Sometimes an agency will scout you rather than you simply applying to them. A few people have wondered if the below article would still apply in those circumstances? Well yes many of the rules still apply as being scouted isn't an automatic guarantee that an agency will sign you. You still need to see the agency as a potential employer and behave in the appropriate way!
There's a an interesting article here about applying to an agency once you've been scouted.
Monday 23 January 2012
Wednesday 18 January 2012
Top Tips for Applying to a Modelling Agency
At Sapphires Model Management we get model applications on a daily basis... in fact we get more model applicants than we do junk mail! The truth is however, for all these applicants we probably invite one in every two hundred applicants in to meet with us to talk more... and that's on a good day!
A big problem we have with model applicants is that they simply don't know how to apply to an agency effectively. If you're serious about modelling you should be serious about submitting your application. The fact of the matter is that a badly submitted application takes longer to read and will more than likely be ignored. If you follow these top tips for applying you'll save agencies a lot of time and hassle and improve your chances of being considered:
1. Know Your Industry
Before you even think about attempting to become a model you should have at least some idea of what modelling is, and what will be expected of you should you be successful. Modelling is a tough job that requires a lot of hard work, commitment and a thick skin, so think about why you want to become a model, and if you have what it takes to succeed.
2. Keep It Simple
The key information an agency needs to know about you is your age, your height and stats, how to contact you, any relevant experience you may have and of course what you look like. We don't need to know your GCSE results, hobbies, or what part you played in your primary school nativity! Agencies receive so many applications every day that the information has to be right there for us to see when we scan through, not hidden within irrelevant information.
3. Include contact information
This may sound obvious, but make sure you provide the agency with contact details they will be able to actually contact you on! There's no point giving out a mobile number to a phone that stays switched off for most of the day, or an e-mail address you check once a fortnight. If an agency can't get through to you, they'll just stop trying.
4. Send Clear Photos
When sending photos into an agency, they need to be clear enough so that a booker can actually see what you look like. They don't need to be professional photos, but agencies do need to be able to see your facial features and figure. Don't send a bunch of overexposed webcam pictures or photos of you on a night out with your friends - you might think you look great but a booker can't get an idea of what you really look like! To see if you have potential an agency needs two things, a clear full length photograph and a clear head shot... anything else is usually unnecessary.
5. Natural and Plain is a Plus
Any photos you send to the agency need to be natural, and by that we mean please don't send in photos wearing a lot of make up or pulling the dreaded Facebook 'duckface'! As mentioned above, all we need are plain photos against a plain wall, wearing plain, fitted clothes and in plain, if any, make-up (can you notice a recurring theme here?)
7. Research Your Agency
Before you approach the agency find a little bit more about them. Think about whether your measurements meet the minimum requirements of those set out by the agency. Visit their website or phone them and find out what they are looking for and how they prefer models to apply. Most reputable agencies will have an 'open door' policy whereby potential models can come and visit the agency during certain business hours. It's a good way to get an instant response from a booker but not always practical.
If you decide to apply via email, find the correct email address to send your application to. If you can get your application to the right mailbox in the right way you stand a much better chance of being successful.
8. Be prepared to travel
Before approaching an agency, make sure that you are prepared to travel. This applies to both modelling work and visiting agencies for interviews. Modelling jobs don't take place in your living room, so travelling is an integral part of being a model.
9. First Impressions Count
Your application is the first thing that an agency will ever see about you. If you put no effort into your application, the first impression the agency will get is that you are lazy and not worth taking on. Similarly, if you get called for an interview then take it seriously. Arrive on time, be polite and show the agency that you're serious. If you make a great first impression, it will stick in the agency's mind.
10. Don't harass the agency
Modelling Agencies receive hundreds of applications a week, and only very few of the applicants are suitable. If your application is successful rest assured that they will contact you. If you don't hear anything from the agency within a few weeks then assume that you have not been successful on that occasion, don't contact them every 3 days asking if they had a chance to look at your application. All that does is leave a lasting bad impression, and jeopardise your chances of reapplying in the future.
