How work with a Professional Make Up agency

It is not essential to join a professional makeup artist agency in order to be successful. However, most top artists are represented. The agent takes care of searching for work for you, by distributing your resume and telling each potential client how wonderful you are. They also take care of negotiating your pay and collecting the money. These services cost a fee, which is often a percentage of the money you make through work they find for you.

In general, agents will do the following:

• Find you work
• Promote you
• Provide portfolio assistance
• Meet clients
• Bills and collects for service
• Negotiates rates and contracts

They also take care of your accounting and client tracking. You keep track of additional expenses, such as makeup and supplies, which are tax-deductible.

You will also probably get a lot of free makeup, as cosmetic brands offer it to agencies so that their products will be used by top artists on important and highly visible clients.

To choose an agency, talk to your favorite professional makeup artists and find out who they recommend and what their experiences are like. Photographers and models can also recommend makeup agencies they have worked with. Keep in mind you want to establish a long-term relationship with an agency, so it needs to be someone you feel comfortable with and with whom you communicate well.

Getting into an agency is a matter of sending an email message or calling, and showing them samples of your work. If the agent is taking on new makeup artists and feels your work meets the agency's standards, you may be invited in for a meeting.

One way to get an "in" with a professional makeup agency is to assist an artist they already represent. That way they get to know you and you get to learn about the agency and how they operate. Those kinds of relationships are more likely to develop into a contract for you, when they have an opening. Keep in mind you will most likely be asked to sign an exclusivity contract so that you will be represented only by them.

Keep careful records of all the magazines, contacts, and photographers you work with. Should you change makeup artist agencies, they will want this information and your old agency will not want to provide it.