Getting into the modeling biz...

No, not me.

But my ex-wife's 16 year old niece would like to explore it and see what it's all about. She missed a runway show at a local Fashion Bug due to a birthday party, and stuff like that would be perfect; a small grass-roots thing that's not intimidating. But apart from that, I've googled "local" (mostly Detroit-area) modeling agencies and yeah, there's places that you can fill out a profile and send a portfolio to, but that sort of thing makes me nervous, when a kid is involved.

I've actually tried to join modeling forums for more information, but they want all their members to be in the business already, and I'm uncomfortable pulling some sort of ruse. Does anyone have any experience - or know someone who does - that can clue me in on where to start with such a thing?

I know some friends who did modeling.

The first thing she needs to get done are some professional photographs and put together a portfolio of images that she can take and send around to various modeling agencies.

Be prepared though. If the person is selected, the agency will expect the person to get more professional images taken, by their photographers, and 10 years ago, one agency charged my friend $800.00 for the photo shoot.

Also, just signing up with an agency and paying to have pictures taken, doesn't mean that she will get any jobs modeling. It just means that her face will be posted out there on the agencies web site for potential clients to look at and if she has the look they are after, they ask for her.

If the agency is not just for models, but also talent, there are chances for gigs such as various shows such as cars, maybe ren fairs etc.

But to be honest, 16 is getting a bit old to start into the modeling business. Most girls start at about 11 or 12 and by 16 they are veterans.

If you have a school (college) around you that has a photography program, often the students will take the photos for free or at a very low cost for some of their assignments.

When I was in college for photography, we frequently posted ads on Kijiji and around the school for our subjects. Be prepared though and full talk to the photographer before doing the shoot in these instances, if you're looking for just head shots make that known. You don't want her to go down to a photoshoot expecting headshots only to find out that it's a nude shoot or something when she gets there.

I've PM'd you

If possible, I'd recommend starting out with classes at reputable modeling school.

When I was 19 and reasonably cute, someone from a supposed modeling agency stopped me on a street in downtown Austin and invited me to a "talent search" they were having in a nearby office. I knew I wasn't tall enough or pretty enough to model and it was almost certainly a scam of some sort, but out of curiosity, I went.

The waiting area was knee-deep in teenage girls dreaming of fame and fortune. There were a few photographs of well-known models on the wall with captions pasted onto them -- the one I remember was a shot of Lauren Hutton, who was popular then. Her caption noted that one jaw was longer than the other, which "proves that models don't have to be perfect."

(Whenever I see Lauren Hutton, I look for this supposed flaw. As far as I can tell, the woman is perfectly symmetrical. )

Eventually, I was led down a hall into a tiny room, the door was closed, and a heavily made-up woman seated at a folding table barely even glanced at me before stating that I was gorgeous and there were hundreds of modeling jobs out there waiting for me. She said she would be willing to represent me to the people who award those jobs, and since they were having this special talent search, she could give me the first six months of representation free along with the $400 photo package.

"Photo package?" Their award-winning photographer would create a set of professional photographs to represent my unique beauty in a variety of modeling poses. They would store the negatives for me in their climate-controlled archive, I would get a proof sheet to keep, and I could buy unlimited prints at a huge discount.

But I would have to sign up right away -- she could only represent a limited number of girls whose potential she really believed in, and it wouldn't be fair for her to turn away all those other girls out there while waiting for me to make a commitment to my modeling career. If I couldn't get the cash today, I could come back tomorrow, but no later.

I told her I couldn't afford to do it and started to leave, but she stopped me and said gravely, "Can you afford not to do it?"

She started talking about missed opportunities and her own wasted youth. If only she'd had someone to help her the way she was offering to help me! Couldn't I see that Fate had put me in this room today? Didn't I realize how lucky I was to have someone who believed in me and was willing to take me under her wing and create a fabulous career for me?

Finally, I said, "I'm sorry. I know what I look like, and I just don't believe all this."

Her whole character changed instantly. "Fine," she snapped, heading for the door. "Out this way." She led me further down the hall to another exit -- so I wouldn't have a chance to talk with any of the girls waiting back in the lobby.

It infuriated me that they were taking advantage of all those young girls and their hopes for a glamorous life. I hope nobody like that ever comes near your niece! Good luck to her...