A big thank you to Cathy, Robin, Adam and the rest of the Heath Ceramics gang in Sausalito and Los Angeles. We always have so much fun hanging out and doing the annual photobooths. Also, a big thanks to all the kids and families who participated. I’ll have the gallery up tomorrow evening – just in time to share with friends and family over Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nevertheless, I was downloading a few cards this morning and thought I’d share two images from yesterday’s shoot in San Francisco with little Sarah Louise. I was so smitten with little tiny pearls and her absolutely endearing personality. A quick thanks to her mom and dad for a fun morning! I promise to share a ton more shoots soon!

Last year I had so much fun customizing holiday cards for my clients. Together, we sent out nearly two thousand cards, wow! This year there are a ton of options to do holiday cards through Modern Kids. If you still don’t see something you like we also work with two fabulous stationary companies, Minted and Mango Ink.

First, a few things about our holiday cards this year.

• We have 11 new designs this year (see them below)!

• Each design is fully customizable including text, colors, and even fonts

• Two card sizes: 4×5.5 + 5×7

• We have a super-fast turnaround! Typically less than 5 business days from the date of your order

• Complimentary mock-ups. I’m happy to mock-up some options for you and give you advice on the best imagery for your card.

Enjoy the 2009 Designs and again if you still don’t see something you like please visit Minted and Mango Ink! If you’re in San Francisco, feel free to stop by the studio to take a look at our holiday cards. If you’re in Chicago or St. Louis, I’ll be bringing a few of my designs with me.

Finally, the images used above are lovely but they are not imagery from modern kids (except for a few cards in our intro image).

Quick side note: I am often ripping out images from magazines and stuffing them in an inspiration folder and after seeing Will’s portfolio I realized that I randomly had a shot of Will in my inspiration folder back in San Francisco – small world!

Fast forward several months and ironically I’ve been getting questions regarding kid modeling. I am no expert at all. I know of a few agencies in San Francisco and Los Angeles and I am actually shooting for one of them but I really have no idea how one gets a foot in the door at a modeling agency. Therefore, I decided it might be fun to ask Tiffany a few questions about Will’s experience as a model. I hope someone out there finds this helpful.

Thanks to Tiffany for taking the time to answer my questions and again to Will and Zach for a fun shoot this summer. A few of our images are below the q+a.

Any thoughts or questions for Tiffany?

p.s. Don’t you love Will in the Crewcuts shoot?

ModernKids (MK): How did Will get in to modeling? How long has he been doing it and how old was he when he started?
Tiffany Ironside (TI): Will started modeling at age 5. He has been doing it almost 2 years now.

MK: How did you guys get started? Were you approached by someone or did you seek it out yourself?
TI: I also do regional modeling and acting, and went to a local agency to give them my headshots/resumes. I gave them some photos a local photographer did of Will as well. They sent those to an agency in NYC (Generation) who liked his looked and asked us to come meet them. We went to NYC and met the owner of the agency who liked Will’s look and thought he took direction well. She took some additional photos on her digital camera and asked us to take some more outside at home. After taking a dozen or so, she chose the one she liked and asked us to make 50 copies (5×7′s).

MK: What type of companies does Will model for? How many shoots does he do in a year?
TI: Some companies Will has modeled for are J. Crew, Boden, Cookie Magazine, Lowe’s, Crayola, Boscov’s, Macy’s, Kenneth Cole and Brooks Brothers. I would estimate that in a year he does approximately 12-15 shoots.

MK: I know you live in Pennsylvania. How far do you travel for shoots? Is it mostly regional?
TI: We primarily shoot in NYC which is almost a 2 hour drive (1-way).

MK: Do you have any funny stories to tell about shoots with Will? What does Will think about modeling?
TI: Will really enjoys print work. He has also auditioned for several major motion pictures, and commercials but he actually prefers not speaking. One of his favorite times on a shoot was when the stylist gave him a mohawk (after the pictures were done, they had given him a pompadour for the actual shoot!) He also liked shooting one ad for Macy’s where he “had” to eat a popsicle during the shoot!

MK: How would you recommend a parent begin the process with a modeling agency? What do they need headshots, a referral, a basic interview, etc.?
TI: I would start with the local agency, who can then refer you to a larger NY agency if your child has potential. You can send photos directly to the NY agencies but it is better to have an “in”. At the local level, you really should be able to work with good digital photos you have taken, don’t let them talk you into expensive photographs or classes.

