So what the heck do you need an agent for?

Did you ever think about why talent agents or managers really exist? Is it because someone wanted to make a lot of money? TRUST ME that is not the reason (uh- I drive a 3 year old Ford Escape...lol) There are times I think I must be some kind of masochist. This is often a very thankless job. This is not me whining about my job because it is really a great job that I feel fortunate to be able to do- this is my preamble to what and why I do what I do and why it is sometimes necessary to have an agent. Can you get work without and agent? SURE. Can you buy a car without going to a dealer? YUP. Can you buy jewelry without going to a jewelry store? Yes again. You can get what you want pretty much anywhere you want it these days without going through conventional means but sometimes the price that you pay for this is that you don't have professional guidance. Not everyone needs professional counsel but most people DO. The average person does not know what fair payment for a day on set for a TV commercial is. They also don't know to ask "how long is this going to run". Why is that important? Because if you don't ask it can interfere with future work. If an ad you did is going to run "in perpetuity" (that means basically until Christ comes back) then you may never get hired again to do another TV commercial because you will be known as the guy or girl in that forever running OTHER commercial. Now that is all well and good if you got paid substantially for that aforementioned OTHER commercial but if you picked up the gig on Craig's list and made 250.00 then ...well...you just shot yourself in the foot. You still with me? If you had a good, experienced agent they could have negotiated for time limits or better pay etc. That is the reason much of this stuff is out there listed in the first place. I can't tell you how many times new talent or even season talent have come to me and said they have done a commercial and now it is running and they don't know if and when it will ever be pulled. The only way I can promote them is in my other markets. I have also had new talent actually boast of getting these jobs thinking it will boost their careers when they have actually sunk it before it began- because that is how it was "sold" to them.
This is all particularly disturbing when it comes to kids in advertising. There are actually laws in place that protect children in NYS from being underpaid in advertising. (you can look this up on the NYS dept of labor's web site) If you want to hire children in NYS you have to be certified to do so as we are. I heard of a company that hired children to do an all day TV commercial shoot for a local company (who I won't name) and then shot stills for all of their print ads and paid the kids 60.00. 60.00 total. Not only is this an unfair and ridiculous rate by anyone's standards, no one on that set was certified and I think there was a magnet stuck to the bottoms of their moral compasses as well. Often parents are so excited to see their kids in print or on TV that they don't think about anything else. This is not necessarily their fault- they just want to see thier kids in print or where ever, and the money doesn't matter to them but the big picture is they have just allowed a company to exploit thier children's image and other children's images and PERPETUATE a wrong.

There are times when small budget jobs come up or national companies are looking for kids for a big ad and the pay is small, but then there are times when companies are looking to simply get away with something and counting on the people not knowing any better. This is why sometimes you just need a agent or manager and 20% is well worth it to protect your image and your rights.
My job is to constantly walk the line between getting my clients what they need while protecting my models images for the short term and the long term. They are all like my children- it sounds corny but it's true. I would not have been doing this for ten years if I didn't think so. There are other things I could be doing....they might even have gotten me a better car! LOL

Ophelia's Place Fashion Show!

This past weekend I had the pleasure of directing our second fashion show for Ophelia's Place called "Revolutionizing the Runway". Every time I have anything to do with this organization I am overwhelmed but the response that I get and how much I am moved by the people I come in contact with. Eating disorders touch millions of people's lives everyday and yet so little is knows. Ophelia's Place's motto and message is "Hope in the midst of a struggle". They are there to help and support people with eating disorders and because they don't charge for their services they need help as well.
The modeling industry has a reputation of perpetuating the problem of eating disorders. I am going to do everything in my power to break that cycle in whatever way I can. I don't tell models to lose weight- and I never have. This is not an industry norm. I know I am one person but I believe that change starts with one person. Even if I am the ONLY person I will still stand proud in my conviction. I am working with OP director Mary Ellen Clausen to start a new self esteem program at OP. We aren't sure what it is yet but I know that this problem won't get solved or even smaller unless people step up and out of what's considered expected and do something radical. That is what the fashion show was about. It's why I am so proud of my models that gave up time for fittings, rehearsals and a whole Sunday to put on an amazing show. I'm even more proud of the people from OP who stepped out of their comfort zones and took a walk on a runway to enlighten people to the struggles of those with eating disorders. We all struggle with something. It is part of who we are. It is how we choose to deal with our struggles that truly shapes us. Philosopher Kahlil Gibran said: "Out of suffering have emerged the strongest of souls, the most massive characters are seared with scars."

http://www.cnycentral.com/news/video.aspx?id=257256

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKPaxD61lwo

TImes they are a changing...

