Finding An Agency in London

Prepping for Agencies London

I spent about 3 weeks in #London

visiting #modeling

agencies and reaching out to photographers to upgrade my book. Going to London I had no appointments lined up so I went on models.com to get a list of agencies that don’t require appointments to be seen. I went through each agency paying attention to the type of girls they have on their board and seeing if I would be a good fit.

Know Yourself & Know The Agency

When looking at agencies you want to determine whether they are editorial or commercial driven.

Agencies that focus more on #editorial models are looking for models 5'10 and up and measurements are very strict. #Commercial agencies are more flexible with height requirements and weight. Being that I’m able to do both but have a strong commercial book I was looking for agencies that focus on both. In my first week I was able to visit about 3-4 agencies per day.

Getting around London

I was staying in #Brixton, South London. Which is about 30 mins on the #Underground to the city of London. I was able to take the bus for about 10mins to Brixton station. Then, I took the underground 15mins to Covent Garden and from there most of the agencies were walking distance. Public transportation in London is very similar to New York City. Every bus was on time and the subway is very efficient and organized. If you have baggage be sure to look for the “lift” aka elevator to take you up to ground levels.

Open Calls VS Appointments

An open call is when agencies set aside an hour or two to see aspiring models without having appointments.

Most #opencalls only last one hour, therefore the agents are hoping to find a model that fits what they are looking for during that season. When attending an open call and if they are not interested you may hear excuses like, “You’re a little too short for us”, “You’re too commercial”, “Not the right fit for us”, “We have someone that looks like you and don’t want to compete because of similarities.” It’s important to remember that these excuses are bullshit and they should not hold you back at all. I’ve heard the commercial thing over and over until I started to shoot more editorial styles and then people were able to see me differently.

Lesson: Present yourself how you want to be seen.

So basically with an open call you walk in with no one knowing your name with no reference hoping that everyone loves you and your look is perfect. Goodluck with that.

Appointments are taken a bit more seriously because someone in the industry is advocating for you. My #mother agency at Dollhouse Management was able to set up appointments my 2nd week in London. A few of these appointments were with agencies that I attended open calls with the previous week. So it was interesting to see the difference in treatment and trust me there was a huge difference.

So what the mother agency does is send out your portfolio to agencies that would be a good fit for you but most importantly agencies that they have a good relationship with.

Appointments give you more time with the agents and they often give you feedback and take you further under consideration.

As models we all go through the same challenges with agencies, clients and money. Let's continue to support each other with positivity and kindness. Good luck to you all!

Are you looking for an #agency in London?

Feel free to comment below with any tips and tricks ;)

Best Wishes,

Yvonne