Many people believe that being a child model is an easy, glamorous life filled with photoshoots and makeup artists, with no cares in the world. While it may include some of those things, what people don’t see is the work that is put in to get to that photoshoot, or the hours spent sitting in hair and makeup. Nobody sees the days of studying lines and working on the skills that may or may not make them famous. Child models need to have thick skin to survive in the modeling world because it does not take any prisoners nor pull punches. They need to be disciplined in how they approach their work, which is a lot to ask of someone who hasn’t even started high school. It’s time to shine a light on what a typical day for a child model can look like. Not all child models have the same experience, just like no two people will work the same, but there are some things that everyone must do to succeed. Here is our list of daily activities a child model might go through in a single day on set.
Rise and shine early in the morning to get after the day. The later a child model sleeps the less time they have to get ready and organized.
Breakfast, the most important meal of the day. Because child models have such crazy working hours you never want to skip a meal. It is important that your child is well fed so they’ll be full of energy on set.
By this time they’ll already be on their way to the set and getting in the right mindset in the car to have a good work day. It’s also likely they’ll be organizing the work they’ve been given from a tutor or from their school. This way they will be fully prepared when their school time comes around.
Makeup is done, hair has been sprayed into place and they are ready to start working the runway or shoot the next scene, depending on the job that day. This is where the work comes in; after 1-2 hours of prepping it’s finally time to strut their stuff.
Typical shoots can last up to 3 hours before your child gets a break. Towards the middle of the day, child models are excused for lunch. It’s important to make sure your child eats a healthy, filling lunch so that they are energized for the next session. This time can also serve as their mandatory school time or break time.
Depending on the style of the photoshoot, a child model might have another round of hair and makeup to change up the styles for a new outfit they’ll be modeling, or the next scene in the lineup. This means some more time sitting in the makeup chair, waiting for the artist to complete their work.
Now that they’ve finished with the photoshoot they’ll be ready to go home.
When they get home, it’s time to wash up and finish whatever remaining homework they have for school. If they can keep their day organized and do their best to be productive during school time on set, they hopefully won’t have too much work to finish up at home.
This is usually the perfect time to unwind and have dinner with the family. Time with loved ones is extremely important when working as a child model because it comforts them and gives them a much needed break from the busy day.
The day is not over yet! Before they are ready for bed they should prepare for any other auditions coming up and take any digitals requested by brands. While it might be a bit late, studies show that when kids study before sleep it helps them retain the information much better than at random times during the day.
Time to get ready for bed. Shower, brush teeth, get tucked in and it’s time to get those ZZZs. A good night’s sleep is key to a child’s healthy development. This is important for child models so they can be readily prepared for whatever the day might bring them.
At Bensimon Models and Talent, we know not every day will be as jam-packed as what we demonstrated here, but this is a very typical work day for a child model. It’s good to be prepared for days like these because a child model’s life is always changing and moving. While shoot days are definitely filled with glitz and glam, it’s key to remember the work that goes into this tough, yet rewarding career.
