Answering a Reader Question #949

Anonymous Wrote:

Hello, I pretty much enter a question on Google and your blog came out :) this is very interesting. I would like to know what happened to women who have family such as children etc. how do they balance family and modeling, not to mention modeling include traveling. Can you bring family along? Not at the photo shoot, but hotel for instance? Does the agents work out with the model especially if she has a family to care for? Also you mention in one of the post, that a women after they turn 22 or 23, I think so, are considered "old" for catwalks which mean if you past 25 you won't be able to. But what about women that don't look their age at all? I believe they look at the face not age,because the young faces and body sell, not age, or at least that what I think. some women are 20 but look 30 year old. I hope you will answer to me. Thank you.

Hi there, Anonymous!

Great questions! In fact, I will add a few new blog posts to my Modeling 101 "A Model's Diary Blog" that will be inspired by your questions so thank you for that. :-)

The questions you posed depend greatly on the category of modeling you are referring to. When it comes to age and the fashion/runway category, youth is always going to be sought out by agencies and their clients in large markets like LA, NYC, Miami and internationally.

Because a majority of those models are between 14-20, most typically don't have families or kids for the agency to factor in. For fashion/runway models with families who have to travel for paid work, the agency will typically have no problem with them bringing their family along if they won't affect the model's ability to be on time to work and perform. However, the model will be responsible for paying for their family's travel and hotel stay (unless otherwise negotiated). As long as the family is not present at the actual job it wouldn't be a big issue.

Logistics like dealing with kids and family would be topics a model discusses with the agent soon as they are signed officially and have the contract in place. So it would be addressed early on so the model would know what to expect and what the agency will and will not assist with. It is also important to remember that if the family life and demands exceed a model's ability to book work and successfully complete assignments, the agency will not be as likely want to work with that model or submit her for projects because they know there will be others who would gladly be available without conflicts.

Additionally, each agency operates differently so my take on it is meant to be applied in a very broad and general sense.

In regards to models who are older but don't look their age, there are many who fall under this category but oftentimes agencies will defer to the younger models simply because they are easier to work with, don't have the life demands most adults do and are literally the fountain of youth from head to toe. They don't have to be photoshopped/airbrushed nearly as much, their skin resiliency is at its highest and their complexions don't have the fine lines and other telltale signs of aging that many women who are older do (I know I look younger than my age but I realistically know I couldn't pass for 16 or 17 and wouldn't even try).

While I don't agree with how obsessed runway/fashion agencies are with 14-20 models and sticking within that age range, I will say that any woman who can stand next to a runway/fashion model that is between 14-20 and unable to tell the difference certainly has that working in her favor but at the end of the day, agencies have a trained eye for such things and they're going to go for what they know and feel comfortable with, which is the younger model who will be available at the drop of a dime and able to travel, work and grow within their careers without a second thought.

BUT that is why I love and embrace commercial/print and lifestyle modeling because these categories are all about representing models of all ages. And with lifestyle modeling being primarily for men and women 25+, that is the perfect place for models to book work in the industry in a way that values who they are and doesn't expect them to be something they're not or fit a mold that isn't necessarily realistic.