{"id":13883,"date":"2010-06-02T14:09:20","date_gmt":"2010-06-02T11:09:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/model.world\/directory\/?p=13883"},"modified":"2025-03-15T16:52:50","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T13:52:50","slug":"getting-agency-representation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/getting-agency-representation\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting Agency Representation"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is common sense to take a method and try it, if it fails, admit it<\/em>
\nfrankly and try another. But above all, try something. — Teddy<\/em>Roosevelt<\/em><\/p>\n

Selecting an Agency<\/strong>
\nThe first thing you have to do is decide who to apply to. So\u00a0how do you choose?
\nLocation<\/strong>
\nThis is one of the most critical factors, and yet it rarely given\u00a0enough weight by models. If you are an editorial fashion model
\ntype, you need to be where editorial models are used: New York,\u00a0or one of the major modeling cities overseas. The path to an\u00a0agency in New York may pass through a \u201cmother agency\u201d local to\u00a0you, but that\u2019s the ultimate destination. You are going to have to\u00a0move.\u00a0If you are a commercial fashion model, it\u2019s best to be in one\u00a0of the cities where a substantial amount of catalog-style work is\u00a0done: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Phoenix,\u00a0Atlanta, Boston and a few other cities. Commercial fashion\u00a0models also can get work, although at lower levels, in local\u00a0agencies in a substantial city near where they live. It may not be\u00a0advisable to relocate to be a commercial fashion model.
\nCommercial print, glamour and promotional models\u00a0<\/em><\/span>generally should not consider relocating to model. They should\u00a0apply only to an agency near them. Fitness models<\/em><\/span> may have to\u00a0relocate, although the market for fitness is small enough that it is
\noften not worth the investment in relocation.<\/p>\n

Assess Yourself<\/strong>
\nAre you suitable as an editorial fashion model? Then that\u2019s\u00a0the kind of agency you should seek. A \u201cyoung mom\u201d or
\n\u201cbusinessman\u201d type? Then apply to commercial print agencies.\u00a0If you are a perfect \u201cbusinesswoman\u201d type and apply to a fashion\u00a0agency, they will not respond. If you are a perfect editorial\u00a0fashion model, a commercial print agency will know (and you\u00a0should) that they are not going to be able to do the best job of\u00a0marketing you. A local \u201chybrid\u201d agency may be able to deal with\u00a0any kind of model, and if there is a good one near you, that\u2019s a\u00a0good starting place, no matter what type of model you are.<\/p>\n

SAG\/AFTRA Affiliation<\/strong>
\nOften you hear that you should seek SAG- or AFTRAfranchised\u00a0agencies. That\u2019s not always true.\u00a0A union-franchised agency is likely to be real agency, and\u00a0not engage in some of the abusive practices that so many\u00a0\u201cagencies\u201d do. The unions have strict rules about those kinds of\u00a0things, and the agency franchise agreement prohibits them. Still,\u00a0the unions don\u2019t enforce those rules on non-union jobs, and print\u00a0modeling is always non-union. There are plenty of instances of\u00a0SAG-franchised agencies which play by SAG rules for actors in\u00a0SAG productions, but by a different set of rules entirely for\u00a0models. There are SAG-franchised agencies which also run\u00a0modeling schools and portfolio mills for models. You can\u2019t rely\u00a0on SAG or AFTRA affiliation to protect you.\u00a0However, in major cities the best modeling agencies usually\u00a0are not union franchised. They make their money from getting\u00a0work for models, not actors, and living under the union rules\u00a0would be a burden that they don\u2019t want. If you look for an agency\u00a0based on union affiliation you may be passing up the best agency\u00a0in your area. Also, in many states there are no union-franchised vagencies.<\/p>\n

