Has Anyone Worked with a Talent Agency for Their Child?

My twins sons have been signed with a major modeling agency in Chicago since they were 9 months old. My friend is a model there and she took some pictures to the children's modeling/talent agent and she called me to bring the boys in. They've done a couple of clothing ads. We paid absolutely NOTHING to them, they get a percentage for bookings. I submit 25 home photos (not professional) of them every couple of months and their agent calls when there is a call for them. If you find yourself coming out of large sums of money it is most likely a ripoff. I know that they will need cards as they get older, but for children's modeling they do not require expensive photos because kids features change too often.

A good friend of mine did that for a year or two with her son, until he asked to stop (he was about 5 then.) The photos were expensive, but what struck me about her story was the time they had to spend and having to drag her other kid to stand in line at these auditions. He got modeling work that paid well, but when you consider the time she spent standing around waiting, it wasn't that much money. Also, I don't know if there's a way around it, but for my friend there's no way she could have done that while having a job - the shoots and auditions were on weekdays for the most part. Although it did seem like fun, also a lot of effort.

I don't remember the name of her agency, but I agree with the advice to not pay them, don't pay to take classes, etc. Good luck!

Hello there...

A good friend of mine has her daughter in modeling and she started back when she was 2. She went through kids.com. At the time it was 500 dollars for them to do a portfolio, and i believe they update it once a yr..and then call her if any opportunities come up for her. Its worth looking into. I plan to check with them when my son turns 4 in May and put him into it. I would have done it sooner..but he had a speech delay and i felt he would have more opportunities if he could talk better then he did say a yr ago, before his therapy. Good luck.

My daughter has been modeling since she was about 3(she 8 now). you have to be VERY careful. there are tons of agents out there and tons of money to lose also. right now she has 2 agents in illinois, 2 in wisconsin, 2 in minnesota, 1 in california and 1 in north carolina. they are NOT all the same. some are money pits. some will only accept you if you agree to go to there classes, which cost a minimum of $500(if you have never been in modeling then the classes are somewhat informative). most reputable agencies will accept your pictures for comp cards. some will only accept photos from THEIR photographer. i once spent $2500 on pictures for my daughter for her comp cards(which you need to even get a foot in the door and get noticed)..you must be committed to this also. 99% of the calls for auditions will be made the night before and they want you there the next day, thats how the bix works.no advance notice 99% of the time. if your late to the audition, they may still let you audition, but they are just being nice, they company you auditioned at has already written you off and will report back to your agent you were late, and then your "blacklisted" of sorts with your agent. do not let anyone tell you must join the union either..then your child is paying union dues and you can now only accept jobs that are union jobs, you can no longer accept non union jobs or you can be kicked out of the union..th list goes on..but first and foremost, YOU must be committed to this and have plenty of time on your hands for this. if you continously turn down auditions because your schedule doesnt allow, they will stop calling you..hope some of this helps..beleive me, its a wonderful experience for your child when they get a job, but its horrifying to them when they dont, and you never know why they didnt get it. my daughter has grown my leaps and bounds with self confidence, self esteem etc, and it tickles me pink when she gets a job but it also hurts me to see her upset when she doesnt get one..its a bumpy road...K.