Why do models of all ages - including Thylane, the highest paid child model in the world - in the photo at right need up to date and professional looking modeling portfolio and comp card photographs in order to work on a regular basis?
Child modeling is a competitive business based on first impressions and model/talent agencies aren't just looking for kids that have an interesting look. They're looking for kids who have promo materials that will get them hired including a strong up-to-date modeling portfolio photographs and comp cards that show the child is capable of portraying a wide range of ages, emotions and characters. (Kids do not need real elaborate portfolios though, a few recent professional looking photographs will do.)
Please note, however, there are thousands of fake agencies that will ask you for money for photo shoots, comp cards, modeling portfolios, etc. Click HERE to see the Florida State Law that makes it ILLEGAL for Florida model/talent agencies to split fees with or accept kickbacks from photographers and/or require you to buy photo shoots, comp cards, portfolios, workshops, classes, training, etc. from the agency.
Advice from the Screen Actors Guild: "Legitimate talent agencies do not advertise for clients in newspaper classified columns nor do they solicit through the mail. If a purported talent agent seeks to send you to a particular photographer for pictures, hold your wallet tight and run for the nearest exit. Chances are the 'agent' is a phony and receives a cut of the photographer's fee. If you need photographs, choose your own photographer - then try another agent."
"Without publicity and promotion, a terrible thing happens. Nothing." And the only thing worse than the feeling you get while driving to a casting while worrying about having amateur looking / outdated modeling portfolio photographs and comp cards to show is the feeling you get on the entire drive back home wondering if you just blew another big booking.
When you go on a casting for print work, the first thing the interviewer will probably say to you is, “Can I see your portfolio?” or "Leave one of your comp cards with my assistant" and you say, “I don’t have any,” you are not going to make a good first impression, you are taking a huge risk and you will very likely be shown the door.
The interviewer will be thinking, “No modeling portfolio? No comp cards?." This can’t be a real model, he/she is not serious about working, he/she might not show up on time, he/she might not show up at all, he/she might not be able to pull this off," etc. and negative thoughts like these are the last thing in the world you want going through a casting director's mind.
In England and other parts of the world they are called Zed cards and in the U.S. they are called comp cards. Whatever you want to call them however, you need them and here’s why:
Whenever you walk into a real agency you will see at least one or two walls with display racks filled with comp cards. Several times a day, the agency will get calls from clients asking for a certain type of model and the booker will then walk over to the racks and start “pulling comps” to send to the client.
• If you don’t have comp cards on that rack your card will never get pulled, your card will never get sent to any clients and you will never be seen. In other words, if your comp card is not on that rack then you, in effect, do not exist.
• If the bookers do not see your name and face every time they walk into the office and looks at the racks they will very quickly forget all about you.
• On many castings, you will often find yourself sitting in a reception area with a dozen or more other models - and someone will come out and say, “Ok, everyone hand me your modeling portfolio and/or your comp card.” They will then take the portfolios and comp cards in to the casting director or whomever is authorized to make the actual hiring decision. (If you do nor have a modeling portfolio and cards you will not be seen that day and again, in effect, you do not exist.)
• On other castings, you may see a decision maker without first handing your modeling portfolio or comp card to an assistant. At the end of the interview, however, they will often ask you to leave a card. If you don’t have one to leve, you not only look unprofessional and unprepared, the interviewer will probably forget all about you within a few minutes of you leaving - and you can bet they won’t even remember you were there the next day.
NEVER FORGET: This is a first impression business. A strong up-to-date modeling portfolio and comp cards says, "Take me seriously." "I am a professional.” “I will show up.” “I will be on time.” “I can pull this off.” “I’m worth $1000 a day or more” without you having to say a word and weak / outdated modeling portfolios and comp cards say just the opposite.
How to avoid spending several hundred to several thousand dollars unnecessarily
If an agency is interested in your child, they will typically will ask you to leave at least 10 to 20 comp cards with them. And if you don’t have already have printed comp cards, a REAL agency will not ask you for money to have cards printed for you. Instead they will instruct you to go to a printer and have a few hundred comp cards made with the agency name and agency contact info on them which will cost you anywhere from $400 to $500.
