Jan 08 2009
Toddler Modeling
Since my son was about 6months old I’ve thought he was a very beautiful little boy. I know that most every parent thinks that their child is just the most beautiful. Well, I decided to try and see if I could get him into baby/toddler modeling. They need kids for catalogs, comercials, and print ads for items like Little Tykes, Fisher Price, etc. I contacted a local Agency and was told what they would need. I sent it in and waited and waited and waited. My son turned 2 on January 6th and we finally got the call, they wanted us to take him to a photo shoot the next day at 9:30 am. I said sure, signed the 3 month contract and got the details that I needed. I had to drive to Cleveland which was about 1-1/2 hour drive for us, and I needed to bring as many clothing options as possible so they could pick what he was to wear. We drove up this morning and we did the photo shoot for Little Tykes, but it didn’t go as well as I had dreamed about. I guess when you are relying on a child to do just what you want when you want it, you are going to get let down. I talked with one of the other moms who was there and to my husband and the agency after all was said and done - and we had no good shots. Kids are unpredictable and that is why they scheduled so many children for the same shot - my son had great facial expressions and they loved what he was doing, but they just couldn’t get the right shot since he was supposed to sit inside the toy car and lean towards the camera, all while holding the door slightly open and holding the steering wheel pretending to drive. He is too young to understand what they want him to do and why. They told me that maybe we should try again when he is just a bit older. The child before my son wouldn’t smile and that session didn’t go well either. It was nice to get the call, and we did get paid for our time ($70/hour) so that and the fact that we did get the experience made it all worth it. Hopefully we will get another shot before our contract is up - in March. In the mean time I am going to get more shots off to the agency so they can market him fully and try to get my son more comfortable around the camera again. It really is a fun thing to get into if you have a child who likes to have his/her photo taken, and as long as you don’t allow the competition to get the better of you or your child. My sister-in-laws niece is doing really well - she started out the same way…eventually going into comercials, then into soap-operas and now into prime-time tv show (Dirty Sexy Money - see Kiki George). She now makes a very large sum of money and is schooled on set. I don’t believe either her mom or dad work outside the home any more but instead work as her managers. I don’t think it is the right life for us, but it can happen if the child enjoys the work and is talented enough. In the case of Darcy Rose, she loves the work and when offered to quit and go back to being a ‘normal’ kid, she chooses to stay in the acting for now.
