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Approaching agencies?
How do I go about estalishing a relationship with local agencies? thanks, -gary Apr 16 05 06:17 pm Link Kock...knock...knock.... hello? Be sure to wipe your feet on the way in.. :-) JP Apr 17 05 04:25 am Link Get appointments to sit down with them and review your book. Same as how models get relationships, basically. If that doesn't work, try bribes and sexual favors - JK, kinda. Apr 17 05 04:31 am Link Not having worked with agencies myself, do they pay for a model to get shots or do they just refer the model to a photog and have her/him pay for shots? Any idea on pricing for this? Models tend to freak when I tell them my pricing (which is based on client work). I just want to make sure it's worth the time. Apr 17 05 10:57 am Link Posted by Kevin Palmer: Actually, it depends on the agency. Most agencies just refer their people to a photographer. Some of the agencies pay for the sessions, but that tends to be in cases where the agency have a relationship with the photographer and they do a set series of photos so that all the photos used on the comp cards have a uniform look. Apr 17 05 08:16 pm Link In Nashville a three look is generally around $350 to $500 plus Hair and makeup (which can range around $150 to $300). You really can't base it on client work on, they have to make enough money to pay for them and Nashville doesn't generate that much modeling. I'm not sure about other locations. Shawn Apr 17 05 10:11 pm Link Posted by Gary L.: I've skipped working with agencies. I've worked with a few local ones and it wasn't really fun. The clients have to pay for thier own stuff. Half get scared off when I tell them my prices. Apr 18 05 01:24 am Link For $350-500 I don't think I'll bother. Apr 18 05 09:29 am Link Posted by Kevin Palmer: $450 per model. Apr 26 05 04:43 pm Link how can you charge a model for an agency shoot? anything you read tells models that if they have to pay for photos from a photographer the agency reccomends the agency isnt for real and it's all just a scam.......... Apr 30 05 05:04 pm Link Posted by Ami: I am pretty sure the way it usually works is this. If anyone out there knows better, correct me. This covers a model going out and hiring a photographer or not. And wether the agency is a real legitimate agency or a fake one looking to take your money. Apr 30 05 05:27 pm Link Posted by Ami: I think you misinterprated what you've read. Most of the time to get agency quality portfolio images, you will have to pay the photographer for them. Agencies have lists of photographers who shoot in a style and quality that meets their needs that they will reccomend to new models. At a real agency, you are not obligated to use those photographers, but you will be obligated to pay someone for work on that level. Apr 30 05 06:22 pm Link To get in with agencies as a photographer, call and ask if you may drop off your book. Generally you will leave it for a week and then pick it back up after. If the agency likes what they see, they may ask you to test with several of their models. Then, a relationship may grow from there. What I've found most valuable to photographers who have a relationship with the local ad and talent agencies is that they may get referred commercial shooting jobs. Especially this is true through ad agencies, so definitely don't leave them out of the equation either. We have, through various contacts and situations, steered good paying commercial jobs to photographers who do testing with our models, and so their free testing of our people really ends up paying off. Models who build a portfolio and then go looking for an agency may have wasted time and photos. One of the reason an agent refers to specific photographers is that those photographers already understand the agent's client market. They know what type of shots you need in your book a lot better than photographers who are not working commercially in the local market you are represented in. Many legitimate agencies will send their talent to test and it may cost the talent money. That does not equal scam and is very common and not the same as agencies who have an in-house photographer that shares or gives kickbacks to the agent for each model/talent that they shoot. In our situation, we have a strong enough client base and photographers that our models/talent obtain all their shoots without any cost to them. A model/talent is, however, also responsible for the cost of printing comps or zeds, headshots, etc. Online portfolios are fantastic and I have to admit that a lot of good jobs can be booked directly by the agency using a solid online database (portfolio of their people). The agent is not going to refer a client to an OMP or other such location, but will refer them to their own online listings. A successful model ready to graduate from Net to land needs a hardcopy portfolio. Once you're signed, and not before, begin building a portfolio with the assistance and guidance of the agent (again, they know what their clients want to see). Apr 30 05 07:53 pm Link |
