Baby Modelling?

[Carter'sMummy]

does anyone have a baby model? ALOT of people say i should do it, since carter is a mixed race baby, he has just a special look. big light brown eyes, beautiful skin tone, round face. i feel torn between, i obviously have a moral issue with my child's face selling some overpriced commercial brand/product, but that can be his money for college fund etc. i think if i saw carter on a poster or something with a brand underneath, i honestly wouldnt gasp in horror, id be so proud, i think it would be cool, and any amount added to his college fund would be a help. i wonder what he would say about it years from now, and i doubt he would be upset with me, i think he would feel special. his daddy was in commercials and things when he was younger, and carter even at 3 mos definetly has that personality. have you ever thought about it? i feel like me worrying about his safety as a result is being dramatic

[LadyCatherine185]

Our babies have the same birthday! Just a year apart!

I have had a lot of people tell me my DS should model too.. but I've never really looked into it. I'm not against it, but I don't think my DS would be very cooperative. He doesn't sit still or 'perform' on demand.

[Swandira]

I don't know anyone who's had a baby model, but it seems to me that it doesn't matter how other people feel about it as long as you and the baby's father are happy with it. Go for it!

Nealy
mama to Thales, almost 7; Lydia, 3 1/2; and Odin, 12/12/08

[orca]

I did this with my little guy in Toronto. We did it for a few years and he was in all the big catalogues etc. My cautionary tale: it is VERY time consuming and a lot of work. You have to be available at the last minute- and they almost always call at the last minute. You often have to be downtown for 8:30 or 9:00am and depending on where you love that can be an issue. The locations are almost always in very strange, out of the way, unmarked buildings and most of them do not accommodate strollers. We are not big stroller users, but that leads me to the next part, which is you do a lot of waiting around and they ALWAYS book 2 to 4 babies for the same shoot. If your baby is napping, cranky or just not the "cutest" that day they have you sit there while they shoot the other baby and that can take hours. If that baby falls apart they move on to the next one. You can't leave until they're done their shoot with the other baby. So you see, you may get your baby up early, drive downtown to some grungy location, wait around with your big bag of tricks to keep your baby entertained in a room that was not designed for babies- all to be told after a few hours that they've got their shot and and you may go home now with your cheque for $50.00. (You do get paid more if they use your baby)

Is it worth it? Well, when your baby is in the Sears or Toys r us catalogue and your family calls and swoons over the pictures, then, maybe, for a minute... but for us it was not worth it and once I had my second it was just not even an option to drag two kids around like that.

Plus, it really was not a lot of money, all told. He made a few thousand dollars over the 18 months we did it, but I don't think it was worth all the stress it put on me.

Hope that helps!

[dayxday]

I'm going to go negative on this...my apologies in advance if I offend anyone.

Here we go:

People often say that I should get my son into baby modeling--and suggested the same thing about me to my mother when I was a baby. I echo her thoughts on it: it's work, and we've got our whole lives for that. If one day he comes to me and says, "mom, I want to model," then okay. Let's see what we can do. If he wants to be an actor, I'll take him down to a local theatre company--not a casting office. The way I see it, it's my job to pay for his education...not his.

Just my two cents...

I also used to work as a magazine editor and one of the mags my company published was a parenting title. Tons, and I mean TONS, of strollers would roll into the elevator for this mag's open calls. Moms trek into Manhattan with their strapped in babies, wait around all day...all because an art director is looking for one, very specific baby, which may or may not be yours. There are just no guarantees...I hate getting rejected; I'm not about to surrender my baby to that same kind of arbitrary scrutiny, especially if he has to ride on the subway during rush hour and sit around a waiting room in some drab office building.

[Carter'sMummy]

Originally Posted by dayxday

I'm going to go negative on this...my apologies in advance if I offend anyone.

Here we go:

People often say that I should get my son into baby modeling--and suggested the same thing about me to my mother when I was a baby. I echo her thoughts on it: it's work, and we've got our whole lives for that. If one day he comes to me and says, "mom, I want to model," then okay. Let's see what we can do. If he wants to be an actor, I'll take him down to a local theatre company--not a casting office. The way I see it, it's my job to pay for his education...not his.

Just my two cents...

I also used to work as a magazine editor and one of the mags my company published was a parenting title. Tons, and I mean TONS, of strollers would roll into the elevator for this mag's open calls. Moms trek into Manhattan with their strapped in babies, wait around all day...all because an art director is looking for one, very specific baby, which may or may not be yours. There are just no guarantees...I hate getting rejected; I'm not about to surrender my baby to that same kind of arbitrary scrutiny, especially if he has to ride on the subway during rush hour and sit around a waiting room in some drab office building.

dont apologize mama! i wanted to hear the other side. they say for every one commercial, there was 10 rejections. i live over 2 hours from toronto so its not a practical decision in the long run, i wasnt sure if i should even pursue it. thank you though

[Carter'sMummy]

Originally Posted by LadyCatherine185

Our babies have the same birthday! Just a year apart!

I have had a lot of people tell me my DS should model too.. but I've never really looked into it. I'm not against it, but I don't think my DS would be very cooperative. He doesn't sit still or 'perform' on demand.

awww yay august 26th babies!! well, cj's only 3 mos so the only thing he does on demand is breastfeed!

[MadiMamacita]

i modeled as a baby and tot. my parents kept the money in an account for me and when my spanish class went to mexico in 8th grade i used that money to go. my "career" came to a screeching halt at 4 or 5 when i stopped cooperating and told my mom i didn't want to do it anymore. i did jc penny, target and sears ads.

[neferiah]

My son does it. He is also of mixed race, and apparently therefore has good skin tone for print. It is true that you have to drive and do a lot of hurry up and wait, BUT I see it as a blessing. Although I am a SAHM, I also do lots of odd jobs to try and help make ends meet. The days we go to shoots are a great time when I can totally focus on my LO. There is no hubby, no big sister, no housework to distract me. My LO loves the modeling part, he smiles whenever he sees a camera. He's done 4 or 5 shoots and made about $1500 for college. If he stops thinking it's fun, I'm out. He just sees it as getting to play with toys somewhere. It is also a treat for me, as we are on a limited budget and it is a rare time he and I go out for lunch.

Just mentioning my positive take on it. As for safety, my son will not be allowed to go anywhere I am not.