How to Become a Model in Australia: A Step by Step Guide
So you, or your child, want to become a model in Australia. You have the look. You have the drive. But you don’t know where to start.
In this blog post, we’ll go over how to become a model in Australia. We’ll cover all of the necessary steps to help you achieve your dreams of becoming a working model without leaving the country.
Read on for more information about how you can become a model, as well as all about how you can support your child who wishes to be a model.
The First Steps to Becoming a Model
In this post, we’ll break down what it takes to be a child model as well as a teen and adult model. While many people are attractive and have the drive to model, it takes something a bit beyond that to become an actor or model. In this post, we’ll discuss the requirements to become a child model, as well as a few brief requirements to become an adult model.
Does My Child Have What It Takes?
Bubblegum Casting, a renowned Kids Talent Agency in Australia, encourages all children with an interest in modelling or acting to apply. You’ll need to submit a clear photograph of your child’s face, and enter their information on our application form. We will then review your child’s application and then decide if we would like to pursue a working relationship.
After submission, we will let you know if we want your child to attend a casting in your city. We will meet your child in-person to assess their personality, as well as how comfortable they are in front of the camera.
Keep in mind that we would prefer natural photos of your child, taken by you. They should not be professional headshots or taken in a studio. Instead, we want something candid and natural.
Bear in mind that your child must live within a 90-minute radius of Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney to be represented by our agency. Otherwise, we cannot accept your child. Your child must not be represented by any other agency in order to sign with us.
While our agency will ultimately decide if we wish to work with you, there are a few things a child should have in order to be a successful model or actor. A pretty face is fantastic, but it can only go so far.
Below are some of the other things a child should have, or develop, in order to be successful in the industry.
Be Outgoing
In the world of kids casting, bear in mind that your child doesn’t need to be constantly talking, but your child should have a level of comfort in front of other people. Children who are painfully shy don’t often do well in modelling or acting, as it is difficult to direct them. They should also be comfortable being the centre of attention.
Some children thrive on this, and you’ll know if your child is one of them. At castings and shoots, your child may have to stand still with everyone’s attention on them. For some children, this can be difficult, but others will love it.
If your child is the latter, they might be a great candidate for child modelling.
Be Flexible
If your child is very rigid and does not do well with routine changes, modelling or acting may not be the career or activity for them. A child (and parent) must be incredibly flexible, as things change all of the time in the industry.
Your child may be called to set, and have to leave school and be there in just an hour or two’s notice. Shoots may also be cancelled and rescheduled without much warning. Therefore, a child who has lots of trouble with these types of on the spot changes may not be a great candidate for modelling.
Additionally, much of the work in modelling and acting happens during school hours. The weekends are often for crew and loading, so it’s rare that your child will be working then. Sometimes, shoots can happen at night depending on the requirements of the film, TV show or shoot.
A child must have a school that is willing to work with them being pulled out as necessary. A child who is working often may find that being homeschooled or attending a professional children’s school is a better fit for them. This is a decision, however, that should be considered later down the line. At the beginning of your child’s career, you may simply need to worry about them being pulled out of school a few times out of the year.
Have a Flexible Parent or Guardian
This one is key. If your child seriously wants to pursue acting or modelling, they need to have a parent or guardian that has a flexible job or lifestyle so that they can take the child to castings as needed. Your child will always need a guardian on set and at auditions and will need someone to take them to different locations.
They must have an adult in their life who is willing to do this, whether because they have a very flexible job or they are not employed. If families wish to make this commitment, they need to seriously think about how it may impact the parents as well.
While a flexible parent or guardian is an absolute must, a parent or guardian who tries to control the shoot or is extra pushy is also a no! Professionals want to work with the child they hired, not the child and the parent. While they understand they legally come as a package deal in some regards, a parent that is too pushy is a big turn off.