I know it has been a while since I have posted but it has been a strange and busy year for most people including me. The agency is still doing and has felt the pinch of the economy but we are still going strong because we are still holding to our core values of representing our talent with integrity and working with our clients in the same way.

Times like these have everyone struggling to make ends meet and save money. Cutting advertising is one way to make ends meet but most business advisers will tell you that cutting advertising is not the way to do that. You don't want your clients to forget you and look for someone else when times are tough. There are other options for our clients that hurt our industry (like using stock photos) when times get tough which is why it is important for us to continue to stay the course and keep providing good talent and not resort to selling high priced classes and portfolio packages to make up for any lost revenues.
Some companies have had to resort to using stock photography instead of models for their advertising. While I understand that hiring a photographer and a model for an ad does cost more than using a stock photo-It is risky. When you hire a model and photographer there is no risk of seeing the your photo in a competitors ad and you have made something original that reinforces YOUR brand. It is an image that you created for yourself and no one else. I have heard stories of and seen with my own eyes, stock photos that a company purchased and then seen the same photo used again by another company. That is money not well spent and it can jeopardize a brand.

I have always considered myself a cock-eyed optimist (and a hard working one at that) and I will continue to be one through these times. I think that Americans are tough and will weather this storm as we have done in the past. I think that our industry will not only survive but thrive. I am absolutely counting on it.

So you think you want to model?

We have recently been receiving many new submissions which are wonderful but it has prompted me to write about the proper way to send photos to an agent to be considered as a model. These things to vary from city to city so these are mostly my preference but some of my preferences will transcend different zip codes and time zones. (As they can be construed as common sense) While I try not to sound cynical, I hope you can forgive my occasional transgressions. Until you have opened the mail in our office for a month you couldn’t possibly imagine our perspective. Most of these nuggets are founded in actual events but instead of changing names to protect the innocent I have just gone ahead and left them out.

Keep in mind these first few shots you send us are just the preliminary step before we meet you. They don’t have to be professional shots but there are some guidelines.

First: Don’t send photos with sunglasses on. Unless we specifically said we were casting for the Unibomber or Paris Hilton- no photos with sunglasses please. We want to see you and your whole face not just the 2/3's you've decided to show us. Same with hats- do you have a bald spot, widow’s peak? They could work; but we need to know that to make an evaluation.
Another novel thought: SMILE! Forget about what you've seen on TV. If you are sending an agency photos to an agency for consideration (especially mine) I need to know IF YOU HAVE ALL YOUR TEETH. That's right, we take nothing for granted here. If some one sends me six tight lipped photos the first thing I gotta ask myself is "What are they hiding?" Maybe they do have teeth but they are the color of pond water or they have been opening soup cans with them. So send us a nice clear, smiling head shot so we can see what your face looks like. (And for the record; that whole pouty, scary, America’s Next Top Model wannabee look just makes you look silly.)
Next: Please, in the name of all that is sacred, send me photos of yourself WITH clothes on. This agent does not want to see you guys in your "da da dah's" or see Victoria’s Secret, Suzie's Secret, or anybody else's. Send us a full body photo (uh-clothed but not in a parka and mukluks either) wearing what you normally do.
The bottom line is to evaluate you properly we need to see what you REALLY look like in all of your fully clothed glory with all the perfections and imperfections that God gave you. None of us are perfect including those folks in the magazines. If you don't have teeth like Donny Osmond or hair like George Clooney, its OKAY- we just need all that information to make a decision. If you don’t have a perfect body that is okay as well. This market tolerates ALL shapes, ages, ethnicities and sizes and so do we. Our assessment is made based on whether or not we think we can get you work in THIS market. Often we get photos of people who are very attractive but have a look that is better suited to another city like Miami or LA but we don’t necessary think we can get them work here. We get back to everyone and let them know if we think that we can honestly get them work in the upstate NY area. If you are not sure you might as well just send in a photo- it won’t hurt anything and we are always nice. I am only sarcastic when I blog…LOL!