So there you have it, the correct way to go about taking your first steps into the world of modelling! I hope you found this advice useful and to all those who decide to apply... good luck!
Written by Sapphires - an award winning London Modelling Agency.
A big problem we have with model applicants is that they simply don't know how to apply to an agency effectively. If you're serious about modelling you should be serious about submitting your application. The fact of the matter is that a badly submitted application takes longer to read and will more than likely be ignored. If you follow these top tips for applying you'll save agencies a lot of time and hassle and improve your chances of being considered:
1. Know Your Industry
Before you even think about attempting to become a model you should have at least some idea of what modelling is, and what will be expected of you should you be successful. Modelling is a tough job that requires a lot of hard work, commitment and a thick skin, so think about why you want to become a model, and if you have what it takes to succeed.
2. Keep It Simple
The key information an agency needs to know about you is your age, your height and stats, how to contact you, any relevant experience you may have and of course what you look like. We don't need to know your GCSE results, hobbies, or what part you played in your primary school nativity! Agencies receive so many applications every day that the information has to be right there for us to see when we scan through, not hidden within irrelevant information.
3. Include contact information
This may sound obvious, but make sure you provide the agency with contact details they will be able to actually contact you on! There's no point giving out a mobile number to a phone that stays switched off for most of the day, or an e-mail address you check once a fortnight. If an agency can't get through to you, they'll just stop trying.
4. Send Clear Photos
When sending photos into an agency, they need to be clear enough so that a booker can actually see what you look like. They don't need to be professional photos, but agencies do need to be able to see your facial features and figure. Don't send a bunch of overexposed webcam pictures or photos of you on a night out with your friends - you might think you look great but a booker can't get an idea of what you really look like! To see if you have potential an agency needs two things, a clear full length photograph and a clear head shot... anything else is usually unnecessary.
5. Natural and Plain is a Plus
Any photos you send to the agency need to be natural, and by that we mean please don't send in photos wearing a lot of make up or pulling the dreaded Facebook 'duckface'! As mentioned above, all we need are plain photos against a plain wall, wearing plain, fitted clothes and in plain, if any, make-up (can you notice a recurring theme here?)
7. Research Your Agency
Before you approach the agency find a little bit more about them. Think about whether your measurements meet the minimum requirements of those set out by the agency. Visit their website or phone them and find out what they are looking for and how they prefer models to apply. Most reputable agencies will have an 'open door' policy whereby potential models can come and visit the agency during certain business hours. It's a good way to get an instant response from a booker but not always practical.
If you decide to apply via email, find the correct email address to send your application to. If you can get your application to the right mailbox in the right way you stand a much better chance of being successful.
8. Be prepared to travel
Before approaching an agency, make sure that you are prepared to travel. This applies to both modelling work and visiting agencies for interviews. Modelling jobs don't take place in your living room, so travelling is an integral part of being a model.
9. First Impressions Count
Your application is the first thing that an agency will ever see about you. If you put no effort into your application, the first impression the agency will get is that you are lazy and not worth taking on. Similarly, if you get called for an interview then take it seriously. Arrive on time, be polite and show the agency that you're serious. If you make a great first impression, it will stick in the agency's mind.
10. Don't harass the agency
Modelling Agencies receive hundreds of applications a week, and only very few of the applicants are suitable. If your application is successful rest assured that they will contact you. If you don't hear anything from the agency within a few weeks then assume that you have not been successful on that occasion, don't contact them every 3 days asking if they had a chance to look at your application. All that does is leave a lasting bad impression, and jeopardise your chances of reapplying in the future.
So there you have it, the correct way to go about taking your first steps into the world of modelling! I hope you found this advice useful and to all those who decide to apply... good luck!
Written by Sapphires - an award winning London Modelling Agency.
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