Page 33 – The Actor Career Center

Actors and models have to be very careful how they deal with their agent. We want them to like and respect our work, and to always have us in mind for future projects. There are many ways to keep them thinking of us.

Staying in touch you’re your agent is one of the most important ways to always have them thinking of you. Make sure you know exactly how the agent wants you stay in touch with him/her and always follow their requests. I like to send an email to an agent after being sent to an audition, go-see or after a booking. I thank them for thinking of me. With all of the talent they work with, I know that they appreciate being thanked.

What gets to be a little tricky is how much we thank agents. Sending them a nice note is one thing, BUT giving them expensive presents is something else. I have heard stories of talent giving agents a large gift certificate to a particular store or restaurant after a booking. To me, that is taking things a little over the line.

Agents like to be thanked and appreciated, but once the present becomes too large, it begins to feel like a bribe or kick back. If the agent feels like they are being given more then they deserve, it will make them uncomfortable. This could prevent the agent from wanting to submit you for future projects.

I recently had a photo shoot on a Sunday morning. That was and is very unusual. The shoot was with a photographer I have worked with a number of times, and I thought it would be a nice gesture to bring bagels and cream cheese to the studio. To me, this was simply a nice way of saying thanks for casting me, and since it is a relaxed weekend shoot, let’s really enjoy ourselves for a few minutes at the table. I know it was really appreciated, and we got a chance to talk about the project and other things as well.

The only time I actually gave a present to an agent was after getting booked for a modeling job that was shot in Hawaii. It was cast in New York, and I was flown to Oahu for a few days. I brought a little present back to give to the agent for submitting me for the job.

So please keep in mind that there is a big difference between just being a kind, friendly, and thoughtful person showing appreciation AND giving something to an agent that could be misconstrued as a bribe. This is just one many important “unwritten rules” on how you are supposed to deal with agents.

Many people will tell you that the only time you pay your agent is after getting a booking. We have always been told that paying any other fees to an agent is not how legitimate agents run their business. That is NOT ALWAYS TRUE. The one exception to the rule is if you decide to have your photos and possibly you acting and or voice over reel on their web site. Then we, the talent will pay for that service.

Having cleared that up, now I want to share with you a negotiation I recently had with an agent around her web site fee. This does not always work, but is worth a try. I have been with this particular agency for many years. I use to book a lot of jobs with the agent. For a variety of reasons, some of which I don’t quite understand, I have not booked a job with her for at least 3-4 years. I looked at her web site recently and noticed that the 3 photos I had on the site were not my latest or strongest photos. Perhaps this was one of the reasons for the lack of work. So, I contacted the agent, told her that I wanted to update the photos. I was informed that there is a fee to upload every new photo. I had mixed feelings about paying for uploading the photos. On one hand, I think that adding the new photos will give me my best chance for getting a booking. On the other hand, I have not gotten anything with this agent for so many years, and I was not sure if the lack of work was due to the photos.

So, I decided to negotiate. I mentioned to her that since it has been so long since we last worked together, I asked that she upload the new shots and deduct the uploading fee from my first booking. She said OK to this request.

Sometimes this negotiation works, and sometimes it does not, but it is certainly worth asking. I figured the worst she could say was no, and then I would have to decide if it was worth the investment.

So, whenever you are not sure about something, you can always try asking. I made sure that I never blamed the agent for my lack of bookings with her. I just stated facts, and made sure the request was done in a respectful way.

I will have to let you know if the new photos brings in more work with this agent in the future.

In the world of fashion modeling, sometimes, if the agent really believes that the model will work a lot, they will pay for the model’s photos. However, that is not a gift from the agent. Typically, the model will pay the agent back once he or she begins booking jobs and earning money.

In the Commercial Modeling industry, I have never heard of an agent paying for their model’s photos. Even though agents do make their living by submitting models for jobs, negotiating for them, and then taking a 20% commission fee from the booking, still, it is the model’s responsibility to pay for their photos.

