Ever gazed lovingly at your little one’s angelic face and thought "She’s so
cute, she could be a model!"?
And what could be easier than turning up to a shoot, letting your tot beam at the camera, then going home with some dosh for her bank account and lovely pictures
for the album. Simple, right? Think again!
Baby modelling is a serious business.
Getting started
Amanda Johns, founder of modelling agency Grace and Galor says: “Mums need to send in photos first of all – as clear as possible, with your baby’s face filling the frame and nothing blocking the shot, so no hats. We also need to know your baby’s age and length. Then we take a look at them and call in the ones we’d like to see. Once they come in to our office, we get to meet them, see the baby and get an idea of the baby’s temperament.”
Being well behaved is vital – the most gorgeous baby may not get work if he or she can’t sit still in front of a camera. “Meeting the mum is important, too,” says Amanda. “Mums need to be patient and must be able to enjoy
the experience, that’s key. It’s not the baby’s
career, this is meant to be fun!”
That model look
“Agencies look for babies that’ll meet their clients needs,” explains Charlotte Evans, who runs Elizabeth Smith agency. “Clients – magazines, clothing companies and so on – will have an idea of the kind of look they’re after, and we need to then come up with possible babies for them,” she says.
“It’s lovely to go through the process of
a picture coming in on email, to meeting the mum and baby, to seeing their picture in an advert or on the cover of a magazine like Practical Parenting & Pregnancy,” adds Charlotte. “That’s when it’s satisfying, to think we’ve got a casting right.”
Getting the job
Agencies can see up to 30 babies a day, says Charlotte. “Of the 25 to 30 daily appointments I have, I say ‘Yes’ to around 5 per cent,” she reveals. “Of that 5 per cent, only couple of mums will take it up.”
Once an offer’s been made to go on the books, a mum will be run through an agency’s terms and conditions. Then it’s off to castings, where mums and babies go to meet the person hiring the models to see if they’re suitable for the shoot or campaign. If your baby’s picked at a casting for a shoot, you’ll be given a call time – when you need to be at a studio, usually in central London.
“Bear in mind that being at the shoot not only means commuting to town with a buggy, but getting across London, too,” advises Charlotte. “It can be tough for the mum, and when you arrive you’ll need to be patient as they might
not be able to use you straight away, for example, if they’re still waiting for clothes to arrive, or another baby’s delayed things by crying or needing a feed.”
The payment
How much you’ll get paid depends on each client. “Most pay between £50 and £60 per hour,” explains Amanda Johns. “Castings usually pay around £18.” Agencies take fees from the hourly rate before the cash comes to the baby, or more realistically, the mum.
Think your baby could cut it? Then enter him or her into our competition to become the new cover star of Practical Parenting & Pregnancy.
