Men wanted, and Lots More Too!

When we began building the agency, we made a decision to concentrate just on the girls. That wasn't because we don't want male models too, but rather because we wanted to get things working with just one type of model first before expanding into different markets.

Now that we've successfully launched the site to clients, we're ready to begin that expansion.

We've now added registration procedures for male models and well as females. We've also added a registration form for supporting services such as stylists, lighting technicians and photographers.

Ultimately, we want clients to know that they can find all the people they need in one place, book them through LMA and simplify their work.

Genuine, professional grade service. It's how our parent company made it's name, really.

Outdoor and Location Shooting Event

This weekend 24th June, London Model Agency is hosting our first outdoor and location shooting event. The idea is to give our models the opportunity to extend the range of pictures on their profile pages by creating the sort of images we just can't make in the confines of the studio.

It's a bit risky, a bit unpredictable, but that's all part of the fun!

We've planned a four to five hour shoot with around ten of our models using parts of Epping Forest, some historic buildings and panoramic views of London as locations and backdrops. If the weather holds!

Some of our girls will be travelling from the south coast, others from the midlands, but they all share our enthusiasm for making great pictures and also for making the agency work.

We'll post some pictures form 24th before too long, so everyone can see what LMA can do.

After Launch

Two weeks since our official launch to clients and things are moving in the right direction. Making full use of social media, an online ad campaign and featured ads in several popular industry publications, we've been seeing increasing interest from all kinds of clients.

Advertising and promotions - several medium sized players have expressed an interest in the agency and plan to book through us soon.

Fashion - just the one call so far, but it's a belter! A catwalk show job for ten models at a central London venue this September.

Glamour - interest from a couple of traditional publishers (newspapers and lad's magazines) mean we're hopeful of some decent repeat business pretty soon.

Film and TV production - we've established links with a number of individuals responsible for casting on small film and TV projects in and around London. There's an ongoing conversation which will hopefully lead to some regular work.

So, while the world is not beating a path to our door, we are managing to throw the door open and yell 'roll up, roll up' as loud as we possibly can until at least a few interested parties come to see what we have to offer.

Inertia is an expected part of the process of launching and building the agency, but that's not all negative. It can take a while to get things moving, but once we get on a roll, there will be no stopping us!

LMA Moves to stage 2...


With around 50 active models now on our books and new models signing up at a rate of about 3-4 each day, we're well on our way to our target of 150 active models for our launch to clients sometime in May.


It's been a bit of slog in terms of studio time to get pictures shot for each girl, but we've just about kept up with the workload.


As the launch deadline gets closer, we're also adding new features to the LMA site. Some features are designed to make using the site easier and faster for clients, others are meant to protect the privacy of our models and reduce the problem of picture-oglers who have no intention of booking.


For Clients


For clients, we've introduced a clean, easy to use filtering system to make finding the models they want as easy as possible.


There's also a multiple shortlist feature so they can easily keep track of suitable models for each of their ongoing projects.


We've added a location filter, so clients can choose models who live close to where the job is planned to happen. That helps minimise travel delays.


Finally, there's downloadable z-cards for each model, so clients can keep a physical reference handy, too. Z-cards are great for meetings and can increase bookings.


For Models


For models, we've changed the date of birth information shown to clients so that only the age in years is shown. It's really not necessary for clients to know a model's birthday...


The location feature only shows details of a vague area to clients, such as London or East Midlands, not a town or any other more easily searchable information.


This lets us help clients book sensibly without compromising our model's privacy in respect of their address   details.


We've changed the browsing system so that even though all models are shown to any visitor, guests can only see the first picture in each model's set and no other information apart from their modelling name.


Once signed in, clients can of course see the full picture set and all relevant details to assist them in making booking decisions, but a visitor can only get to be a sign-in client by going through our vetting procedures. That means we can check that all clients are genuine businesses who actually want to book models and will behave responsibly and professionally.


