If you have cute and/or talented kids you could make a lot off of them. Every time you look in the newspaper, company catalogs, store flyers, or magazines you see pictures of amazingly cute kids. They are somebody’s child and the current one grows up so there has to be a new cycle of kids to replace the old ones.

Getting your kids in pictures is a great way to make money. It sounds horrible if you think about it too much but with balance and ethics you can maneuver through the system. Both you and your child can come through unscathed provided you don’t get greedy or overly ambitious for them to succeed. Keeping things in perspective is very important.

I toyed with the idea of putting my daughter in front of the camera. She was always smiling, friendly, unspoiled and best of all she was a ham. She loved the camera and it loved her back. I didn’t pursue it because I didn’t live close enough to a big city agency. Actually there was one about two hours away but I thought I couldn’t invest in the time, gas, and time off work to commit to it.

What I’ve learned since that time I’ve learned a few things about getting your baby in pictures. The first thing is to never pay an agency any money to get work for you. A legitimate agency will pay you and expect nothing by your child’s smiling face. The only expense you may have is the initial photos you send in for review. Even then you can take the pictures yourself if you are handy with the camera.

The next thing is to consider your child’s temperament. Can they handle the stress of being around so many strangers? Can they handle being away from you for a time? Are they polite or hellions? There is nothing worse than dealing with a spoiled child and the agency can and will easily drop you from their list. A well-mannered and all around good natured child is easy to work with.

Here is a quote from Kiddin Around Model in Atlanta about what they are looking for:
“Just because your child is cute, does not mean they take direction well, have a good attention span, work well with strangers, have an outgoing personality and truly would like to be a model. These are essentials when we evaluate a child. Also, of utmost importance, parent(s) must be professional, able to follow directions well and in general easy to get along with.
The Atlanta and Birmingham offices will only accept submissions from hopefuls who live within a two (2) hour drive from either location. The industry gives very short notice, usually 12 to 24 hours, and children who travel long distances are usually tired and do not make good models. Also, there is an abundance of children to choose from in these cities. If you live outside our required area, check with agencies in your area.”
This gives you a realistic idea of what most agencies look for when working with their clients.

Lastly, you should be within an hour’s drive or commute to the local office. Your child may be called at the last minute to do a shoot and you have to be readily available. Being in close proximity will take the stress off of you and your child for short or long notices.

The compensation for being a child model is very good. Your child could earn anywhere from $75-$125 an hour. This is a nice chunk of change to get started on a college fund. You would have to establish a trust account for them and get legal and accounting advice to make sure that all the details are covered. Since you will be managing your child’s career you will be able to take a small percentage of the earnings for living expenses.

So what do you do now? Look in the phone book or Google a talent and modeling agency near you. Find out how to submit an application and pictures of your little star. You may want to do a little more research about this topic and get as much information as possible. You never want to go in blindly, but be very informed so that you and your child’s interests will always be protected.

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