Lessons

Lesson Info

9:15 am - The Model Agent

So the first time like able to do is to order this book and start or download it on your ipad or other device and start reading this book is going to be a huge difference in your life way beyond just shooting models but for shoot models you definitely need this book we're talking about shooting people, not just models people dealing with people. This is the foundation it starts here step number one and this is the old books been around for a zillion years but all the information in here is relevant today how to win friends and influence model's influence clients influence your friends it's a great book. All right, so you want to shoot models? That means you have to deal with the modeling agent mulling agencies. So there a lot of ways to to shoot models there's a lot of discussions about that. Can you go to a a website and shoot models? Absolutely. But if you want to get paid and make a living shooting models, you need to work about going to the agency's. I know they're a lot of web sit...

es out there. We can go online and find models to shoot I want to stick it to another level a higher level so in this class will talk about dealing with professional models and the agency and the advantage of doing that again guys, you have any questions stopped me any point, don't be shy. So the model agent who is that? So there are agencies all over the world that represent models. The job of the agent is too fine, great faces and mold their careers and and make money with the models. It's a big business it's a huge business, you have super models, you have girls who work every day. They're girls who work all the time, making quietly three hundred forty thousand dollars, doing catalog jobs that the average person does not know, but I work all the time. It's, a big business and with models, is not just the fashion models, their commercial models I've done jobs, I'm shooting because make job with a beautiful fashion model that I've done jobs, commercial jobs, where I'm shooting a, a father playing the role of a father playing the role of a grandfather of babies, children, all acting like a family for wells fargo banking campaign, so I run the gamut, but I'm still shooting and casting models there's all models with the different types of models, so we'll talk about that. How you do a casting, how do you find the right type of model, what it takes? And those are big jobs? You're doing a big ad for bank and you're casting children, grand fathers, mothers, daughters, that's a huge casting we'll talk about casting later on as well and you guys will be casting you don't learn the casting um the reason why I think this is very important because when I started my career there's nobody tell me how to do a casting I had to learn the hard way so I want to give you all that information so you don't have to do the same mistakes that I did in the beginning of my career but back to the model agent who was that person is the person that you will contact to start shooting models they protect you, they protect the model if you go on a website and you, uh book a model hire model the model may show it may not there's no guarantee and there's no recourse if they don't it's just like oh, she didn't show up so what model agent you're protected? That girl will show up if something happens to her and she say she falls and breaks her leg in the night before you get another model to take her place so you're protected it's very professional and it makes you better make sure worked better they're professionals because makes you work up to another level so the model agent how do you meet this person and every state they're mulling agencies should go online find out every agent in your local area whether you're living in north carolina or well south carolina or you know new york or los angeles or chicago whether you are poland japan find those local agents and cast models I did a seminar in japan two years ago I want to shoot a model so first thing I did was go to the agents in japan and find a model I booked her from here for my fly seminar their agencies everywhere all over the world so you want to find the model agent you wantto send them an email you are called them as well you want make an appointment to meet them you want do this in person you want to go in there and show your work? Yes can you do it on email? Can you do it on the phone? Yes but I met that book before howto inference influence people need a face to face meeting you need to see you see a work and get to find out more about your personality they need to see you face to face so make appointments and go and see his model agents once you make that first few meetings you probably see them again you'll be doing anything by phone but first connection needs be face to face need to meet them and show your work first things the model agent how that happens show on lee your best work I know we have tons of work when you shoot a zillion pictures before cameras today on ly show your best work that means if you have any doubt in a moment of pause with the picture take it out people want to ask often is how many things you should I show is there a magic number of pictures to show? Show show fifty shots you one hundred different at one hundred fifty nine fifty you'll bore them to death just show your best work your best fifteen a m j is your best twenty images keep it short but just the best be very picky on how you it is your work ask friends what you think about this one is this my best? Is this my best work? Ask yourself, which is the weakest shot in the group. If you find one you think is weak take that one out show your best work make sure looks respect professional in a clean uh you know, presentation that first meeting is extremely important. Like the size matter these days everything is changing usually a standard of showing live my fourteen book for four for four foot folio not anymore you can show your ipad it's also very common that these days you can show a tangible book which I like having both I showed my ipad and I showed my my tangible portfolio show your best work and whatever form not going if your iphone doesn't go in there with, you know, a better presentation. You want to blow them away, show your best work should you have a variety so indifferent styles of should you have a variety when you go to cnn, agent? Not really. You are show a style you want show your style. They want to know when I'm going to get what I show this guy's work what will I get when I hire this guy will let him shoot my models you showing were all over the place you're showing your model is you're showing your landscape, you're showing your winnings, they don't want to see the weddings, the landscapes, they want to see the models and see how you want to shoot their models, so just show the work that pertains to them. You're going to shoot everything well, that's all well and good. We don't show all that to a modeling agent. The only thing that concerned about is how you shoot there, they're guys or their girls think mixing fashion and the beauty would be ok. Yes, fashion usually fine that's really good, but stay within that realm that's a good question. Matthew a c m eighty three asked how many pictures should we show you said