Future Plans


Soon to be added is a new client module for making bookings. We hope to make this as automated as possible so that there is never a problem with us inadvertently delaying procedures. Even so, we'll be able to check booking details and intervene when needed.

In the next few weeks, we'll be asking all models to double check their personal details to ensure everything is complete and accurate.


We'll also be asking models to check their contact details are up to date and that our phone numbers and email addresses are recognised by them as LMA so that delays don't occur if we need to speak to them urgently. It's often the case that bookings are last minute, so a delay of even a few hours could easily be the difference between landing a lucrative job and nothing...

What About You?


If you're an aspiring model, female, aged 16 years or over then we still want to hear from you.


At the moment, we especially want classic catwalk models - 5'8" - 5'10" tall and dress sizes 6-8, but all types of female models are still very much required.


We want petite to plus size, blondes, brunettes and redheads, white, black and asian, fashion, commercial, promotions and glamour models, actors, singers, dancers and more.


Visit LMA to sign up now!

London Model Agency

Our brand new London Model Agency (LMA) launched at the start of February 2012.

As part of Gibsons Photography, LMA has the backing of one of the UK's longest established professional studios with over 60 years experience and reputation to back it up.

Why Now?

After many years recruiting models for other agencies, we decided to take the plunge and do it for ourselves.

The spread of the internet means it's now relatively easy to promote the agency and the models we recruit to a world-wide audience.

The launch schedule

We're recruiting fast and building a robust portfolio of models.

- Partly by speaking to models we already know

- Partly through a direct advertising campaign

- Partly through a modelling contest

We expect to launch to clients in May, by which time we'll have 150-200 models on our books, all photographed and easily searchable through the clean, modern LMA interface.

Our plans for London Model Agency

LMA is intended to include a wider range of models than the industry norm. We're exclusively recruiting girls aged 16yrs and over at the moment, but that will be expanded as the agency finds it's feet.

Genres range from commercial, fashion and fine art models, through mainstream glamour, topless and Playboy style adult to erotica and fetish models. We also want plus and petite, ethnic and hands, feet, etc models.

Are we for real?

Absolutely!

While we're clearly aware of the many modeling scams on the internet, this is not one of them.

How can you tell? It's easy really:

- We don't charge for registration

- We don't charge for photoshoots

- We earn commission on jobs we book

That means we're investing in the business and taking all the risks ourselves. In return, we get to be as selective as we want about who we accept onto our books, so if you want to apply, you must satisfy our criteria.

- We only want girls we think will get work, otherwise we would be wasting our time and money promoting them.

- We only want girls who are as reliable and determined to succeed as we are. We won't risk the reputation of the agency on unreliable or unprofessional models.

How to apply

There are two main routes to application.

Visit London Model Agency and click the registration link. You'll be asked to fill in the application form and also to submit some pictures for eavluation.

Pictures may be professional images or snapshots, so long as they are recent and clearly show your face & figure.

If we like what we see, we'll ask you to come in for a photoshoot to get your listing active on the LMA site.

Right now, studio time is at a premium and we're booking these sessions up to three weeks ahead.

or

Visit London ModelGirl where the initial signup process is much easier. This is a contest we are running as an alternative means of recruitment. We've found some real gems this way over the years.

Often, ModelGirl entrants look fantastic but have never been professionally photographed before. They may have modelling career aspirations but don't know where to start and are worried about rejection. The contest is an easy, risk-free way to see if they have what it takes.

To enter, just submit the application form. We'll invite you for a (free) small test photoshoot where you'll get a little experience and we'll get to see if you have what we want.

We don't ask for pictures before we see you because that scares a lot of nervous but otherwise good potential models off. At worst, we waste half an hour of studio time on an unsuitable girl. At best, we discover a treasure we might never have found otherwise, so it's worth the gamble to us.

So, what are you waiting for?

You're one of thousands and you have to push yourself forward to be seen!