Modeling 101 - Answering Reader Questions

Anonymous Wrote: So I'm meeting with an agency tomorrow and I think they are a bit sketchy -they charge 'membership fees.'  Quote from their website - What do I get for my membership fee? Online Profile and Portfolio management. Submission of your profile to casting agents and producers Access to our workshops and development classes.  Should I run for the hills? Thanks! Hey, Anonymous! I say run for the hills simply because there are many agencies out there that DON'T charge for any kind of membership. Traditional/standard modeling and talent agencies don't have models as "members" of their agency--they're either signed or they're not. Some companies call themselves "agencies" but don't operate exactly like the traditional ones, which allows them to charge for things like the items you described. This sounds more like a casting agency than a model or talent agency but since I don't know the details or who th...

James Thomas Wrote: hey im currently 6'2 24 years old. ive always wanted to model but never pushed at it. now i want to go for it but i dont know if my age will stop that. Hi James! As a man you have the odds working in your favor. Men in their 20s are always in demand and your height is perfect for both runway and commercial/print. Depending on your physical look, an agency could market you for both categories, which would be the ideal situation. Agencies aren't going to be as stringent with male models and age ranges like they are with women. Most of the fashion agency websites I've seen list their male age requirements as: "18 - 30" or "18+". That's clearly a good sign so jump on it and see what happens!

Unknown/Red Wrote: Have you heard of Free Prints? Would that be a good company to print photos?  Hey, Unknown/Red: I've heard of Free Prints although I've never used them before. I checked out their site and it appears that you can only print out the 4" x 6" size. If that's the case, it wouldn't be ideal to use as a printing service for modeling photos to put in a hard copy portfolio. The standard size for hard copy portfolios is 8" x 10". You'll want to play it on the safe side and choose a printing company that specializes in printing traditional photos. I highly recommend MPix ( http://www.mpix.com/ ). They are affordable, have a lot of custom options and their prints are great quality. Plus they ship the photos to you since they're an online service. There are other online photo printing companies you can check out as well (a basic online search will give you results to choose from). As long as they are actual phot...

Tuscany F Wrote: Hi Dania, My name is Tuscany, Im a 21 yr old female model from South Africa. Ive been a model for 4months and the season has just begun here. My question is am I too old to get busy as a editiorial runway model? I don't have much experience, and i'm based with a smaller agency.. I am concerned I won't be booking as many jobs because of my age and being with a smaller agancy ( it's a great agency and they take care of me well). Everyone seems to love my 'look'.  Should i be concerned or am i just being a nerous nelly?  many thanks xx Hi there, Tuscany F! I vote for nervous nelly. :-) You have several factors working in your favor: you have an agent, you're happy with them/they take care of you, you've received positive feedback about your look and potential. Smaller agencies have their benefits and doesn't necessarily mean your career would be small as well. Oftentimes, they become the stepping stones to larger agenci...

Anonymous Wrote: I am currently 12 and 5'3 do you think that I can make it when I am older? All my friends think that I should model and I really want to. Hi, Anonymous! You can model right now if you want to. :-) At your age and height, you can pursue kid/tween modeling. It would just be a matter of finding an agency local to you that represents kid models. So if you don't want to wait until you're older, and if your parents are okay with it, you can start looking online for the websites of modeling agencies in your city/state. The agency websites will clearly state what types of models they work with and should list instructions/guidelines about how to submit yourself. If you need help finding legitimate agencies in your area, you can comment here with the city/state you live in (not your mailing address) or you can send that info directly to my email: daniadenise@gmail.com.