Opinions are like armpits, everyone's got one...or two...

Okay, so this one will probably be mostly funny, but kinda serious, and just a little off my normal course :-).... After an appearance on TV this week someone called the agency office to criticize my top 10 list of "First Impression Faux Pas". (click here to view: Women's & Men's) Now I am not certain WHICH of the top five that I discussed this person took issue with as he was too busy criticizing me personally and that is absolutely his right. I wish he had called when he knew I would be there instead of when he thought I would be at the station taping LIVE. (Everyone is 6'9" and bulletproof when they block their phone number and they know the person they are attacking isn't going to answer the phone :-) ....The call came in 3 minutes after my face went off the air.
First, I was criticized for wearing "pedal pushers" (for those of you under the age of 50, or who haven't purchased your digitally remastered copy of "I love Lucy" on DVD, that is what they used to call any sort of cropped pants) LOL, and a deep cut V neck (apparently I am too old to be wearing this- though he had to demand to know my age from my assistant before making this assertion) Also, a woman shouldn't tell a man how to dress.

Okay, for any other of you out there who may like to know "who the heck I think I am" for putting myself out here, I guess I can tell you: I don't think I am anyone at all. I am just a gal who LOVES fashion and all things beautiful. Oh, and I just happen to be in that business (or those businesses if you want to count my Interior Decorating business). For the record I did go to college for Fashion Merchandising over two and half decades ago (but seriously folks- nothing I learned back then is all that relevant to what I say or do now), I have been a model on and off now for 28 years and I have coordinated dozens of fashion shows for over a decade. I subscribe to countless magazines on fashion and home decor thus keeping current on what's hot and what's not. So style is my thing. People call me and ask me my advise and they tell me I look nice. Outside of that, I am just a regular gal that loves to dress up and put on pretty stuff. :-)
Heidi Klum has project runway, Kathy Ireland and Cindy Crawford have lines of furniture, Daisy Fuentes has a line of clothing, Iman has a line of make up, my friend B. Smith has a line of home decorating goods, furniture, TV show and restaurants, Nikki Taylor has a Fashion Boutique. And who is that other former model that has the magazine, the TV show, books and the mega merchandise lines- oh yeah, Martha Stewart. There are many more, but you get the idea...
There is a lot of cross over when it comes to Beauty, Fashion and Style. These things are often mutually inclusive. It is no accident that some people end up in these fields. It is almost like there is no place else for them and I am just one of those people. So for those of you who like to visit my blog, I am sorry I have neglected it. I will try to do better. For those of you who enjoy watching the TV segments THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.
I am not perfect, I am just a gal who likes pretty things and who likes to share what I know. Truth be told- most of the reason is I am sharing at all is because people ASKED me to! Many, many people have asked me over the years to teach them, give seminars, speak at their schools, on TV etc. I was and still am humbled each and every time that I am asked. While I do think I have something to offer, I do not think I am the be all and the end all of know-it-all's. There are still people that I go to and say: "Do I look stupid in this?"

I will add this: I am never mean spirited- it is not who I am. I can instruct someone on the correct way to do something with out demeaning them. (Seriously, there is plenty I don't know how to do- just ask my accountant!) I will use humor and I will show the correct way but I will not make someone feel small. I was the ugly duckling as a child and the odd one out, It is something you keep with you always no matter how much distance you put between then and where you are, somehow there it still is. I wouldn't change it though- it gives me a certain empathy. I am still an underdog at heart- I just have better teeth, contact lenses, and straighter hair.

