Cute Baby

Modeling -- even for babies -- is really tough work. Especially for the mama. My friend had people telling her all the time her kids were adorable, so she did make an effort to get them into modeling/commercials. She wasted weeks and months sitting in lines with them for auditions that mostly were rejections for her kids. She did get them in a couple local commercials and some catalogs, but says now that it was a waste. While the rest of us were enjoying our kids in playgroups and at the park or museums, plays, etc., she was sitting in some dingy hallway eating lunch out of a backpack while her kids waited their turn for an audition.

Turns out lots of kids are adorable. Go figure.

Best piece of advice I can offer.....don't do it. Please don't morph into a stage-mom. Your adorable child deserves better than that.

BTW, we ALL get compliments about how cute our babies are (they're all pretty much the same general shape after all), and we all think about this at least once. Most though choose not to pursue it because they're only little once and you should enjoy them while they are instead of putting them to work. Also, a lot of moms don't want their babies to grow into toddlers that judge their self-worth based on how "cute" they are and/or other physical attributes.

Just my opinion though.

Enjoy her cuteness to the fullest-one day before you know it, she'll be a toddler-cute, but scary, and then an awkward adolescent, and then, God forbid, a teenager, and you might end up wishing that you had monopolized upon enjoying her cuteness, rather that putting the pressure on you both with photo portfolios, agencies, auditions, etc. and missing out on the joy and cuteness that you already have while trying to show it to the rest of the world.

Just enjoy your baby and let her grow up.

If anyone asks you for money, RUN. You do not spend money to model, if they like you, they will sign you and then the agency gets a portion of the money.

I have modeled most of my life. It is WORK. Why put your baby to WORK for you? IF you do get her into modeling at the very least.........put any money she earns into an account for HER.

That said, modeling is a job, not an easy job. You go on many auditions, you get a lot of rejection...Can you handle rejection well? Are you ready for your little one to be rejected? For every good gig you get, you go on a lot of auditions and get rejected, no matter how cute you are.

The clients have a certain "look" they are searching for. You won't always have it. Also, you go to auditions when asked which means it may be very inconvenient, during fussy naptime, etc.

My 15 yr old wanted to model because I do. I allowed her to get into the business. After a weeklong gig in LA, she told me...this is not fun like I thought it would be. I asked if she wanted to end it, she said yes and we immediately removed her from the agencies.

At 10 months, you can't really ask your child if they want to do this, however, it is her life and if she does get into it, it should be her choice because it is a tough job.

I am an actor (modeling is close to it when it comes to auditions and portfolios) and the best thing you can do it get a good agency. A good place will never ask for money up front. They might suggest you use their photographer and take classes (for older kids and adults) but again a good agency will let you decline. If you know a photographer or a friend who can do a really good job, get some head shots and you can start there with your portfolio. As she gets jobs and thing you can add those pics to her book. Everyone has to start somewhere and people understand that. Just don't expect a lot when she is still new (and even if she is well seasoned!)
If you get an agency saying it's only $100 to get started with their agency, RUN! They are a scam and will take your money and not do a thing for you. A real place will take a percentage of what your daughter gets. That way they have to work in order to get paid (go figure). Hope this helps getting started.

Most babies are cute. I bet most of us on Mamasource have been told multiple times that our kids should model-- its something I tell other moms all the time-- just like I say "I'm fine, thank you" when people ask me how I am. It's just polite. I personally think it is wrong to put a child to work when he or she isn't old enough to make a decision for him or her self. Let her be a kid-- she'll have a lifetime to go to work ahead of her!

I'm sure MANY people hear the same thing everyday. I know we did! People would just stare at the girls when they were babies. Random people would ask to hold them, would come and talk to them, and would all say, "cutest baby ever". We also had a mother of a child model (who was nowhere as cute as my girls!:) tell us that our daughters could definitely model. Yeah, right. Lots of kids are cute, beautiful. Of course we think ours are the MOST beautiful girls in the ENTIRE WORLD. People wanting to break into the modeling industry are a dime a dozen... I will never set up my kids to have a big ego or for blatant rejection.

We have tried that with our baby, too, but the only way to really get into it is if you want to spend a lot of money on it. You need a portfolio and and agency to support you. We didn't have the money to put into it so we didn't. You can always enter her into photo contests, but usually the only legit ones cost money and it is a long shot at that. I'm sorry I don't have any good answers for you, but I just wanted to share our experience.

If you haven't been in the industry before... I would advise not to do it. Tough work, lots of waiting (loads and loads of waiting), dealing with tempermental artists (photographers, directors) the people that manage the artists, stage moms, and lots of rejection.

I liked modeling, in large part because I liked skipping school & I loved reading. So I could miss school and get to be reading new books all the time during hurry up and wait, on trains, on looksees, etc.

That said... if you really do want to pursue it... contact several local agencies. Ditto Meg's advice on agency seeking. They take a cut. No idea what's standard anymore.

I agree with everyone else that a lot of people get those compliments, we have gotten people to stop and ask to take our daughters picture with their kid, alone, or tell us the same as you were told. Random people would come up and ask if she was a baby/toddler model but I think to do it you have to invest a lot of money and time, and then you have to think if you want your child to be that vested in their looks. I would say do contests without them knowing, toysrus lets you submit photos, my cousins kid is one of the kids on the site, apparently the cuteness runs in the fam=)

My youngest is almost 9 months. Anywhere I take him, people make a fuss over "how cute" he is. I was standing in line at the DMV last week and I heard the people behind me saying "he's so cute, isn't he?" Do I think he's cute? Heck yeah. All my kids were/are cute.
My niece lives in LA and keeps telling us that she'd like to take my 4 year old out because she knows she'd be able to get her some modeling "jobs." Have we done it? Nah.
Babies are cute. People like to fuss over them, touch them, talk to them, etc.
Probably not the best idea to put your little one in modeling. Maybe wait until she can decide if she wants to pursue it.

When my daughter was a baby (about 8 months old) we were approached by a modeling agency one day. I researched the agency and spoke with an adult friend who modeled with her daughter for mother/daughter print ads. The agency was legitimate. We did not have to put out any money up front...other than, if we wanted, some $$ directly to a photographer, & the price was not bad...& the photos were terrific! BUT I worked (part-time) & the timing never seemed to work out for the modeling jobs, some of which were out of town. Totally separately, when my daughter was almost 6, we were approached again...this time for a specific photo shoot. An ad agency hired a photography who knew someone we knew. The photographer said, "I need an adorable blond, blue eyed child." Our friend showed the photographer our daughter's photo before we even knew about this. Anyway, it was a wonderful experience for our child, and her photo was all over the city, on billboards and the like. The photographer said he could help her get started in the industry, but we opted out. It was a great experience, but it wasn't something we wanted to have our daughter involved with as she became older.

Good luck if you decide to do this. There are SO many scams out there, though, so be VERY careful.

Easiest thing to do is look for contest. Every year GAP has a cute kid contest.