Ever since beginning my Senior Model program I’ve had high school seniors join it who want to become models or some how get involved with show business or the fashion industry. I’m always amazed at how this attracts so many fun students, especially since I’ve created all of this just to have a fun time…and it turns into a really really really super fun time with students falling in love with the program and coming back to help with it even after they are too old for it! I’m not going to lie, it makes my heart glad to see everyone enjoy themselves so much. 
So, after meeting all of these future models, it’s come to my attention that a lot of them who have the means to already start trying to get into the model/fashion industry are blowing around $4k or more a year on modeling classes, photographs, getting published in crazy magazines, and going to paying and nonpaying gigs. This kind of blows my mind since I know for a fact that you really shouldn’t have to pay any money to get involved in modeling, but I guess you do what you can to try and make it, and the big model agencies do get tons of pictures of people who want to be models every single day.
Anywho, this is where I’m going with this post. There is a photography organization that exists to educate senior photographers about the latest trends in fashion and to help them create more “model type” senior photographs. They also have a big fashion show at their conferences and hold a photo contest that I could enter high school students who have their senior pictures taken with me in so they could participate in the fashion show. There is also a representative from AIG at this event who scouts out potential models to sign to contracts.
Here is where I am at with this. People who know me, know that I run my business on the side of generosity. There is a saying that tells us “with great power comes great responsibility”. As a business owner, I take that responsibility seriously, and I only want to provide a fun way that actually could help any future models I have. If I would join this photography organization I would have to pay out extra money to join and spend some extra time away from my family at the conference. However, if this could be a great way to help jump start my models careers for way less than $4K/year and guarantee them that they will actually be seen by a big modeling company’s representative – I think this could be a great and wonderful option to give my seniors.
Here are the three options that can be made available to my seniors:
1: For an extra $200.00 I can submit some of your senior portraits to the photo contest and you will receive ten comp cards from me with 4-5 of your pictures on there and your stats to submit to modeling agencies. If you are picked in one of the top 20 spots from the photo contest you will get a free trip to the conference (this will be in Missouri), a spot in the fashion show, a model lesson, and a model class where the modeling career will be explained to you. You will also be used as the models for the photographers who are there at the show and will spend another day in front of hundreds of cameras. The typical year gives models around a 1/10 chance of making it to the top twenty. This could be a higher or lower ratio depending on the number of entries.
2: If your photos do not get you into the top 20, but they do get you into the top 30, you will get all of the above except for the free trip to the conference. So, you will need to pay to get there and for your hotel room. The conference does negotiate for good hotel rates and would cost around $100/night for four nights. If you want to fly or drive doesn’t really matter to me.
3. Now, if you unfortunately don’t make it to the top 30, but you’d still like to go to the conference and be photographed a whole lot, get modeling lessons, learn about the modeling career, and still get the comp cards – this is your option. You would need to pay for your trip to the conference and an extra $500. However, when time comes for the photography sessions and the classes you will be put into the same group as the “photo contest winners”. The AIG representative will be there at all times that you are with the group and every year they have signed senior students to contracts who didn’t make it into the top 30.
If you made it this far in the post, congratulations! AND if you are a high school student who is interested in this, please talk this over with your parents and then let me know if you would do this. I’ve asked a few people about this and the ones who are into modeling seem to be ALL OVER THIS. What I need to know now is if there is enough interest from teenagers who are into modeling for me to go forward with joining this photography group.
If you are one of those teens who want to do this and are totally excited for it – please leave a comment or email me isabel (at) isabelsam (dot) com and let me know!
I’m excited to see where this takes my modeling program.
Much love,
Isa
