Do You Have Any Advice on How to Get My Daughter into Modeling

I think it is great if you are not pushing her and if she does not like it you won't persue it.

I have modeled most of my life and it is a JOB. You have to be able to handle rejection, especially as a youngster/teen and parent. You are not the right fit for every call so accept that now.

Also, the auditions are brutal. You are expected to be there when you are called, meaning drop what you are doing, get your attitude in gear and go.

Don't spend money on portfolios. All agents need are a couple of snapshots. If they are interested, THEY CALL YOU.

Now, you will spend money if you go on auditions for wear and tear on car, gas, your time, etc.

I don't know agents in your area but in the Dallas area, Kim Dawson and the Campbell agency are good ones.

Be very wary....watch who you talk to. It is very easy to get scammed in this industry because parenta are thinking emptionally about their children and not being realistic. DON'T PAY ANYONE $$.

Go to fordmodels.com and upload pictures of your daughter. They do not need to be professional photos. I have a friend who is an artists rep fro musicians and he gets emails all the time from Ford Models looking for child models.

You've gotten a lot of great advice! I have a nephew who modeled and what the others are saying is spot on.
Stay away from so called modeling "schools" and "classes" they are a total rip off. All the agents need to see are a few photos which you can easily do yourself. Do NOT spend any money. If it costs you money it is NOT legitimate.
I had an unfortunate experience last summer when I was with my kids in Target and this "agent" came up to us and said, "oh your kids are so beautiful, we're having auditions tomorrow for our agency, we get kids jobs in commercials and on Disney, etc." She gave me a card and of course my little girl was beside herself with excitement, and I had the unpleasant job of explaining to her that it's just people trying to make money off of naive parents and children. Sad :(

Some of my cousins used to model, so this info is a bout 20 years old:

Once you have the professional book, you need to be close to where the cattle calls (castings) are, or be able to travel. Agencies will drop her if she can't make the appointments, and there are LOTS, sometimes several a day, when you're trying to land your first jobs. This is where living in major cities where the shoots and castings for things are done is handy.

Don't let anyone scam you into paying for anything, classes etc, just pay photographers for their shoots. Yes, your own photos can get her into the agency (or not, don't pay for shoots up front to approach agency, just show her in a good enough light, they'll know if she could model by that), but if they take her, or say they might, the agency will tell you to pay for professional photos after that. If they are interest in her, they will give her a list of photographers. If she is so drop dead knock out gorgeous that she was scouted waiting tables in the boonies, the agency might pay for the shoots. But if you're approaching them, like most people, you'll most likely have to pay for the shoots to make a book worthy of going to their job appointments, so don't be discouraged. Once she gets a few jobs, she can use those photos and her book will grow from there without you paying.

Depending on where you live, the travel can get pretty expensive to get to castings. Now, this was before everything was done on the internet, not sure if agencies book jobs from emailing photos alone now, but if so, there is even more competition, so I'm sure there will still be in person castings involved.

Tips: Usually the casting people are looking for a very specific type for their job, which is why tons of appointments end in disappointment at first. There is nothing you can do to sway them if she's blond and they want a brunette (hopefully the agency is good at screening, or the casting people have weeded through emailed images already and narrowed it down), but it really will help in the beginning for your daughter to be professional, well groomed, confident, good at walking, great posture, and nice. Sure, once she's "in demand" she can be a raving, slouching b__tch and show up hungover with zits to jobs, but in the beginning her impression in person matters when no one knows her pictures yet. They do care if she seems dynamic and nice to work with if another girl there for the job who is "similar and just as pretty" seems more annoying.

Don't lie on her stats! Don't say she's 5'11 and 84 pounds if she's a normal healthy size thinking she could quickly dump 10 pounds if she gets hired. The casting will dump her when they meet her. But she may get the job for the healthy catalog shoot instead of the runway show with her real stats. Honesty pays.

Also, keep the first photos simple and natural. Elaborate styling cold work against her.

You can take your own photos shoot - - to start they do not have to be stellar quality, just showing her personality in a variety of clothes and poses. Make sure most of her smiles are showing teeth.

You'll need at least 2 options of each category:
Sporty (shorts and tank top (preferred), cheerleading uniform)
Dressy (dress - have photos of one very dressy holiday dress and one more casual dress)
Bathing Suit - ONE PIECE, no bikinis. Try to stick with mainly solids, not a lot of patterns, and bright colors.
Casual - jeans and a pretty shirt

Also use different hairstyles. If she's under 10 y/o - do pigtails with sporty, hair down with dressy, a thick braid or two braids with casual and side ponytail with bathing suit.

Don't spend any money. Take some photos at home - one close up and one full-length to show her height. If she's got what the agencies are looking for, that is ALL it takes to get her started. Call the local agents to be sure what info they need, but typically they want you to send the photos with her name, birthdate, height, dress size, shoe size, and phone number written on the back.

How old is your daughter? Some things are different for child models than teens and older.

There is very little money to be made for the vast majority of people in modeling. The only real business any more is in LA and New York. The competition is fierce. If she's and older teen and if she's shorter than 5'9" or taller than 6' and more than a size 4 (max!) don't even try. The other big thing in modeling is the "ethnic" looking girls. If she looks "girl next door" with no unusual features, her chances are slimmer.

If the agents are interested, they will expect her to show up for auditions at short notice and wait around at someone else's convenience. The rejections are harsh with no thought to the feelings of a young person.

Make sure that when hair/make up is done that it is kept simple and natural ... same with the clothes, they mostly look at pictures where the girls are in jeans & tshirt or nice tank. Nothing revealing, they want to see the natural potential, blank canvas not someone else's idea of how to style her. Get an agent that has a good reputation on all angles and start classes, they are helpful in the fine tuning.