Then you may walk into 4 or 5 other agencies that will all say the same thing and you will be faced with the dilemma of having to spend $2000 or $3000 or more on comp cards to make them all happy OR you will end up with no one willing to book you because you don’t have comp cards.
Fortunately, however, you can avoid this problem and avoid hearing icy comments like, “Do you have a problem with having printed comp cards made?” by ordering a short run of comp cards to get make it easy for agencies to get you your first few bookings.
Why not wait for magazine and catalog "tear sheets" to come out to put in your child's modeling portfolio or on their comp cards? Because waiting for magazine and catalog tear sheets to come out can cost you thousands of dollars in wasted time and lost bookings as:
1.) Without good test shots you probably won't book many jobs - if any - and you will end up wasting several months of your time waiting and hoping for something to happen.
2.) Magazines, catalogs, etc. usually don't come out until several months after the shoot, sometimes longer, so by the time you get the pictures and have comp cards made your photos and cards will already be out of date. Clients know that tear sheet images on kids comp cards are usually 6 months to a year old and this is a huge turn off.
3.) If you have photos from The Gap (for example) and you show them on an interview for H&M Sweden, H&M Sweden will not want to book your child because The Gap is direct competition for them and H&M will not knowingly book the same models as their competition because it would be too confusing for the public.
4.) Magazines and catalogs can be very hard to locate and you may not even be able to find one.
5.) If you do find one, you will then have to scan the photos which may be too small to use and/or when you scan them they will have a very visible dot pattern and they will look terrible when reprinted.
6.) Images that appear on web sites are usually 72 dpi (dots per inch) JPEG files but you will need 300 dpi TIFF files to go to print with or they will look terrible reprinted.
7.) Images used in advertising are chosen to flatter the product NOT the model - and showing unflattering photos will always do you more harm than good.
Models with up to date photos and comp cards from a trusted source will get five to ten times as many bookings as those without. See proof positive that Photos by Moda Bambini Kids Photography on your comp cards and in your portfolio will make a world of difference in the quantity and quality of your bookings HERE
Child modeling is a competitive business based on first impressions and model/talent agencies aren't just looking for kids that have an interesting look. They're looking for kids who have promo materials that will get them hired including a strong up-to-date modeling portfolio photographs and comp cards that show the child is capable of portraying a wide range of ages, emotions and characters. (Kids do not need real elaborate portfolios though, a few recent professional looking photographs will do.)
Please note, however, there are thousands of fake agencies that will ask you for money for photo shoots, comp cards, modeling portfolios, etc. Click HERE to see the Florida State Law that makes it ILLEGAL for Florida model/talent agencies to split fees with or accept kickbacks from photographers and/or require you to buy photo shoots, comp cards, portfolios, workshops, classes, training, etc. from the agency.
Advice from the Screen Actors Guild: "Legitimate talent agencies do not advertise for clients in newspaper classified columns nor do they solicit through the mail. If a purported talent agent seeks to send you to a particular photographer for pictures, hold your wallet tight and run for the nearest exit. Chances are the 'agent' is a phony and receives a cut of the photographer's fee. If you need photographs, choose your own photographer - then try another agent."
"Without publicity and promotion, a terrible thing happens. Nothing." And the only thing worse than the feeling you get while driving to a casting while worrying about having amateur looking / outdated modeling portfolio photographs and comp cards to show is the feeling you get on the entire drive back home wondering if you just blew another big booking.
When you go on a casting for print work, the first thing the interviewer will probably say to you is, “Can I see your portfolio?” or "Leave one of your comp cards with my assistant" and you say, “I don’t have any,” you are not going to make a good first impression, you are taking a huge risk and you will very likely be shown the door.
The interviewer will be thinking, “No modeling portfolio? No comp cards?." This can’t be a real model, he/she is not serious about working, he/she might not show up on time, he/she might not show up at all, he/she might not be able to pull this off," etc. and negative thoughts like these are the last thing in the world you want going through a casting director's mind.
