Answering a Reader Question #898

Tara Wrote:

 Hi Dania!
It's sort of unrelated to this article but I've been wanting to ask someone this for a while now:
How do agencies work? Say I go and they are interested and I want to work with them, then comes time to sign a contract of some sort.
I am a modest woman, I have been modeling for a few years now and haven't done any photoshoots involving any kind of nudity.
I have noticed that many agency signed models do end up posing topless or completely nude for magazines and etc. 
So I guess what I'm wondering is:
Is the model's opinion on nudity considered or talked about when signing to an agency? Or is that something that is talked about when a particular gig opportunity comes up? Or is it talked about at all? Are models assumed to "know what they are getting into" and then forced to take whatever job their agency send them to? Or do they have to audition for most gigs still? Can you tell your agency "no" to a shoot if it is out of your comfort zone? 
These are just some of the thoughts that have delayed my journey but I'd feel a lot better if I knew before going instead of possibly getting trapped into something I'm unsure of!
Sincerely, Tara

Hey, Tara!

When it comes to comfort zones and what a model will/will not do, agencies do have that discussion with their models and will never force a model to do what he/she doesn't want to.

After signing a contract, you will fill out paperwork with your stats, contact info, etc. Somewhere in this paperwork will be a designated section that asks you to check the types of modeling you will/will not do (or check "yes" or "no").

The sections usually include:

- Nudity (semi, implied or fully nude)

- Fur

- Alcohol

- Tobacco products

So right from the start, the agency would know your preference and then market you accordingly. Sometimes your agent might tell you about an opportunity that is out of your state comfort zone but may only be doing so if they think it would be a really great thing for your career and they simply want to make you aware of it. But you always have the right to decline it so that is important to know.

I hope that helps alleviate any concerns you may have and gives you the confidence to move forward with pursuing modeling on a more serious level!

Comments

  1. AnonymousSeptember 5, 2016 at 8:52 PM

    Thank you so much for getting back to me, I really appreciate it!
    Sincerely, Tara

    ReplyDelete

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