"Looking for an agent?"

So you think you want to model and you would like to have an agent. Good idea. Could you do this without an agent? Sure- I have done it myself. Is it easier with an agent or manager? You bet.
You can try to paper your small city with your head shots, comp cards or zeds and hope that potential clients hang on to them and call you OR you can have your agent do all the work.
So how do you find an agent? Here is once again the small town skinny. (if you try this in NYC or LA you may get an un-cheerful earful OR a long laundry list OR a "who are you and why do you want to know?") So if you are in a smaller town then here is a down and dirty shortcut and it is nearly foolproof.

I am always saying that this business is just like any other so you have to look at it like any other business. If you moved to a new town and wanted to know where you should shop for shoes you would ask someone who had nice shoes. If you needed to find someone to color your hair, you would ask someone with nice hair color. (and hope they tell you the truth :) And so it is with Talent agents but here is the hook: if you want to find a good one- don't go where the models go- go where the CLIENTS go. To find out who the best agent in town is, call the biggest commercial photographers and production companies (look them up in the yellow pages or online) and ask them who THEY call when they need a model. If they say all say they call XYZ Talent then BINGO you have it. If you get a receptive person on the other end of the line, then you may want to ask them a couple more questions: "Is the agency easy to deal with? Does someone answer the phone full time?" Don't get carried away and inquire if they take babies or how many seniors they have. Ask your two questions and thank them for their time.

Now this doesn't mean that they will accept you or their rates are competitive or that you will think they are swell; it just means that when someone needs a model in your town that you now know who most people call. Like any other business, an agent is probably going to tell you they are the biggest and the best; now you know how to get the real skinny.

Copyright Ann Marie Stonecypher, All rights reserved.