Approaching Modelling Agencies Wrong
A lot of aspiring models shoot themselves in the foot by
giving a bad first impression to modelling agencies. Common mistakes are
usually down to not doing research, not reading the agency’s website properly
and in particular not reading guidelines for submission. People often approach
agencies that are completely unsuitable, and with pictures that are completely
the wrong format.
Believing what they want to hear
It is the dream of a lot of young girls (and boys) to become
a model. It seems like easy money, that will lead to a glamorous lifestyle with
fame and riches. Believing what you want to hear can vary from the unhelpful –
doting parents and other family telling their little darlings that they could
be models when it’s extremely unlikely, leading to disappointment and
heartache, to con artists approaching young girls in the street and insisting
they could be a supermodel, all they need to do is hand over their phone
number… The flattery can make even streetwise people lose their sense of
wariness.
But what you might not expect is that new models have to be
wary of listening to modelling agencies representatives as well. If an agent
isn’t interested, they may come up with all kinds of reasons for the rejection,
including too tall, too skinny or fat, or simply not having the right ‘look’ of
the moment. So the advice is simply to hear ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and ignore the rest.
Giving up to quickly
Rejection is a part of life. All the greats that are
household names faced rejection at some point or another – it’s perseverance
that separates the wheat from the chaff. Some people who wish to be models may
send their photos off to one or two agencies and then if they get rejected,
decide that they don’t have what it takes after all. But if you’re really
determined, you’ll keep approaching agencies until you’ve exhausted all the
options – and then probably try freelance! Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s a
good idea to have unrealistic expectations, but an honest balance between
confidence and self-honesty is a must.
Trying to undercut the modelling agency
If you get signed by a modelling agency, you’ll find that
when you go to castings, plenty of photographers or clients will ask you if
you’re prefer to be hired by them directly and cut out the middle man. This may
be tempting, as they may offer to pay you a bit more as they’ll be saving money
on the agency’s fees.
However, this is a very bad idea. Not only is it unethical –
the modelling agency worked hard to get you to that casting – but it’s poor
long term planning, as you can be sure modelling agencies that discover this
going on will drop any models involved like a hot potato.
