I have rewritten this page more times than I care to remember, usually trying to sound wonderfully professional and restrained.
It never works.
So, I’m going to say it exactly as I see it.
Those who know me will tell you that’s probably safer anyway!
Back in the 1990s we had the era of the infamous hotel auditions.
Parents would be invited along to hotels by so-called agencies, persuaded to hand over cash on the day and, in some cases, discover weeks later that the “agency” had disappeared completely.
New agencies seemed to spring up everywhere.
There was very little regulation, reality TV had arrived and suddenly everybody wanted to be famous.
Then came the internet.
For the first time, parents and aspiring models could research companies properly, compare experiences and warn each other.
Bizzy Agency made it something of a personal mission to warn people wherever we could. We placed warnings on our website, in our email signatures and later across social media.
We were online incredibly early, appearing at the top of Google searches back in 1999, and were described by the DTI at the time as one of the industry's “big five” agencies.
Unfortunately, the companies causing the problems simply became more sophisticated.
Instead of presenting themselves clearly as agencies, a new type of company emerged.
They often have words such as Model, Models, Modelling or similar in their name, so naturally people assume they are applying to an agency.
Quite often, they are not.
Many are simply commercial photography studios selling portfolios and other products to people who believe those purchases will help them secure representation.
And that is where the problem begins.
The experience itself can look extremely impressive.
You may get:
Hair and make-up
Several outfit changes
Professional studio photography
Outdoor or city-location photographs
Lots of attention
Beautifully edited images
For the day, you can feel like a supermodel.
And then comes the sales pitch.
The process tends to go something like this:
You apply believing you are applying to an agency.
You are told that you have “passed the first stage.”
You are invited for a test shoot, sometimes described as free or refundable.
You spend the day being photographed and made to feel fantastic.
At the end of the shoot, you are shown beautiful images.
You are then encouraged — and sometimes heavily pressured — to buy a portfolio there and then.
The photographs may be lovely.
That isn't the issue.
The issue is when people are led to believe that buying them is somehow necessary to become a model, obtain agency representation or secure work.
It isn't.
One model contacted me after being told by a photographer that they had supposedly spoken to a very well-known adult agency.
She was told that if she purchased the portfolio, she could potentially appear in an upcoming L'Oréal campaign.
She paid an eye-watering £2,500 for 25 photographs on a CD.
Excited, she went straight to the agency concerned.
They had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.
She was told that they weren't interested in representing her and she left feeling completely humiliated.
After she told me what had happened, I spoke directly with the Director of the agency whose name had been used, and a complaint was submitted to the relevant authorities.
That was years ago.
The same type of thing still happens today.
This is the bit that still makes me laugh.
Or cry.
Depending on the day.
I once decided to find out exactly how one of these companies operated.
So I applied.
Not with a model.
With a photograph of myself at four years old.
I sent the application on a Sunday.
By 4pm on Monday, I received a call telling me that my “daughter” had a look that was currently in huge demand and that I should bring her in for a test shoot.
Apparently, there was a £50 fee, paid immediately, which would then be refunded.
Naturally, I started asking questions.
I asked how they made any money if they were supposedly providing photographers, hair, make-up and all these services for nothing.
The answer was brushed aside.
Apparently, they worked with “the biggest names in the industry”.
So I asked which ones.
Again, lots of very convincing industry-speak, but no actual answer.
Then I asked what the photographs were for.
This was when it became interesting.
I was told that the photographs were required by all the leading UK child agencies and that if I was serious about my “daughter's” career, this was the route I needed to take.
So I asked:
“Really? Which agencies? Because I've spoken to Bizzy Agency and they told me to apply using snapshots.”
The answer?
“Oh, that's rubbish. I work with the Director daily and she uses all our referrals.”
Well.
I nearly spat my tea across the room.
There was only one small problem with continuing my investigation.
The four-year-old child in the photograph was me, and unfortunately she had grown up several decades earlier.
So that particular experiment had to end there.
But I remember thinking at the time:
That's one for the book.
A few years later, someone I recognised from social media turned up at our studio with a mother and child.
He was pretending to be the child's father.
Something didn't add up.
A quick search later and there he was — listed as a booker for one of these studio companies.
I couldn't understand why he was secretly visiting our agency.
What exactly did they think they were going to learn?
Then it clicked.
During the meeting, I had explained to them exactly what I tell parents today:
Avoid companies charging extortionate amounts for unnecessary portfolios.
Not long afterwards, their sales pitch changed.
Suddenly, they were saying many of the same things we had been saying — while still selling the very services we had been warning people about.
You really couldn't make it up.
This is the most important part of this entire page.
You do not need an expensive professional portfolio to apply to a reputable agency.
Simple, current snapshots are normally far more useful.
In fact, for applications, I personally prefer them.
Why?
Because professional portfolio photographs are designed to look fantastic.
They are styled.
Lit.
Posed.
Retouched.
And sometimes heavily edited.
I have seen children arrive looking completely different from the photographs they originally applied with.
Freckles removed.
Eye colours altered.
Faces slimmed.
Skin completely changed.
The photographs may have looked fabulous, but the person in them didn't really exist.
An agency needs to see what somebody actually looks like.
Clients need exactly the same thing.
If a client books an artist from a photograph, they quite reasonably expect that person to walk through the door.
Be cautious if somebody tells you that you must purchase:
An expensive portfolio
A personal modelling website
Z-cards
Large photography packages
Training before you can apply to an agency
An assessment that supposedly guarantees representation
Any expensive product in order to be “introduced” to agencies
A legitimate agency may later recommend suitable photographs, training or profile improvements depending on the work you are seeking.
That is completely different from being told you must spend hundreds or thousands of pounds before an agency will even consider you.
I have spoken to far too many parents and aspiring models over the years who have spent enormous amounts of money on things they simply did not need.
One parent had spent a staggering £7,300 for three children.
That is why I have continued banging this particular drum for so many years.
We've even had parents contact our New Faces team saying that another company had assessed their child, told them they had “passed” and implied that they were now represented by us.
They hadn't even applied to Bizzy Agency.
Nobody outside Bizzy Agency can offer somebody representation with us.
Nobody can assess somebody on our behalf unless we have specifically authorised them to do so.
If you want to join Bizzy Agency, you apply to Bizzy Agency.
Simple.
Most genuine agencies will initially ask for a small number of clear, natural photographs and basic information about the applicant.
For children, applications should always be made by a parent or legal guardian.
At Bizzy Agency, applications are made through our online application system.
We want to see current, natural photographs that accurately show the applicant.
You do not need to pay a studio hundreds of pounds before applying.
One final word of advice.
When you apply to an agency, remember that the application is not only telling us about the artist.
It tells us something about the parent too.
For children in particular, the parent is an incredibly important part of the working relationship.
Clients and agencies need parents who are reliable, organised, professional and able to follow instructions.
So take your time with the application.
Read the instructions.
Answer the questions properly.
Make sure the information is accurate.
And please don't chase an agency five minutes after submitting it asking whether you've been accepted!
Applications take time to assess and decisions are based on far more than a photograph.
If you remember nothing else from this page, remember this:
You do not need to spend thousands of pounds to find out whether an agency wants to represent you.
Apply directly to reputable agencies.
Read exactly what they ask for.
Research the company.
Never be pressured into making an expensive decision on the spot.
And if somebody tells you that buying their portfolio will guarantee agency representation or work...
walk away.