My Modeling Story With Agencies (Part 3)

Welcome back, everyone, to a new fashion adventure in the modeling world! It’s finally time to share part three of my modeling story with agencies.

Before we continue, I’m linking the first two parts of my jouney right down below, especially if you haven’t read them yet and want to catch up! 🙂

Where we left off…

In Part Two of my story with agencies, I left off by saying that I found the top booking agency of my dreams, although in this article, I’ll also shed light on another side of the agency that wanted me so much.

My Very First Booking Agency

My emotions…

I was literally over the moon when they warmly told me that they wanted me. For me, it was truly a dream come true. I had worked so hard for it, and finally, it happened!! I could barely feel my body because of how excited I was when they handed me the contract! For days, I would jump for joy because of how happy and proud I was. 🙂

Signing the contract…

I have to say, I felt so proud to bring my mom to a top agency to sign the contract. While we were there, two of the bookers also told me: “You’ll need a lot of determination for this job,” and “There is a lot of competition in this world.” I didn’t let their words get me down, as I already knew that, plus, I had already come this far—I couldn’t stop now! The bookers were professional while they answered our questions, and all that remained now was to start!

Building The Portfolio: Test Shoots…

I started almost immediately; they sent me to various photographers in town. Sometimes there were also stylists and makeup artists at the shoots. I had a lot of energy and had a lot of fun working with the different kinds of photographers the agency sent me to. I was so happy when I saw the results of the many shoots.

Red Flags and Unprofessional Behavior

I continued like this for several months, although by the end of the year, I started to wonder whether it was time to go to castings. I understood fully that the process would take a while, but as time went on, I didn’t get any answers from them. I didn’t ask because I felt I was imposing in a way. At the end, I had only gone to only two castings before I cut ties with the agency.

Another issue I found unprofessional on the part of my bookers was that they sent me to shoots that, in the end, were not good at all for my portfolio. The photos were completely unmarketable and unusual—definitely not something a client would look for. I suspect they realized it too, but didn’t have the courage to tell me.

Bad communication was an additional problem that led to me cutting ties with the agency. At first, it was normal, but as time went by, I barely heard from them. There were many times when I wanted to ask the bookers what my situation was, when I would go to castings, or if any clients were interested in me, but I was scared they would just ignore me or become irritated. So, I ended up just waiting, until one day I got an email that said: “You’re no longer part of our agency,” without any kind of explanation—so unprofessional!!

Growing and Learning

The experience with this agency taught me many lessons, such as how crucial communication is in any kind of environment. Another lesson is to never be afraid to ask questions when you have them. In my case, I had the right to know how my modeling career was proceeding with and not be too shy to wait for a ‘call’ from them. It’s also about daring to speak up when you don’t like something. In the end, I realized it was about telling the bookers how superficial and disrespectful they had been with me. They should have told me I was not the right model for their agency.

Some reflections…

It’s true, I was amazed to end up in one of the best modeling agencies in Milan, and I was prepared to fall as many times as it would take to then slowly thrive in the modeling market. But it’s also true, I had no idea whether I would succeed with this specific agency.

Ending with a bit of motivation…

With that said, even if you fall and scratch your knee on your journey, there will be new— and hopefully better—opportunities waiting for you along the way. 🙂 Don’t give up, even when you have fallen one too many times! I kept going and didn’t give up… See you in Part Four! 😉

“Fall hard, fall forward; at some point you will rise!” 🙂

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