Sorry for bumping an old thread but this seemed on topic. I got a call back from a famous talent/model agency. They asked for Polaroid pictures in a black bikini/a Polaroid video. I legit have no idea how to take such stuff. What kind of light should be best? And how many shoots should I take? It’s been two weeks since I got that call back cause I have no idea how to take them, I tried taking some but self made shoot are just terrible and cheap and I really want to make it right. Should I ask my boyfriend or friend to take them? Or is it better to go to a photographer?
Tips on submitting to an agency?
- Thread starter Skinnybubbly
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I want to say they just want to see roughly how you look before asking you to go into their office.
I think if you have a better iPhone, that would be fine. It’s to give them a rough idea, so the actual quality doesn’t need to be top notch.
The video would just be you in motion half body turning 360 degrees and then panning out to full body.
It’s basically a “model resume” before they decide if they want to see you.
Usually they will retake these digitals with their own better cameras in their office for you (ones they give to clients).
In terms of what they look like:
One head shot ( close up), half body left and right and then full body. Simple and don’t do extravagant posing.
Lighting I would say use common sense
You can google model digitals and a bunch of them will come up.
Okay I sended the Polaroid and got a reply really quick!! They want me to go to their office, what can I expect starting from now? And how should I get dressed? I will call them back in a few weeks as I have to book the plane and everything
I see from your profile and post history that you’re 5’4” and around 23 yrs old. Have you had a talk with this agency about the types of modelling they see you doing? At your age and height I’m sure you know that high fashion and decent commercial work is highly unlikely. Im not in the industry so not qualified to give you any advice so I’m tagging @FashionThin so that she sees this. I’m sure she can give you some great advice.
It is a fashion and talent agency and they do have shorter girls, this why I applied in the first place. Of course I am not expecting a career in high fashion, I am pretty realistic about that, but i’ve been doing some beauty modeling here in my city and I’ve been acting (professionally, theater stuff) since I was really young and I also did some roles for singer’s videoclips. This is what I am expecting mostly, some commercial work and acting roles. I don’t want to be a model, like I don’t expect a serious career, just trying to get some money as I will start a really expensive Master degree and I will move out of my city
I’m not a professional, but my two cents would be to reply ASAP, even if it’s just to inform them of your plans. Waiting a few weeks is incredibly rude.
Your message may just be ‘’thank you... I’ll let you know my plans’’ but that communication will go a long way for them wanting to work with you in the future.
I did that already of course
I told them that i will be in Milan in June and they told me to keep in touch in the next weeks when I booked the plane
It would’ve been useful to provide this additional context in your original post.
Sorry! I did say it was a fashion/talent agency, but of course w my stats it is obvious I could never do high fashion even if I wanted to
I am happy I have almost a full month to improve my body though!
Girls I wrote back an email yesterday to the agent that ‘scouted’ me with the dates where I would be in Milan and haven’t got a reply, they’re usually pretty fast. Last time we talked was two weeks ago with a message from her that said to keep in touch in the next weeks to organize my meeting to the agency, which I of course replied with a thanks! I am a bit afraid I might have lost my shot, should I wait a couple of days and then try and write another mail in the following week? I need to book my plane so this is awkward lol
In the email following the Polaroids that I’ve sended she did invite me to go over the agency to meet each other better, but idk i don’t think I can go there without an appointment lol. I am confused
Usually if they're interested, they'll always email you. So I'd suggest to wait and see.
I think you can't just walk in the agency in this corona time without an appointment.
Good luck, hope everything goes well.
They will take photos of you ( digitals / Polaroids) and maybe a walking video.
In terms of signing, it would depend on how big/ small the agency is and location.
Getting signed shouldn’t be what you thinking about now. It’s more about what you want out of this collaboration.
Sometimes signing with an agency does more harm to you than good because this means you exclusively belong to them and cannot freelance.
If it’s a local agency that does mostly catalogs, some mall catwalk shows, some short films or commercials here and there, you do not need to be signed to work with them. You can sign a non exclusive contract which means that will contact you for jobs, but you are able to look for your own jobs elsewhere.
My experiences involved going to as many local agencies I could for non exclusive collaboration and I got many more jobs this way than signing with one agency ( which I had done before as well ).
If it’s a very big, prominent agency like ELITE, IMG, FORD, then exclusive is the way to go because they would have much more quality jobs that small agencies can’t get such as a spread in Vogue , advertisement for Burberry or catalog for ZARA. Usually their clients are well known or are reputable and not small businesses. There’s more of a career and growth prospect with a big , reputable agency like that. Competition is big too and some models are signed and probably don’t get any jobs a year. Again, signing does not mean you will get jobs. They could send you to castings and you are never picked.