MK: Do you have any words of caution for parents?
TI: Be careful not to get talked into things (again, expensive pictures and classes) that really are not necessary if your child has a good look and the ability to take direction. Also, don’t be offended if your child isn’t chosen for something…it often is not about your child it is more about what specifically they are or are not looking for (ie. height, eye color, hair length, etc.)

MK: Do kids need to have a certain personality type to do modeling?
TI: Clients and photographers seem to prefer kids who are well behaved. A “bigger” personality seems to work better for TV/Film. Patience is also an important trait to have because shoots can be very long. Bring lots of toys/things to do/read/etc. (Nintendo DS’s are a staple).

MK: …and the question everyone wants to know: Have you met any crazy parents? You don’t have to answer that.
TI: Strangely enough, and to my suprise, most (I would venture to say 90%) of the parents I have met at shoots are very friendly, helpful and engaging.

MK: Any other thoughts or suggestions for other parents?
TI: The industry is strange in one respect: when it rains it pours. In other words Will can go for months with zero calls, and all of the sudden he will book something and have to turn something else down on that same day! They also seem to have the uncanny ability to know the absolute worst times in my schedule to call. Be prepared to have to go to a go-see with VERY little notice. Same day is not uncommon. Also, you can be put “on hold” for a week, which basically means you need to be available that whole week and they may or may not end up using you (again, you might find out at 5 pm that you are booked the next morning at 9 am). Flexibility is key, and certainly something I am still working on. If you have other children, it is a definate juggling act. Having said all that, it is a rush. The food is usually excellent and depending on the job it can be quite lucrative as well (although some jobs don’t pay as much as you think). On average, children make about $100/hour for print work.

Thanks again, Tiffany!

http://modernkidsphoto.nextproof.com/galleries/heathceramics

Thanks again to all of the kids and families as well as Heath Ceramics for letting us hang out for the day! Did you make it to the event?

From Heath Ceramics:

Join us on Sunday, September 27 for the first annual Heath Bazaar. Together with a handful of our favorite local artisans, we’ll be selling one-of-a-kind samples, prototypes, seconds and overstock — all at a discount. Like us and like you, they believe in the high quality, relaxed-modern style of handcrafted goods. Mix and mingle, drop your name in the raffle (with nine chances to win), enjoy farmer’s market fresh food from Tacolicious and a free photo-booth session by Modern Kids Photography. Thank you for supporting locally designed and manufactured products — we couldn’t do it without you.

It’s going to be a wonderful day full of folk music, treats, prizes, complimentary family photos, cupcakes and more. Our RSVPs are already coming in but we wanted to remind the rest of you to RSVP by October 1st to be included in the raffle. Check out some of the great prizes below. A kids hoodie from FilmMonsters and the Heath Ceramics kids set. Oh and did I mention we’re giving away a Sunday Morning Session, a big Modern Kids photo canvas, a Dante Beatrix kids bag, lots of print credits and some fun stuff for the kids.

Modern Kids Photography Thank You Picnic

Saturday, October 17th 10-4pm | Crissy Field, West Bluff Amphitheater (next to the Warming Hut)

RSVP by emailing us at hello[at]modernkidsphoto[dot]com or by going to Facebook or to Upcoming. We can’t wait to celebrate with you!

Long story short, one of us (the jury is still out on who’s idea it was) thought of wooded postcards. It was a farm wedding, after all. And so, the process of finding a company that did them began. We stumbled upon a small company in Michigan called Cards of Wood, who did an awesome job.

Fast forward a couple of years and many of you reading this have seen wooden postcards or gift tags in stationary boutiques and gift shops. They seem to be everywhere. I feel like I can safely say we were on the front-end of that trend (the only time in history). I still really like the idea despite seeing them all over the place. So when I needed to update my business cards I opted for the wooden variety. I did get some letterpress quotes as well but figured I’d do something a little more unique (despite absolutely loving letterpress).

I designed them easily on my own and it was fun to see the final product. The only downfall is you still have to be careful of the splinters, seriously. Oh and they probably also make great kindling in a pinch.

Love them? Hate them? Find them totally impractical for a photographer? Would love to hear your thoughts.