fifteen to twenty key but your best, but what is too many? What's the high many would be fifty okay, way too many I think if you're if you're just starting to test also and you just going to see each for the first time you want you want to show a lot of work if you're showing forty years fifteen years that's too much is thirty too much study is probably the border line okay, I wouldn't go beyond that okay, thank you but just just show your best work whatever that is it has be like different fifty shots doesn't know one hundred shots there's a good number I think thirty one down but he did you have if you have ten amazing shots just show that question I'm not sure if you said this but should those I'll be different subject matters like if you're just starting out and you rocked to shoots with the same model are with two different models should you show more than one image of a particular model? Ok, you've just done to shoots with two different girls should you show teen images of two girls? No no they don't want to see five images of one girl that's one shoot yes, but you need to show a little more take your time, do some more testing first before you go to see them only down five shoots just your five strongest images houses one per absolutely what you going to from his loss? They're different images and screw you got five shots five different shoots with models big two from each shot that goes together and then he goes well cool thank you so many questions about this oh I like ok yeah there one thing is there anything that is a customer to leave something off the agent like some photos or is the web site absolutely so you leave something with the agent at their first meeting absolutely something tangible not just a car but an image with your work this small agents price seeing tons of photographers all the time and they remember you after you walk out the door if you don't leave something behind so make your great a great print if you don't have a printed piece to leave them make a beautiful print make sure has your number on it your email your information and leave that with your best shot your all your you're thirty inches choose your best image print that out to leave with them it should be a big gigantic sixteen by twenty print should be like like five by seven smaller from keeping the deaths eight by ten's too big five by seven is like the perfect size I love how specific you're getting really good something about all that stuff that you know I didn't get my korean I want to know so I'm kind of like make sure I gave you guys all that information that's great said that a big size eight much it is too big. It gets in the way people want don't want like we're gonna put this picture five by seventeen on the desk. You could put it up on the board. It's a perfect size would you like mulling cards or around the same size? They don't get in the way you can keep them. So dave t of michigan would like to know if it matters if they're in color or black and white, should you have a percentage of each or what? What do you think about that doesn't matter our choice? Yeah, artistic choice if you shoot a black and white very well, just show that you can't shoot, you can show black and white and color. One more question from sara in christina what about editorial stories? If you wantto, should those be included in a first book and first portfolio? Because there should you include a few images from that? If it's a story, if you have an entire story, absolutely. If you're to the point where you're shooting editorial stories that's a big advantage for you, and they will relate to that because they're used to seeing stories, so if you have that definitely show it is eschewing mohr of your style that you have a vision. And that you know how to show tell a story and how many of those images you do the whole thing or ok, so you're shooting editorial and you have all these stories now in story is eight pages ten pages you show all that work in your book no and I had to struggle with this at the start of my career because you know, you get these tear sheets and you must you with everything my agent tell me matthew menino we'll put four pitches in well, maybe just to make we shot eight pages for the story and it's published you guess my show the best of what you have not the whole eight page story it is a great strong story that's all well and good but you want to the entire thing stephen miser well, my favorite fashion photographers she sees twenty page stories for italian vote I'm sure he's not showing all twenty pages in his books each month because what would be a thousand pages showed just the best just the best ask one final question about this bring it on so you say just show the best and you know we all realize that in our society you have like less than thirty seconds to captain make their absolute tension and can you just left today with social media? Yeah, even less probably you have fifteen seconds so maybe for the people watching can you just explain what it's like to have the agency look at your book? Are they oh yes are they just kind of like yeah, yeah yeah should you expect to have your feelings hurt when the agency looks at your book because you different can okay um agents are concerned about your feelings, especially in the fashion business they have no time like anybody else in the fashion commercial insane nobody has time a buys pushed for time and looking at your books like this if you have no ipads goingto go through and they probably will not make it to the end so it's very important but they're your strongest pictures in the very beginning if you're saving your best stuff for the end they may never see it you got blow them away first picture show your strongest pictures first and that's not just a model agents that's of clients as well if you don't grab their attention right away they're like oh no no that's the right okay, thanks for coming in you want to grab the attention right away and make them stop because they had the idea like ok, let's look at the work if they open it up like oh this is nice then you have them then you have them also don't make this mistake as you're showing your book zip it, don't talk them through the pictures don't talk them through the pictures. Oh, this is that when I was here in the let the pictures talk for themselves, the images should be that strong where they speak for themselves, agents looking at the work and thinking about how that work can work with their models if you had the skill to show the best of the model and we'll go through that also how you can shoot the best you learn that next couple days how to shoot the best and get the best for the agency, but they have no time. So your best images at the start of your book beat up ipad or what tangible book, whatever it is, show your best work on lee your best work and start with that first. I'm glad you said that, matthew, one of my favorite quotes is when your work speaks for itself don't interrupt, absolutely. Why break that flow? Let the work speak that the work stopped them what they like in this moment you're like, oh yeah, that's the day I had to know that, uh, I shut off my brand new camera, they don't care about that at all. They care about the work, because when the girls showing