I don't respect or admire people who are mean spirited. If someone has a contrary opinion to mine I welcome it, but it in polite society there are ways to make your opinion known without being a bully or being insulting.
Being a model has given me thick skin so I can take a hit or two, there is just a time, a place and a way to do it so that everyone is heard and can respond. If the person who called my office would like to actually talk to me or write to me, I would still love to hear from him or anyone else.... Style and civility are not mutually exclusive ;-)

For the love of Brows…

This is a matter near and dear to my heart. For those of you that are models for my company you have heard me pontificate on this topic. There is a dreadful trend in eyebrows that I see over and over in young girls: Over plucking! Actually: Over, over plucking. I don’t know why they are doing it. It looks terrible on everyone. It makes even pretty girls look awful.

Who started this trend? Where else is it seen? In what city or even remote island? On what celebrity or on what model? (Okay- sure I love Whoopie too- but do you really want to look like her?) Someone PLEASE TELL ME lest I go mad! The only thing worse is when they pair this heinous look with snowy white eye shadow and sharp laser thin black eyeliner inside their bottom lid. This look is infiltrating the mainstream at an alarming rate. Oh, the tragedy! Coco Channel and Kevyn Aucoin must be spinning in their graves. If only I had their crow footless eyes and elastic skin- you wouldn’t catch this wrinkly lady squandering those gifts with this incongruous look. No way Sharpe. It is the tale of the Emperor’s new clothes for the 21st century gone mad.

I am truly confounded by the notion of having access to the correct way to do something and NOT doing it that way especially when the correct way costs no more than the incorrect way of doing it and it takes waaaay less time. Furthermore the correct way makes everyone look better, it's less painful, lower maintenance, and doesn’t scare small children. (Why do you think so many people have an aversion to clowns- think about it- it’s probably a brow thing too.)

Do you see where I am having a hard time getting my cerebrum around all of this? I see pretty young girls with lovely brows one day and then a few months later I bump into them and it’s like they have had a run in with a one-eyed waxer. (I think: “Is there a big casting for space aliens going on and I missed the memo?”) Nope- they have just succumbed to “The Look”. Well here’s a new memo: “The look” is wrong. “The look” is ghastly. “The look” is a malevolent force working its way through the halls of schools, malls and office buildings all across the country. “The Look” must be stopped.

I have racked my brain to come up with an appropriate metaphor for this whole scary thing, and I think I have done it: It is like going to the Doctor and saying: “Doctor- I feel great- but everyone around me is sick- could you please make me sick?”

Now girls, if you continue with this trend you may find that my cautionary tale has come too late and you will not be able to grow your eyebrows back. (It’s kind of like when your mom used to tell you: “If you don’t stop making that funny face- it may freeze that way and you’ll be sorry.” But this time it’s true! Your face (or at least a little part of it WILL stay that way- and you really WILL be sorry.)

Okay- Still don’t believe me? Here is my challenge: Pick up a magazine- any magazine and find a photo of someone whose eyebrows match yours. If you can find 4 people whose brows look like yours you are right on track. (These photos can not come from The Most Wanted poster at the post office, a police photo array, or the “Don’t” Section in the back of any of the fashion magazines.) If you can’t then you probably need to rethink your brows- but don’t despair there is lots of help in the links below!

For more information on eyebrows check out my eyebrow segment on the April 9th episode of Bridge Street with Rick and Julie on WIXT Newschannel 9 (watch the video now at: http://www.9wsyr.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoId=195859 ) and you only need to wax once a month or so- not once a week- I misspoke :-)

http://www.oprah.com/health/beauty/health_beauty_brows.jhtml http://www.secondcitystyle.com/node/400
http://www.cosmeticscop.com/learn/article.asp?pagetype=ART&id=44

Model Searches...and other scary stories.

Well, I have put this one off for a long time....and guess what? I am going to put it off for a little while longer! I am doing this because I would love to hear some of your experiences with model searches before I launch into my diatribe. Everytime a model search comes to town our phone rings with questions about model searches. I can't tell you how many phone calls I have fielded over the years from concerned mothers whose daughters desperately want to go to these things. Put up your questions and I will try to answer them to the best of my abilities.
I will create an official post on this topic as soon as I can (I am behind the eight ball lately) and this one will take a while :-)
-ams