References<\/strong>
\nOther Models<\/em><\/span>
\nDo you know other models who have worked with the\u00a0agency? What do they have to say about it? These references are
\na little unreliable, since any given person can have an experience\u00a0that doesn\u2019t represent the norm. But still, seeking such advice is\u00a0useful.
\nReference Sources<\/em><\/span>
\nThere are a number of published reference sources that list\u00a0good agencies. The Black Book and Le Book are two excellent
\nones. Other sources are more inclusive but do not quality-check\u00a0the agencies they list. If you find local affiliates of known
\nmodeling school franchises in a list, for instance, you should use\u00a0the book to identify and locate agencies, but not as a guide to\u00a0quality. There are also lists of agencies on the Internet, at a\u00a0number of sites. An extensive one is at\u00a0www.modelnetwork.com. Except for the list on\u00a0www.models.com none of these lists make much of an attempt to
\nvalidate agencies, but that list is quite incomplete.
\nSelf Reporting
\n<\/em><\/span>You can\u2019t rely on what an agency says about itself. Some are\u00a0so good and well known that they don\u2019t have to brag or inflate
\ntheir credentials. Some are relatively unknown but good\u00a0nonetheless. (Commercial agencies are all virtually unknown
\noutside the industry.) Usually the more an agency puffs up its\u00a0own importance, the less good it is. Good ones let their
\nreputations speak for themselves. Hype is a bad sign.\u00a0You should also pay little attention to famous name models\u00a0that the agency claims to have discovered or represented. When\u00a0those things happen it\u2019s largely a matter of luck, and it\u2019s likely\u00a0that for every big name model there are a several agencies and\u00a0managers who claim to have made her career.
\nThe Yellow Pages<\/em><\/span>
\nIf you see an agency with a big ad in the yellow pages, or\u00a0advertising its open calls or model searches in the newspaper or
\non websites like www.craigslist.com it\u2019s very likely to be a scam.\u00a0Real agencies rarely do that.
\nAgency Web Sites<\/em><\/span>
\nThese days most model agencies have websites. Agencies\u00a0which are focused on getting work for models will have a site
\nwhich helps clients find and book models. It will list the physical\u00a0address of the agency, telephone and fax numbers. It may show\u00a0its models openly or require registration for qualified clients to\u00a0see them. While it may discuss how a model can apply to be part\u00a0of the agency, model searches and recruiting should be a very\u00a0small part of the total presentation. A site which focuses on\u00a0recruiting is a sign the agency likely makes its money from\u00a0aspiring models, not from booking work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is common sense to take a method and try it, if it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something. — TeddyRoosevelt Selecting an Agency The first thing you have to do is decide who to apply to. So\u00a0how do you choose? Location This is one of the most critical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":13884,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2166],"tags":[2290,2280,2293,2288,2289,2283,2285,2294,2286,2295,2291,2284,572,892,2282,2296,2287,2292,2279,2281],"class_list":["post-13883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guide","tag-although-at-lower-levels","tag-and-yet-it-rarely-given-enough-weight-by-models-if-you-are-an-editorial-fashion-model-type","tag-assess-yourself","tag-atlanta","tag-boston-and-a-few-other-cities-commercial-fashion-models-also-can-get-work","tag-but-thats-the-ultimate-destination-you-are-going-to-have-to-move-if-you-are-a-commercial-fashion-model","tag-chicago","tag-commercial-print","tag-dallas","tag-glamour-and-promotional-models","tag-in-local-agencies-in-a-substantial-city-near-where-they-live-it-may-not-be-advisable-to-relocate-to-be-a-commercial-fashion-model","tag-its-best-to-be-in-one-of-the-cities-where-a-substantial-amount-of-catalog-style-work-is-done-new-york","tag-los-angeles","tag-miami","tag-or-one-of-the-major-modeling-cities-overseas-the-path-to-an-agency-in-new-york-may-pass-through-a-mother-agency-local-to-you","tag-other-models","tag-phoenix","tag-selecting-an-agency","tag-selecting-an-agency-the-first-thing-you-have-to-do-is-decide-who-to-apply-to-so-how-do-you-choose-location-this-is-one-of-the-most-critical-factors","tag-you-need-to-be-where-editorial-models-are-used-new-york"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13883"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13885,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13883\/revisions\/13885"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/map.model.world\/directory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}