The agent should be willing to help guide the model and help him or her decide on what types of photos will help sell the model. It will also be very helpful if the agent would recommend a few photographers in the area whose work they like. But in today’s market, it, is less and less common for the agent to sit down with a model and help them create a full portfolio. Most agents will simply ask the model to email a few jpgs of the new photos and then they will pick the ones they like the best, and place it on their web site.

So, as you are getting ready to have your photos taken, make sure you save up some money and be prepared to pay for all of your new photos. If you would like help in learning how to create the right photos for you, email me. I have helped many models figure out the best shots for them with my private online coaching sessions.

Let me know how you figured out which shots were best for you. Leave a comment below.

Let me know your thoughts. Add a new comment.

Recently, I got information sent to me about a pretty amazing go-see in New York. Not that the product was all that interesting, but whoever books the job will be flown fromNew York to Los Angeles and shoot a print ad for a day or two. Plus, the pay could easily more than $10,000 if the client decides to also cast the model in the television commercial.

Everyone was sent information stating very exactly what type of wardrobe to wear to the go-see. We were asked to wear a shirt tie and slacks. I specifically asked the agent that since we were supposed to be a business person, should I consider wearing a suit or only wear what was described to me in her email. She double checked with the photographer and she said to just follow the instructions. I was pretty surprised to see so many people wearing suits at the go-see.

The other very important detail that we needed to follow was that for this particular job, the model had to be at least 30 years old. We were told to bring some form of identification that would verify that we were at least that age. I got to the casting facility and had to wait in line before I could fill out the normal forms. Just so you know, typically, at a go-see models have to fill out a card that will ask us to fill in our name, sizes, contact information, agency, their contact information, any conflicts with the product, state whether we are willing to work as an extra (if they are needed in the ad) and a few other pieces of information. Sometimes we are also asked to write out our name on a separate sheet of paper with a magic marker. This is done so when we first see the photographer; he/she will take a picture of the model holding the sheet of paper against our chest. This allows the photographer and the client to easily identify who we are. Because of the pay scale for this project, there were a lot of people attending this go-see.

I had to wait over an hour to be seen. So, I am standing in line, and the person who is checking us in is telling one of the models that he can’t be considered for the job. The conversation is getting a little loud so I could easily hear everything that was being said. Apparently, the person checking in the models asked this one model for his driver’s license so that she could verify that he was over 30 years old. The guy did not bring is license. She asked if he brought a passport or some other form of identification that would prove that he was over 30. He did not think it was necessary. She asked him if he had read about needing the documentation in the details that were sent to him from the agent. He said he did, but did not pay attention to it since he was over 30. The windup was, he was not seen or considered for the job.

So, the moral to this story is, if an agent asks you to bring something to a casting, even if you don’t really think it is needed, bring it. Wish me luck on the go-see. It would be a pretty fun job.

Let me know your thoughts. Add a new comment.

An actor who also gets commercial modeling work contacted me and wanted to if it would be a good idea for him to purchase a toupee. He has very short hair and is a beginning to lose his hair on top.

He thought it might be helpful to him to purchase a toupee in order to offer a different look, be able to easily audition for parts where the characters need a full head of hair.

I told him that I believe that the best thing to do is to invest in a great toupee. It can be very helpful to show the casting director or photographer different looks. The wider variety of looks you offer, the greater the chances are that you will book more jobs.

I would always bring the toupee with you to auditions and jobs in case they want to see you with hair.

Let me know if you have any additional thoughts about owning a wig or toupee.
You can leave your comment below.

I just received a call from a great photographer asking me if I wanted to do a shoot. He was offering me $600. That is a good amount of money to make in one day. And, the other part that was great, was that it would have been in a hospital setting with me as a doctor. Since I get booked as a doctor, I can never have too many great doctor shots. So, why in the world would I turn this down?

This was not an ad. Instead, it was a stock shot. This is where photographers create an incredible photo that looks like an ad, and then they try and rent it to ad agencies. It is always cheaper for an ad agency to rent an existing stock shot, then to hire a photographer, makeup artist, model, stylist and create a new ad.

