Kaitlin Lara wrote:
How lenient are local agencies about stats? Are they as strict as the big agencies, or is it plausible that someone with my stats (5'7", 28-23-33) could be signed to a smaller local agency?

Kaitlin, I know some models who are in your area, and I'll try to induce one of them to answer you more directly.  However, let me give you a generic answer that likely applies to your situation.

Agencies in small markets are torn by three different tendencies:

1.  They can't have a huge number of people on the roster.  There isn't enough work to keep a large number of models happy.  So they want to focus on those who are in the heart of their market, and able to do as wide a variety of jobs as possible.  That means their preferences run to tall (5'9" and up) women, who can do almost any commercial job.

2.  They do have a fair amount of "fashion print" (local retailer ads, mostly) jobs, some commercial print jobs, and virtually no "editorial fashion" in the NYC sense.  That means their preference is for "catalog" types and "real people/lifestyle" types.

3.  Preferences be damned, they are in a small market with a relatively small selection of applicants to choose from.  So they take what they can get.  That usually means they have some shorter models on the rolls.

If you want to apply to be with them, I would suggest two things to you:

1.  Get some "standard" commercial and "catalog" type pictures.

2.  The hard part:  gain some weight.  What works for art and editorial doesn't work as well for mainstream commercial.

If you can do both of those, I don't see any reason why you couldn't be with a local agency.

TXPhotog wrote:

Kaitlin, I know some models who are in your area, and I'll try to induce one of them to answer you more directly.  However, let me give you a generic answer that likely applies to your situation.

Agencies in small markets are torn by three different tendencies:

1.  They can't have a huge number of people on the roster.  There isn't enough work to keep a large number of models happy.  So they want to focus on those who are in the heart of their market, and able to do as wide a variety of jobs as possible.  That means their preferences run to tall (5'9" and up) women, who can do almost any commercial job.

2.  They do have a fair amount of "fashion print" (local retailer ads, mostly) jobs, some commercial print jobs, and virtually no "editorial fashion" in the NYC sense.  That means their preference is for "catalog" types and "real people/lifestyle" types.

3.  Preferences be damned, they are in a small market with a relatively small selection of applicants to choose from.  So they take what they can get.  That usually means they have some shorter models on the rolls.

If you want to apply to be with them, I would suggest two things to you:

1.  Get some "standard" commercial and "catalog" type pictures.

2.  The hard part:  gain some weight.  What works for art and editorial doesn't work as well for mainstream commercial.

If you can do both of those, I don't see any reason why you couldn't be with a local agency.

Yeah...I've always assumed the weight issue was more important than height. 5'7" is short for fashion...but it's not unheard of. For me though, gaining weight is nearly as impossible as gaining height. Regardless of how much I eat...what my calorie intake is...I can't seem to get past 95 lbs. Exercise helped me gain a little...but even that only put on like 2 lbs. That's why I asked about my measurements...because I've been unable to change them.

OC Girl wrote:
While you do have an edgy look, small markets are going to want you for more commercial jobs.

I think you would do great in a juniors/teen division.  You look young, and your height and measurements fit more with that genre than traditional "adult" model departments.  If you have any agencies with a junior's division, I'd look into them.

That's a great idea...especially since the main reason I want to get with an agency is to get some runway time. I've even seen runway shows for the junior's department in the King of Prussia mall for the department stores. I'll definitely check that out. That's one of the things I was worried about with small markets...that they'd be more interested in commercial looks. I might be just judging myself wrong, but I always thought I didn't really have much of a commercial look.

Kaitlin Lara wrote:
Yeah...I've always assumed the weight issue was more important than height. 5'7" is short for fashion...but it's not unheard of. For me though, gaining weight is nearly as impossible as gaining height. Regardless of how much I eat...what my calorie intake is...I can't seem to get past 95 lbs. Exercise helped me gain a little...but even that only put on like 2 lbs. That's why I asked about my measurements...because I've been unable to change them.

Have you tried any of the mass gainer/protein supplements used by professional bodybuilders?  They pack a lot of calories into a small serving.  I recommend the Optimum Nutrition brand for good flavor.  (Some brands are rather nasty tasting and it takes considerable willpower to keep taking them)  Also, it would take a couple of months to "start" to see weight gain results, so don't give up after a week or two if you elect to try anything like this.

Jim Ball wrote:
Have you tried any of the mass gainer/protein supplements used by professional bodybuilders?  They pack a lot of calories into a small serving.  I recommend the Optimum Nutrition brand for good flavor.  (Some brands are rather nasty tasting and it takes considerable willpower to keep taking them)  Also, it would take a couple of months to "start" to see weight gain results, so don't give up after a week or two if you elect to try anything like this.

I was in the hospital for about a week after some rather nasty surgery, and was so sick from the anesthetics that I couldn't eat anything for a whole 5 days, and I lost some weight from that (this was at least 5 years ago...I've gained it back since then) and when I did, I started drinking some of those protein drinks with meals, but I found that they were really filling me up a lot, and I wasn't able to eat as much real food. I stopped because I was young and didn't think to check how many calories were in them, and it seemed like drinking more at the price of eating less was a bad idea I don't know much about them...do they have more calories than most food? Is it okay to eat less food if you're drinking them? I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to nutrition stuff.

Kaitlin Lara wrote:

Yeah...I've always assumed the weight issue was more important than height. 5'7" is short for fashion...but it's not unheard of. For me though, gaining weight is nearly as impossible as gaining height. Regardless of how much I eat...what my calorie intake is...I can't seem to get past 95 lbs. Exercise helped me gain a little...but even that only put on like 2 lbs. That's why I asked about my measurements...because I've been unable to change them.

Sounds similar to me...it's very hard for me to gain weight also and I have tried almost everything.lol....fast food, junk food, lots of meat...nothing happens :-(

Kaitlin Lara wrote:

I was in the hospital for about a week after some rather nasty surgery, and was so sick from the anesthetics that I couldn't eat anything for a whole 5 days, and I lost some weight from that (this was at least 5 years ago...I've gained it back since then) and when I did, I started drinking some of those protein drinks with meals, but I found that they were really filling me up a lot, and I wasn't able to eat as much real food. I stopped because I was young and didn't think to check how many calories were in them, and it seemed like drinking more at the price of eating less was a bad idea I don't know much about them...do they have more calories than most food? Is it okay to eat less food if you're drinking them? I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to nutrition stuff.

No, you should not eat less when using the weight gain supplements. You are wanting extra calories - not substitute calories.  Use them as a snack between meals, or drink one instead of reaching for a soft drink.  If you use the powders and mix your own, you can get two or three hundred extra calories of solid nutrition in an 8 oz glass of milk.  The canned pre-mixed drinks are expensive.  The powders are as cheap as a few cents per serving.  You are a very small person and probably have a very small stomach.  Combine that with a high metabolism and you are going to have to watch what you eat pretty closely to make any weight gains.  You may need to eat several small meals in a day instead of two or three "regular" meals.  Just like an obese person trying to lose weight, you should track every calorie you consume every day.  Keep a written log.  In your case, you would be trying to stay above a baseline daily calorie intake while an obese person is trying to stay below.  Like I said before, it will take time.  Be patient and go slow.  If you are serious, then talk to a nutrition specialist.  Go to a local gym and seek out some of the female bodybuilders and ask what they do.

BTW:  I'm offering you "How-To" advice.  I'm not trying to tell you this is something you "need" to do.  I'm just offering some advice to follow up what Tx said and your reply.