Tuesday, February 26, 2008

For The Working Class Canine - Dog Modeling

Can your pet be the next top "pup" model? Perhaps so - just ask Little Paris Noel! No matter what kind of breed you have, any dog can be a model with the right basic training, some photography knowledge of the owner, and of course, a bit of luck. If you feel your pet has what it takes, here is a great hobby for any owner to potentially make some extra money to offset the cost of owning your pet and it's high maintenance needs or simply just receiving some free pet products. Hey, who said your pet can't have its own bank account?

Many pet manufacturers, designers and pet retailers will actually, at times, utilize their customers for marketing material that they will use to sell new and upcoming products. This can be on printed material (brochures/catalogs/magazines) and/or on the World Wide Web (internet). So, if your pet is especially photogenic and knows basic commands as sit, stay and down, here are some suggestions on how to start a potential modeling career for your canine child:



  • Get yourself a good digital camera and know how to operate it to its potential! Being your pup's manager will require you to start a "pupfolio" and know some basic photography skills.

  • Get yourself a backdrop! All professional photographers use backdrops on occasion. These are usually on large rolls and may be of a paper or fabric material. However, when taking photos of your pet for a portfolio, use a white backdrop! If your pet is all white in color, use a lighter shade of gray to offset the color difference between your pup's fur/hair and the backdrop color. Do not use "scenic" backdrops as the main focus of the photo should be of your pet and nothing else in the background.

  • Backdrops should be hung at least two feet above your pet's head (either in the sit or down position) and cascaded along the floor. This means there should be no seams or creases in the backdrop.

  • Put yourself in or get good lighting! All photographers will use natural lighting or use spot lights behind and on the side of them to give the photo the true and vivid colors of the snap shot. Do not rely on the sole use of your camera’s flash.

  • Photos of your pet should be taken with and without merchandise. Small props can be used for creativity.

  • Make sure any of the photos you use for your pup's portfolio are clear. Blurry images should never be sent!

  • Photos of your dog sitting or laying down are best.

  • If you are trying to land a modeling job with a particular designer or manufacturer, purchase some of their products (only) for your photo shoot.

  • Purchase or download a good photo software package. This will be required to help rid of "red eye" or any little imperfections your photos may have.

  • Pick your BEST vivid photos to send.

  • Set your price! Because many designers or manufacturers are busy with the design and production of products and may want to off set the high costs of a real, professional photographer, set your price for you and your pup's time. A good starting point, especially for an amateur model and pup manager would be $15-$20 per photo that is agreed to be used or equivalent to free pet products from that particular company.

  • For more information on photographing your pet, please visit The Guide To Photographing Your Dog
Okay, now that you have gotten basic information on what is needed to get started; here is some additional details to help you market your pup to the pet industry:

PORTFOILO BY DIRECT MAIL

  • If you have printed the images from your camera on photo paper, put them together with a basic informational sheet about your pup. This should include: your pet's name, breed, age, weight, size measurements (neck, length, and girth), some fun and interesting information about your pup's personality and lastly, all your contact information. Put this together in a nice folder as if you were putting together a marketing pamphlet. Make up as many as you plan on sending to each company.

  • Be creative with your portfolio! Remember, first impressions count!

  • Because you can relatively find out all contact information about any company on the internet, search by the company's name to find out their physical address so you can send out your pup's portfolio to them. Should no particular owner or president's name be mentioned, the safest way is to attention the package is to the "owner".

  • Follow up with a phone call to the company within 1-2 weeks to make sure they have received your package and to see if they have any questions about your service.

PORTFOLIO BY EMAIL


  • Save your pup's photos as a "jpg" image and do not send any photos larger than 600 x 600 pixels in size. Additionally, do not send more than three at a time. Sending multiple images, especially photos too large in size by email, may not reach the recipient's email inbox as their server can reject your email as "spam". Also, images that are in the approximate size range of 600 x 600 will display nicely on any size viewer's monitor.

  • Attach your pup's informational sheet as a word document (doc.) file, as well.

  • If you are computer savvy, convert both the photos and doc. file as a "pdf." attachment.

  • Search the internet for the company's website to retrieve their email address and put in the subject line: Dog Model for Hire

  • Include a simple but informative note in the body of the email so the recipient knows a little bit about you and your service.

  • Follow up with a phone call to the company within 1-2 weeks to make sure they have received your email and to see if they have any questions about your service.

WEBSITE PORTFOLIO
What you can further do to get you and your pup's services exposed is to create a website! This is the BEST way to reach millions of potential companies that may need to utilize your service. Yahoo Small Business or GoDaddy.com offers economical website service plans that can cost pennies a day plus offers simple, but yet effective, user friendly website design capabilities. You can also use this valuable internet tool to keep your pup's portfolio current and list all past clients once your pup becomes established with modeling jobs. You can further expand your services by offering "royalty free" images for sale! This means these are images that are not contracted and owned by a specific company. Just note that it is recommended to "watermark" your images to prevent unlawful copying of your images without your consent or being paid for. Pet retail or boutique shops may find these images useful for their own personal marketing campaigns or simply using them on their online stores!


BUSINESS CARDS
Having business cards are a simple but effective way to spread the word about your service! You can simply create and receive 250 free business cards by using Vista Print. It is a perfect marketing tool just in case you happen to meet other pet related companies that can potentially use your pup as a model through passing in public places.

Now, after you have sent your pup's portfolio out to either a few companies or established an internet presence, don't get discouraged should no one call you. Sometimes it can take a manufacturer or designer weeks or months to decide what they will be doing on their next marketing campaigns. Also, to further expose your pet's modeling service, don't be shy to also send their portfolio to pet retailers or pet boutiques, especially if they have an online store! Just remember the key is to stay patient and focused; as with any model does looking to land a job!

YOUR FIRST MODELING JOB! WHAT'S NEXT?
Now that your pet has landed its first modeling job, you or the company (or both) may sign a contract to agree to each others terms and conditions of using your photographs in marketing materials. This may include the company that is seeking your service to own the rights to specific photos of yours. This technically means, they will be the only ones allowed to use that photo and you will not be able to sell it to anyone else. Other contract terms may be sending all products back to them once the photos have been taken; should they decide to pay you by check instead. You may also find that certain companies will want you to sign a confidentiality agreement.

Manufacturers or designers will send you a package of new products that they will be selling on the market shortly and it will be up to you as your pet's manager to take the most professional photographs of your pet with them. Because this should be treated as a business (and if you want repeat business), have the modeling contract completed within a few days and only present your best shots. Do not wait weeks to finish the project. Designers are on deadlines to have their marketing materials completed by certain times for publication.

Depending on your agreement with the company, your pup's pay to the modeling job may be keeping all the products they sent to you for your pups personal own enjoyment (and for free!) or you sending them all back in return of a check for the photos they will use. Again, this will all depend on your agreement with the company.

OTHER POTENTIAL PET CAREERS
You can further explore other pet careers by enlisting your pet with a pet (casting) agent should you feel your pet has what it takes to be on television. Here are some starting points to research: (PLEASE NOTE: We do not endorse any of the mentioned companies below. It is up to you to find out all the details and if any, costs involved. Should an agency seek a lot of upfront costs out of your pocket to find your pet work, it is not suggested to use them as it may be a scam.)

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