A parent that has a Mama Rose from Gypsy complex, trying to push their children to become a star, can fast gain a reputation around casting directors. As such, this type of attitude can be more of a disservice to your child than a positive. Additionally, a parent or guardian like this can also stress the child out, which is not what we want. Instead, a child should be enjoying what they’re doing and having fun.
Our parents’ guide to managing their child’s career is a great source of information for you.
Above All: Your Child Should Enjoy It!
As we touched on, if your child wants to become a model or actor, they should actually enjoy the work that they’re doing. A parent or guardian should listen to their child, and stop if things become overwhelming or are no longer fun.
A child who is not enjoying modelling, acting or learning about the business won’t give their full performance. As such, before you submit to our agency, it is ideal that your child has had either some experience or interest in modelling and acting.
If a child has no interest in it, together you may find that this really isn’t the career for them. That is okay, not all children are cut out to work in the entertainment industry. But Bubblegum Casting wants to work with the children who do want to work in the industry, and who will thrive on sets and at auditions.
My Child is Interested in Modelling and Acting But Has Very Little Experience
If your child is interested in modelling and acting but doesn’t have a lot of experience, that’s okay. Our agency is committed to helping children with that “it” factor shine. We can help a child who we believe in get to the next level.
But, if you or your child are unsure about the commitment to the career, that’s okay. You may wish to enrol your child in local acting classes, or an after school drama club. Or, you may wish to have your child act in local community theatre and school performances.
We also have a service for those who are not on our books but are still interested in getting castings every now and again. This is a great way for your child to get a taste of the modelling and acting profession without the commitment to going to castings often.
You can register for our open callout list and we will send you a list of open calls regularly. This way, you and your family can decide if you want to attend the auditions, and you and your child will gain valuable real-world experience by participating in them.
These open callouts can also take place all over Australia, so even if you do not live in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, you can still attend the castings.
If, after a few of these castings, you feel as though you or your child are interested in becoming an actor or model, then you may wish to pursue it further.
Our agency also offers in-house workshops and classes to our clients to make sure they’re on top form. But, we only work with those we think will soar in the industry.
How to Become a Model in Australia for Teens and Adults
Bubblegum Casting is a boutique agency specialising in children. Once in a while, however, there will be castings in our callouts that do ask for adults. Some of these callouts also ask for real families to appear in commercials or on television shows, and if you keep an eye out, you may just find some opportunities for yourself.
Adults and teens who are serious about becoming an actor or model in Australia can also apply to Bubblegum Casting to become a client.
While runway modelling can hire girls and boys as young as teenagers, Bubblegum Casting looks beyond that for our books. Nowadays, diversity is celebrated, and we’re looking for teens and adults of all religions, sizes, and ethnicities to represent.
Bubblegum is relatively new to representing adults and teens, but our team has years and years of experience behind them. As such, you can put full faith in us that if you join us as a client, we’ll always be looking for the next big project for you.
Criteria for Modelling as a Teen and Adult in Australia
While different types of modelling have different criteria, our agency is interested in real people. As we stated above, we want men and women of all ages, sizes, ethnicities and types.
If you’re interested in joining the Bubblegum roster as an adult or teen client, your process will be very similar to that of the children we represent.
Teens will need to submit a good, clear photo of yourself and fill out our application form. Like the child section, you’ll need to live near Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne.
If we’re interested in you, we’ll ask for you to come to an open call in your city so that we can meet you and get a better feel for how you are in front of the camera.
Adults interested in modelling or acting with Bubblegum should also submit their photos to us. However, we only work with adults who live in Melbourne and Sydney.
Bubblegum also runs an affiliate talent agency in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane called Hunter Talent. This agency represents influencers, actors and models over the age of 18. You can also apply to be our client through that site.
Becoming a Model in Australia
There are many factors that go into how to become a model, but thankfully, there is no shortage of Australian models and actors in the industry. We’re here to help support our clients and make their careers count.
If you believe you, or your child, has what it takes to become a model or actor, apply now. We’d love to potentially help your child’s career blossom!
