Agencies — The Pros and Cons

In all my years as a fitness model, I’ve only had a handful of jobs come my way through a talent agency. This is mainly due to the fact that I had already made the necessary connections to begin with, in order to get work directly on my own. I met with several of the top freelance photographers when I didn’t have an agent representing me, and I was able to get my face and abs on the desks of art directors at major fitness magazines around the country without the services of an agent.

Now, I’m not suggesting that agencies are a bad idea, but it’s my opinion that they’re reactive rather than proactive. I’ve told you several times that you must be proactive in order to land the gigs. Let me explain. Many agencies will only know of work when a fax comes through with a description of a job that needs booking. After that, the agency will go through their list of people who “fit the description” and send in all of the headshots. From those head shots, the magazine or photographer will pick a handful of people they want to see, and then they’ll pick the person they need from the people who come in for the “go-see.”

My approach has been, and always will be, this: I contact photographers personally and let them know that I’m ready, willing, and able to shoot. When they need me, I’ll get a call and we’re off to the races. It’s a lot easier for them, because they don’t have to take the time and effort to go through an agency.

Now, you may be asking yourself, how do I get the names and numbers of all these photographers? Easy…buy my book; almost all of the great fitness photographers are listed, with names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses.

In regards to the model/agent relationship, this is how it has worked best for me. I like having an agent, because they can find out about jobs that I can’t on my own. But I’m completely honest with my agency, and they know that I’m very active promoting myself. We’ve agreed that anything I book on my own will not be run through the agency. On the other hand, if I do book a job through an agent and that same company wants to hire me again, I won’t go around my agency. I’ll run all those jobs through the agency because they originally made the contact for me.

For your sake, and for the sake of your relationship with your agent, be honest and never try to cheat them, but also make sure you both understand that you’ll be doing stuff on your own.

There are more magazines coming out all of the time and they need fresh faces, so be sure to get my book, You Too Can Be a Fitness Model. Also get my new DVD, The Making of an Ironman Cover, where I give you a behind the scenes look at how covers are made.