There are many professional models who do stock photography. The good part, is that even though you will get paid a lot less for stock work (in NY you can expect up to $250/hour for an ad as opposed to $75/hour for stock work), the model gets an incredible photo that can be used on a comp card, or an agents web site.

The only problem with doing stock work is that you have to sign a release giving the photographer permission to use your image for any type of ad. You have no idea if your image will be a part of an ad campaign you are not comfortable supporting or being a part of. That is why I do not do any stock work anymore.

The other problem with doing stock photography is that If I accepted this job, and my image is used for let’s say a pharmaceutical ad for high blood pressure, I would not be told or know how, where or for whom the shot was used. Not knowing where and how my image is being used could cause some incredible problems for me in the future. Quite often with pharmaceutical jobs, models are asked if they have any conflicts running. If I did a stock shot, I would have no idea if I have there are any ads running that would be considered a conflict.
In the worst case scenario, and I did the new pharmaceutical job, and later, they find my stock shot running for a competing product, there could be some nasty legal ramifications.

So, as much as I wanted to work with this photographer, get some great shots, I did not think it would be a smart business decision.

Let me know your thoughts. Add a new comment below.

I recently received an email from Dan in Oregon. He had a really good question that dealt with his new head shot. Dan said that he really likes the way he looks with
a beard, and that a lot of people have said the same thing to him. He wanted to know if he should keep his beard while doing a new head shot.

I sent Dan a note saying that I thought that there would be a lot more work available to him if he is clean shaven. However, if he really likes his beard, and wants to keep it,
maybe he could have one shot done with his beard, and place that head shot on the back right hand corner of his resume. That will allow people to also see
what he looks like with a beard. And, he could have a clean shaven head shot taken, and use that photo as his main head shot. This will allow people to see what he looks like both ways.

Let me know your thoughts about showing a few looks in your head shot. Add a new comment below.

While I was heading to an audition for a feature film, I got a phone call about an audition for a TV series. I was familiar with the show, so I knew about the type of show it is, but I still needed to ask a very important question. I asked the agent what type of role would this be.

The agent told me that I would be auditioning for a dad who was a blue collar worker. I was pretty surprised. The dad part I got. I can do that role really well. However, I really don’t have the look for a construction worker, plumber, electrician or other types in that category. Since I had never spoken to this particular agent at this agency, I wanted to make sure she called the right person. I mentioned to her that is really not a part I normally audition for, so is she sure this audition is for me. She said that the owner of the agency specifically requested me for this audition.

After I got the date and time and hung up the phone, I remembered an amazing experience I had years ago that was similar to this situation. I was asked to audition for a film where 10 construction workers were needed. I was shocked that I got the call. Throughout my career, I never was thought of as the construction worker type. I went to the audition, liked my read, but I knew that I would never get cast. All of the other actors auditioning that day looked like construction workers.

A few days later, I got a phone call that really surprised me. I booked the role. After we finished the project, I had a comfortable enough relationship with the director to ask him this question. I asked him “how did I book this role?” He gave me an answer that I have never forgotten. He said that prior to working on the project he visited a lot of construction sites. He said that at every site, there was always one guy working there who looked like he did not belong there. I was that guy.

So, I booked the job because I did not look right for the part. It was an invaluable lesson for me. If you are asked to read for a role, even if you don’t think it is right for you, accept the audition. Now, it is different if it is a role you don’t want to do, but just because you don’t think it is right for you, you should still attend.

I have also heard plenty of times that actors are brought into a reading and have them audition for a role the director is not even considering them for, but he or she just wants to watch their work. They could be thinking of a specific role for an actor at some point in the future and simply want to see you audition.

So, even though I don’t think I am right for the audition I have coming up in a few days, I am very excited about getting the opportunity to read for the casting director and be seen by the director. I have auditioned for this particular show about 5 times already. I have gotten close to being cast, but wouldn’t it be funny if the time that I am finally booked is for a role that does not seem right for me.

Let me know if you ever experienced auditioning for the wrong part. Leave a comment below.

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