send photos of some sort so there are some limited costs to you.

The most fun was a company that sold beachwear -- the photo shoot was my son's first experience with sand (at 12 mos) and he loved it!!

Find a reputable agency and go for it, if you think your kids will like it! :-)

If you want to get started, check out www.jenniferstalent.com
All they ask for is a couple of photos and $25 for a short workshop on what to expect for those new to modeling. Then they contact you when your child "fits" the job. This is a Milwaukee agency, and not a scam! They book kids for Kohl's Department, among many others. GL!

I don't have a lot of modeling experience, but have done a little and occasionally work as an actress. I did start out with modeling when I was about 14. I would have liked to do more, but my parents weren't keen on it and we lived in a rural area, so it would have been a lot of work on their part.

First off, it sounds like you're mostly interested in exploring the possibility of doing this as an easy way for your kids to make some money for their savings. It could happen, but know that it's not terribly likely. Most people aren't lucky enough to have steady work, and for those who are, it IS WORK. For you and your kids. It is a business and you do have to take it seriously and treat it as a job. It does seem like fun from the outside, but especially for kids it can be hard to have the concentration and patience for a long photo shoot. I know my 2.5 yo would be a disaster on set! That being said, there are children who do perfectly fine with that situation and do enjoy it. The key obviously is to know your kids and know if they are doing it for "fun" or because they think you want them to.

VERY importantly, you should NEVER pay for classes, listings, castings, etc. Most people say you shouldn't even have to have a professional portfolio for children because they change and grow so quickly. All you need is a couple of good snapshots (neutral background, nothing distracting from your child) and a reputable agent. Agents will take their commission when your child is payed and should ask nothing from you up front. If they do, just say no, thank you and walk away.

I don't think it hurts to try it out, see how your kids do and what you think as long as you keep in mind that your intent is to do it as a fun hobby with the money as a bonus and you don't have to continue if it stops being fun for you or for your kids. If you have a friend who is an amateur photographer, you could have them try a mock photo shoot to see how your kids do with following directions and sitting still. If it goes well then you might have some nice photos to take to an agent. Good luck!

K.,

The only people I ever knew who had kids model poured a lot of time and money into it, but never earned enough to recoop their losses. There are a lot better investment strategies. If that is your motivation, go another route. Contact a reputable financial advisor.

This is going to sound rude, but I have not had the best impression of the "crowd" that follows the child modeling. Lots of stage moms with trophy children; lots of unneccessary pressure and ugly competativeness.

If you want to find a way for your kids to make money, sign up with marketing test and research companies like Delve. They will pay you good money to use and rate diapers they provide or give your kids child safety locks to attempt to open.

Good luck,
S.

I remember I did some small modeling as a kid (Sears/JcPenny catalogs)... honestly they did not pay much (at least 20 years ago) because they do short sittings with the kids and you get like $10 for that hour you are there... also remember that catalogs come out only once a month or less so your kid(s) would make at most $120 a year from it.

My mom said I had fun with it but after a year or so I got sick of it so she stopped it... that is the big thing if the kids don't like it don't make them. There are tons of strangers along with a lot of big equipment so kids freak out easily with that, even if they are great in front of your camera or with other people it is a totally different story when you get to a shoot.

It is hard to get into the tv stuff like commercials & shows.

I would say go for it but do not expect much out of it, and don't expect your kids to do well... just have fun!! Also if you do save the money put it towards college or something they could use if they go to college (that will be a bigger deal then retirement).

People say the same thing about my daughter, and she did one small time video for a church (only got $10 for 1.5 hours). It can get stressful if the kids are crying so keep your calm at all times and be ready to pull your kid out if they are unhappy.