Every Monday morning the five of us sit at the long table with coffee and the week’s applications. Some weeks there are forty, after a show there can be three hundred. We read all of them, and everyone gets an answer within two weeks.
What we look at first
The three photos. Front, three quarter and full length, taken in daylight against a plain wall. We are looking at bone structure, skin, posture and how someone stands when nobody is directing them. A phone camera shows all of that better than a retouched portfolio.
What we do not need
Experience, a portfolio, makeup or a professional photographer. Most of the faces on our board started with photos taken by a sister, a flatmate or a friend on a balcony.
What happens if we say yes
We call, then we meet in person at the agency, with a parent if you are under 18. Nobody signs anything at the first meeting. We take polaroids, talk about school or work, and you go home and think about it.
What happens if we say no
You get an email, not silence. Faces change a lot between sixteen and twenty, so a no this year is not a no forever. Several people on our board applied twice.