So again, is this just a side job or do you want it to lead somewhere? Think about these before jumping into contracts.
Thank you for this message. I guess I am really naive about all this stuff. I can pm you the name of the agency, I wouldn’t say it’s as big as Elite as the work they do isn’t really international (aside from a few brands) but it’s certainly a big agency here in Italy. I don’t know what I want from this? I guess I realize it’s a big opportunity, but I just graduated and I am just trying to find ways to be indipendent money wise. I’ve been finding job myself but castings are a mess sometimes and it’s hard to pick the right job w the right people and to distinguish it from not so serious stuff. I guess an agency could help me find the right roles/jobs for me and make me work way more than I do by myself. So this is what I am expecting from this. I actually thought the only way to work w an agency is to get signed so I am stupid
My tips are only based on my experiences in Asia , but I’m sure agencies elsewhere work similarly.
I think the misconception for most people is that you need to be signed to get jobs, which is not true since there are so many types of agencies, models and even independent agents out there.
Signing always works in the favor of the agency and not in favor of the model unless you are “irreplaceable” (have the most excellent stats and a face like vlada and beat 95% of all the other signed models) or have made some name for yourself in the industry, or have famous influential parents.
Otherwise you are just a pawn in the dozen of pretty/ tall people they put on the shelf until they need to use you.
And realistically, how many make it “big”? The 2%. The rest of the 98% probably spend the first two years doing jobs for no or little pay, walking jobs for trade or going to castings here and there and maybe working once a month or even less. That’s me being cynical and grim. The competition is just too high for high fashion.
Signing with an agency has its upsides if you have zero exposure or experience. I believe they will train you to walk and pose and things like that and the in and outs of the business like go sees.
From my experience, a lot of girls dive right in to signing exclusively in the beginning when they are young and fresh , and after a few years , break the contract or once they have fulfilled it, leave and decide to just do non exclusive contracts with different agencies. Some just look for jobs on their own like joining Facebook groups in the area or work with old contacts. Sometimes you get better payment doing local jobs and catalog shoots ( typically 50-150USD up/ hour) than high fashion stuff ( for trade or even for free to “build portfolio”).
Good luck in your endeavors and I really hope you make it in Milan.
I have a question for some of you who might have more experience with agents and bigger agencies.
A couple months ago, a friend of mine and I submitted pictures to a couple of agencies in NYC not expecting that anything would come from it. A few days later, I got a response from Women Management that said they were interested and that I should send like 10 more pictures from different angles and all. I was very excited, so I told my mom, and she completely shut me down and said I wasn't allowed to respond. She doesn't know much about fashion so I think she was concerned, but I did a lot of research and the email looks legitimate.
I was still 17 at the time. Now that I've turned 18 and can make decisions for myself, I have a dilemma. Should I respond to the original email from a few months ago, or should I completely resubmit? I don't want to seem like I'm not taking it seriously or that I'm being inconsiderate, but I'm also not sure if it's strange for me to completely resubmit.
A couple months ago, a friend of mine and I submitted pictures to a couple of agencies in NYC not expecting that anything would come from it. A few days later, I got a response from Women Management that said they were interested and that I should send like 10 more pictures from different angles and all. I was very excited, so I told my mom, and she completely shut me down and said I wasn't allowed to respond. She doesn't know much about fashion so I think she was concerned, but I did a lot of research and the email looks legitimate.
I was still 17 at the time. Now that I've turned 18 and can make decisions for myself, I have a dilemma. Should I respond to the original email from a few months ago, or should I completely resubmit? I don't want to seem like I'm not taking it seriously or that I'm being inconsiderate, but I'm also not sure if it's strange for me to completely resubmit.
I think you can reply back to them or eventually see if the person who replied to you left a personal email or mobile contact in the mail they sended you? But I am pretty sure they will reply back
I wasn’t sure where to post this. Hopefully this is appropriate. Before covid hit and ruined everything, my old mother agent sent me to an agency for a meeting. While I was there an agent gave me his card. My mother agent told me that we were going to take a different route but didn’t explain why and my stupid self didn’t question it because I trusted her judgement. This is one of the big agencies here in nyc and I really wanted to get signed. Everything seemed to go well so I was a bit confused as to why my mother agent dropped the topic on that agency even after telling me they wanted to send me away for a month. I parted ways with my mother agent a couple months ago so I am sans agent and for the past few days I’ve been thinking about this nonstop, should I send an email? I’m not sure if him giving me his card meant that they wanted me to reach out whenever.