Model casting, agencies and model referencing for men
For the past couple of years, men have played catch-up in the model scene when it comes to the ratio of bookings compared to female models. Even though women are still used much more often as models, the sheer number of male models has definitely grown a lot over the past years. As is the case for women, some employers are searching for very young male models, even young children and slightly older boys. Basically, there are a number of industries able to use both male and female models to advertise their products. In these cases, the products are either unisex or products that are used both by men and women, e.g. clothes, cars, fragrances or shower gel.
Therefore, it is possible that men and women are even competing for the same job. More often than not, however, the client has decided whether he wants to work with a male or female model for his campaign before he is starting to look for that person. When it comes to requirements men have to fulfill as models, these are basically identical to the requirements for women who are working as models. This is especially true for international models. For example, male models have to have very distinctive features to stick out and they should have an interesting general appearance as well. Yet it is not only the requirements for men and the requirements for women that are similar; all other important aspects in the model business are very similar or even the same for male and female models.
For example, one of the basics for men is to get into the file of at least one model agency to have the chance to get some jobs. Therefore, it is important for men to apply quite often and to take part in shootings and castings. When it comes to the salaries, fees for male models have developed over the past and are now in most industries similar to salaries female models get. One thing that is interesting especially for models who are looking towards an international career, though, it that there are still far more female than male top models. While most people could easily name ten female top models, they will be hard-pressed to come up with at least three names for male models. Therefore, the competition for men is much harder than for women, especially for top models.