her work, you're not there to talk through it. The work has got to speak for itself let the work stopped them, mesmerize them make that connection with the model agent after they look at your work make that connection this is again why this book? How to win friends and influence people how influenced agents had influence models how influence clients is so important please don't skip this stop this step of reading that book I read this book once you have had it for a zillion years, but I read it every year to remind myself the message that little refresher course it's a great book put it on your iphone your ipad your you haven't by your bed but read it once a year I read a lot on the plane and looks like this a great for my plane trips make the connection with the booker then after you looked at your work, then give him your card then given your business card, get their card and talk about how you could start seeing their models stay in touch often stay in touch often so you have that first meeting and you you leave from the meeting you're feeling good hopefully they're feeling good now what senate card again said into the card you're saying thank you for the meeting senate thank you cards saying thank you for the meeting nobody does this anymore any by since an email this about standing out how do you stand out in a world where everything is social media where everything is on the internet abuzz in an email that agents getting a thousand e mails a day from girls who won't be models girls who want to give the agency from clients trying to book people from photographers the getting tons of email they're inundated with emails nobody gets mail anymore you want stand out and thank you called the old fashion way you're making a connection something tangible they can touch touch is very powerful touch is very powerful send a tangible thankyou card that agent for that meeting thank you you'll stand out really important topic but also one where people get freaked out because when you say often what again what do you mean on w photo hog once a week every other week like what is too much what well scared me away for saying that so you want to thankyou card once so thank you card one week after the meeting that could be out immediately almost thanking them for that meeting then you can call into the two weeks hopefully you've got that report now you can start getting to see their models they shouldn't take a long time at all you've had the meeting in person sent a thank you card now you're ready start seeing their models remember this book how to win friends and influence people it is so very important this was going to walk into the steps of what you need to do with these meetings and this process that you're doing right now it's not just for meeting the agents is for meeting future clients for the rest of your career this is the process a couple folks have asked including alex uv how do you find out exactly who to talk to in the agency usually there's just a contact email person good person okay so you do that first cost a great question think about asking that so on email on the website this piling info at you know whatever agency dot com so when you call the agency they'll say hello you know elite forward whatever you'll say hello may I speak to the new faces division new faces division or the new faces booker new faces division new faces booker there's a small agency they say oh we have only one division we don't have new faces no but in big markets they'll have a new faces division new faces booker and get the name right that name down and use the name often in the conversation how inference influence people you'll learn that right away use that name often hello mr comey comey yes I don't I'm matthew jordan smith I let come in and see you and show you my work I shoot models and I absolutely you probably will there will be gatekeepers remember they're all busy so you want get pressure like hello you may have to call three or four times to get the meeting but be persistent not overly persistently calling like every single day you hear on the nerves and they like and don't answer the phone when that person calls call like once a week until you get the meeting but be persistent once a week is falling to call hi john you said you'd call me call me back on this day some call you back I won't get a meeting you will get the meeting great questions this morning guys one of the great question. So julie ray photography asked would you ever just walk into an agency without an appointment? Absolutely not. Would you ever walk into an agency without an appointment? No, no, no, no make an appointment don't just walk in and bring it on bring it on, bring it on was all great and they're all like on point great one from carrie nichols is when is the best time of day to call? Is there a term catch people that they're in a more receptive mood throughout today? This is a great question, okay, so timing is important timing is important um I would say call monday through thursday don't call on a friday on friday I was thinking about getting away don't call on a friday before holiday or day before long holiday people's mind or about getting away? I can't take any times I get e mails and calls the day before a holiday, and I'm like, uh, okay, if I remember after the holiday, I'll call you back, but it's people's minds are on getting away, usually from the office and getting to their holiday to the beach or wherever they're going well, being with the family, their minds are already away before they're away. So think about this before you make your call call like in the mornings, call early, but think about the timing all these wouldn't give you success. You're going with that friday and they're thinking about getting out of there. It's not gonna work. They don't want to see you like okay, call me monday. You'll get that up. Call me monday. So matthew s case to the I would like to know if there's any way you can ask for constructive feedback on the portfolio. Do you recommend doing that or no? Yes, a feedback from the agent you can and depending on the booker you you might get that anyway. As a matter of fact, when you show you, but for the first time to a modeling agent. They take what they think anyway, period if it's right this wrong, which means change it to be right for them. Um, should you ask them for that feedback? I'm not sure about that one there probably get to you on their own anyway, because a pretty straightforward and blunt maybe you don't want to. You may not want to ask. You may not want as so. Yeah, they buy the fashion entry period's very blunt, especially the big cities like new york in l a and chicago, their blood and they need me blood because nobody has time like being it's. Not so much being nice. It's just there, kurt it's all about business and business fast, especially new york. So you must be a little bit of an anomaly in the fashion industry because you are nice. I am what I need to be and that the curtain on in the situation that occurred I like that word, kurt it's, like you're not you're not because no one has talked business. I learned that when I moved to l a because I was still with my new attitude and energy from new york, and that didn't work in l a so I learned tio soffit.