In England and other parts of the world they are called Zed cards and in the U.S. they are called comp cards. Whatever you want to call them however, you need them and here’s why:
Whenever you walk into a real agency you will see at least one or two walls with display racks filled with comp cards. Several times a day, the agency will get calls from clients asking for a certain type of model and the booker will then walk over to the racks and start “pulling comps” to send to the client.
• If you don’t have comp cards on that rack your card will never get pulled, your card will never get sent to any clients and you will never be seen. In other words, if your comp card is not on that rack then you, in effect, do not exist.
• If the bookers do not see your name and face every time they walk into the office and looks at the racks they will very quickly forget all about you.
• On many castings, you will often find yourself sitting in a reception area with a dozen or more other models - and someone will come out and say, “Ok, everyone hand me your modeling portfolio and/or your comp card.” They will then take the portfolios and comp cards in to the casting director or whomever is authorized to make the actual hiring decision. (If you do nor have a modeling portfolio and cards you will not be seen that day and again, in effect, you do not exist.)
• On other castings, you may see a decision maker without first handing your modeling portfolio or comp card to an assistant. At the end of the interview, however, they will often ask you to leave a card. If you don’t have one to leve, you not only look unprofessional and unprepared, the interviewer will probably forget all about you within a few minutes of you leaving - and you can bet they won’t even remember you were there the next day.
NEVER FORGET: This is a first impression business. A strong up-to-date modeling portfolio and comp cards says, "Take me seriously." "I am a professional.” “I will show up.” “I will be on time.” “I can pull this off.” “I’m worth $1000 a day or more” without you having to say a word and weak / outdated modeling portfolios and comp cards say just the opposite.
How to avoid spending several hundred to several thousand dollars unnecessarily
If an agency is interested in your child, they will typically will ask you to leave at least 10 to 20 comp cards with them. And if you don’t have already have printed comp cards, a REAL agency will not ask you for money to have cards printed for you. Instead they will instruct you to go to a printer and have a few hundred comp cards made with the agency name and agency contact info on them which will cost you anywhere from $400 to $500.
Then you may walk into 4 or 5 other agencies that will all say the same thing and you will be faced with the dilemma of having to spend $2000 or $3000 or more on comp cards to make them all happy OR you will end up with no one willing to book you because you don’t have comp cards.
Fortunately, however, you can avoid this problem and avoid hearing icy comments like, “Do you have a problem with having printed comp cards made?” by ordering a short run of comp cards to get make it easy for agencies to get you your first few bookings.
Why not wait for magazine and catalog "tear sheets" to come out to put in your child's modeling portfolio or on their comp cards? Because waiting for magazine and catalog tear sheets to come out can cost you thousands of dollars in wasted time and lost bookings as:
1.) Without good test shots you probably won't book many jobs - if any - and you will end up wasting several months of your time waiting and hoping for something to happen.
2.) Magazines, catalogs, etc. usually don't come out until several months after the shoot, sometimes longer, so by the time you get the pictures and have comp cards made your photos and cards will already be out of date. Clients know that tear sheet images on kids comp cards are usually 6 months to a year old and this is a huge turn off.
3.) If you have photos from The Gap (for example) and you show them on an interview for H&M Sweden, H&M Sweden will not want to book your child because The Gap is direct competition for them and H&M will not knowingly book the same models as their competition because it would be too confusing for the public.
4.) Magazines and catalogs can be very hard to locate and you may not even be able to find one.
5.) If you do find one, you will then have to scan the photos which may be too small to use and/or when you scan them they will have a very visible dot pattern and they will look terrible when reprinted.
6.) Images that appear on web sites are usually 72 dpi (dots per inch) JPEG files but you will need 300 dpi TIFF files to go to print with or they will look terrible reprinted.
7.) Images used in advertising are chosen to flatter the product NOT the model - and showing unflattering photos will always do you more harm than good.
Models with up to date photos and comp cards from a trusted source will get five to ten times as many bookings as those without. See proof positive that Photos by Moda Bambini Kids Photography on your comp cards and in your portfolio will make a world of difference in the quantity and quality of your bookings HERE
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