Modelling Agencies: The Good and the Bad

A recurring question I have been asked hundreds of times over the years...one of the first to ask it was the first model I ever worked with, Bronwen way back in 1981…: “When should I join a modelling agency?”

Firstly agents and agencies of all persuasions (not just modelling) exist, and are required to be licensed by the government, (in most states of Australia at least) for ONE REASON ONLY....to find work for their client and to keep their client in regular and reputable work!

The model employs the agent/agency (yes YOU EMPLOY them, not the other way round as many agents like to think) to find suitable work, and pays them their 17%  commission for (only) the work they secure for you. (take note of the percentage – this may vary in other states and countries, but if any agent wants more than 20% commission be very wary indeed!)

I tell anyone who asks that by the time you are earning enough money to be a viable commodity for an agency to be interested in representing you, you already have enough experience to

• know who the legitimate agents are
  
• have enough skills to realise (unless you are really busy) that you don´t really need an agent.

The general run of ¨agencies¨ is different though: and lots of beginning models want to sign with an agency simply because they are told that one

• is needed ¨if you want to get anywhere¨,
• peer pressure of seeing others ¨represented¨
• maybe they are looking for modelling courses rather than representation.

Fair enough if you must: my advice is to give them a try, and if they are not finding you paying work within three to six months, or their courses are mickey mouse nonsense ( and most do seem to be that way), they are not worth worrying about.

As a photographer, if I had the budget, the clientele, and the market which warranted an agency model...I would go to one of the few legitimate and highly regarded agencies and book a model through them, and not even think about booking “a girl who just happens to be with an agency”.

To find out who the industry professional agencies are, simply inquire amongst commercial or fashion photographers who use agency models on a daily basis, rather than hoping for the best, or asking Facebook acquaintances who have “done a little bit of (internet) modelling”

However for the type of work I do, I have never needed an agency model, and I simply REFUSE POINT BLANK to work with a model who is ¨represented by¨ the parasitic end of the agency spectrum!

As I believe that it is unethical and unprofessional to comment on any specific company either publically or privately, the following is how I recognise the parasites in a general, cursory way:

• the exist only on Facebook, and nowhere else
•  they are listed on one of the modelling sites such as Starnow or Model Mayhem, and exist nowhere else
• they promise to be looking out for the “welfare¨ of their models, and provide them with agency quality portfolios, and yet only have low quality, badly lit ¨theme shoot¨ photos to show.
• they will send you to an ¨awesome ¨ photographer
• they are invariably owned by a ¨former international model, and an award winning photographer"...neither of which I have heard of. (May legitimate and very successful agencies were established this way, but it is also a very worn out cliché attempt at gaining legitimacy.
• they charge fees for signing with them, and then a fee every other “service” and everything else including some things I would never dream necessary.
• they talk about "managing" a career, rather than offering to find work
• they make their money from flogging ¨modelling and deportment¨ courses, which progressively get more advanced, and of course more “necessary”...not to mention more expensive
• other girls say ¨I signed with them over twelve months go, and haven´t heard a thing since¨
• or the real doosey which still elicits a chuckle ¨I'm represented by so and so, but they ALLOW (?) me to find my own work
• their website has acres of photos of models; None of whom I recognise
• they have a long list of companies they EXPECT a model to go-see, consisting of just about every high profile name in the world, but their list of clients they have actually secured work with, has two or three names on it such as ´Betty´s Flowershop´, and ´Joe´s Garage´

And just like photographers the more crap they shovel (sorry...wax lyrical) about ¨their artistic vision¨, their ´impeccable integrity´ their ´caring collaboration´, and their ´award winning accomplishments´, the more useless and suspect they are.

I stress that most of the above is my opinion only! I am happy to hear comments from models more experienced with agents and agencies  and photographers who have worked with agency represented models

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Interesting Links:
My Photography Webpage
Facebook page for Professional Photographers and Models
The Definite Article Photography and Video on Facebook
My Pond 5 Page
The Definite Article at Publicise Me