Model Agency Experience

[Tayla'sMum]

Just thought I'd share my experiences and start a poll to see what everyone elses has been like...

I decided to apply my DD with 3 agencies and if my DD got into one then :thumbsup: if she didn't, then :thumbsdown: ...
Munchkins replied and said that they had too many babies with similar looks so they wouldn't accept her... I found that to be honest and I completely respected that feedback... after all they could have accepted her and just took my $500 for nothing... I think that is good not only for me, but fair for the babies with "similar looks" in that agency...
I got interviews with both Elite Kids and Brats, but since Brats replied first, I went with them! Yes it did cost me $500 to join up, but that does cover all admin costs for the next 18 months - as they extended the annual membership by 6months.
I found them to be very friendly and professional. I received copies of her photos today and her profile will be on the internet in about 5 days so :fingerscrossed: for some work!
My DH and I decided that if she doesn't get any work in 18 months that we won't re-sign her... if she does, then great... we can save some money for her future. It's no big deal to me... worst case scenario I've wasted $500... I could do that on a number of things over an 18month period!!:D

[mummy sam]

I have had positve experiances so far. We are about to sign up with tinlids so once we get work then :yelclap: :yelclap: and it will be an excellent experiance.

We had appointments with brats and allstars, but i cancelled both as i didnt have a good feeling bout with either of them. We then had and interview with Bambini and after meeting Lochie they said that they had a couple of bubs with similar features (honest).
I also applied for munchkins,small fries, bubblegum and bright stars, agaun i found them to be honest because they said that there books are full try again.

lastly we had an interview with Tinlids i have to say i really liked them told me the ins and outs of the industry, went into detail about permits and why we need them and what is expected of us and her.

So as i said so far positive, and will be even better when Lochie gets some work (if he wants to go to a private school he needs to pay:laughing: :laughing: )

[SammyG]

Tayla'smum, my experience has been almost identical to yours so far but with Bambini. Ben has his webpage up & running now with the professional shots and now it's just the waiting game for castings:fingerscrossed:

[Tayla'sMum]

BenGsMum - :fingerscrossed: :fingerscrossed:

Tayla's webpage will be up in a few days... :D

[bossoflatch]

we joined our boys up with brats in brisbane when they first started, both the boys have only been to one casting each over an 18month period and both got that job. One was with mathers - the back to school catalogue this year and the younger one just did a shoot with bright bots last month. (comes out in august)

We thought the same as you all, we will be resigning them when the time comes it has been a bit slow with castings but i guess it is just a waiting game. My boys are 4 and five so they are in an older category too. WE don't really hear from them until they call with a casting - but i guess they are very busy too!!

[Tayla'sMum]

yeah... they told me when I signed up that they are really busy and I should contact them every few weeks... I'm not going to be too pushy though. If she gets work, then she does, if not, it doesn't matter!

that's great that your little ones have got some work... the same clients will probably want to use them again!

[annb]

really when you weigh up the time effort and cost to enrol your kids with these agencies (i have enrolled myself so im not here to critiscise) does anyone honestly think its worth it....i mean how many times do you see the same child model in advert after advert, not very often I'll bet......is there anyone out there who has seriously made say over $500 - $1000? i reckon you could count them on one hand (okay maybe 2).....its not like the uk were they have mail order catalogues were they would require kids constantly, there just doesnt seem to be the same level of work over here , target, kmart and pumpkin patch catalogues are really the only ones putting out stuff regularly
Id be interested to know how successful anyone has been, 1 photo shoot or getting to go to 1 casting is not really going to keep us in our old age is it!!

[bossoflatch]

when we signed up the boys 18months ago the fees were a bit cheaper - they were less then $500 for the two of them.

My eldest did the job for mathers and he got considerably more than the amount just mentioned. He only worked for four hours. However, when my youngest did the job for bright bots last month he wont see any money, just clothes from the company. This suits as as we appreciate how big they are and the recognition itself will be great for my youngest.

for us, the fact that the eldest modelling job paid for both the boys fees we will re-sign both boys this year, anything else that they earn goes straight into their bank accounts.

[mixi_mama]

ive had excellant experience with my DD agency.
In the 2 mnths already she's been signed she's had 4 auditions booked for the next mnth and has been short listed for one in new zealand...
The agency was great - although they were reluctant to sign such a young baby, they agreed as she has a "wonderful complection and a exotic look" which castings are apparently going for at the moment -
We payed 200 for her sign on fee and thats for a year on the national casting website and her portfolio photos and sitting - not to mention the representation

[twoprincesses]

we approached an agency to sign up our then 8mth old, company seemed quite good however were about to start up an in shopping centre photo shoot program so they suggested using this option over a normal photo shoot. when we had completed it and purchased a photo package was informed they did not get much work through for kids yet and as you can guess never heard from them again:shame: (pm me if u need agents name).
we are looking into new agencies now and have chosen one:fingerscrossed:, hope to be able to share good experiences soon as so many in this thread have already had.
glad to hear that there are good agencies out there.:yelclap:

[babygizaiah]

My son is almost 8mths old and I am currently in the process of signing him up with a modelling agency. We have an interview with Brats and *******. Does anyone have any feedback about these agencies, because the fees are quite high and I want to know that children are getting jobs with this agency.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks

[scarlett3]

All I can say is, do your research !!!!! Go back and read through all the previous posts and ask lots of questions. We did belong to one of these agencies and if you want to PM me, I am happy to answer all of your questions.:wave:

[Tayla'sMum]

Hi, I had my daughter registered with Brats for almost 2 years. She didn't receive one contact for work in that entire time, however I do believe that the agency did what we paid them to do. My advice is, other people's experience will differ greatly and at the end of the day, your child will get work with ANY agency if they are what the client is looking for... it doesn't mean that your child isn't "cute" enough. My personal experience with Brats was great. The people and photographers were approachable, friendly and answered any questions I had over the time. They also told me what jobs they had put my child in for. I also believe that all agencies are the same, so pick one YOU and YOUR child are comfortable with and be prepared that your child may not receive any work.
A little girl in my daughter's dance class has been with an agency for approximately 2 years and she has made thousands of dollars, this is because she is repetedly used by the same client and has done a television commercial. I don't like to name names as it's not my personal experience, but basically it supports my theory - your child needs to be what the client is looking for.