model emily  wrote:
I'm part of a commercial/talent agency and some of the greatest talent is from the 50+ crowd.  Up here, the market mostly caters to retirees -- so, the talent naturally reflects the market.  My agency is always looking for in-shape, good looking 50-60 year olds.

Wow! I would they take 40+ year olds too.

CRIMSON REIGN wrote:
Wow! I would they take 40  year olds too.

Maybe, the market up here tends to be much different than the bigger cities.

I once got laughed at here because this awesome 60  lady is on our agency board.   Stupid, because she is also the face for a local chain of bargain stores, and is quite talented (and funny -- she's also a comedian).  She does all of their commercials, and is booked elsewhere quite often -- she's a local celebrity -- which a lot more than what many people here can say for themselves. 



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCKSKhVHBfw

The amateur crowd often doesn't understand that the type of work that is available depends on the market, and in smaller markets, these commercial/talent agencies rule because this is the type of work that's available.  Once people can start to understand that "real" llamaing/talent expands way beyond just fashion llamaing in NYC, we begin to reach some form of understanding...

Maine also has a lot of work for the older crowd doing stuff like this:



and stuff like this:





And any outdoors-y thing is huge in Maine... add a dog, and you're golden:

[img]http://www.bowdoin.edu/news/archives/images/Leon Gorman dog256.jpg[/img]

As long as you accept you aren't going to be posing for the cover of Vogue, I think you can find some good commercial/lifestyle opportunities in the right market.

model emily  wrote:

Maybe, the market up here tends to be much different than the bigger cities.

I once got laughed at here because this awesome 60+ lady is on our agency board.   Stupid, because she is also the face for a local chain of bargain stores, and is quite talented (and funny -- she's also a comedian).  She does all of their commercials, and is booked elsewhere quite often -- she's a local celebrity -- which a lot more than what many people here can say for themselves. 



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCKSKhVHBfw

The amateur crowd often doesn't understand that the type of work that is available depends on the market, and in smaller markets, these commercial/talent agencies rule because this is the type of work that's available.  Once people can start to understand that "real" modeling/talent expands way beyond just fashion modeling in NYC, we begin to reach some form of understanding...

Maine also has a lot of work for the older crowd doing stuff like this:



and stuff like this:





And any outdoors-y thing is huge in Maine... add a dog, and you're golden:



As long as you accept you aren't going to be posing for the cover of Vogue, I think you can find some good commercial/lifestyle opportunities in the right market.

Indeed. I have done a few commercials and extra work from time to time.  My problem is that when they cast for my age group, I never get it because I don't look my age, and when I audition for younger roles, I guess I come off as being to old. So I'm caught between being too old to be young and too young to be old. Hmmmm, that would make for a good forum question...What age range should I audition for?

K_G wrote:
There are opportunites here in detroit metro area, but I won't kid you: there are no fitness agencies/opportunities, and most of the actors they want you signed with an agency prior to turning 40. Your height will drastically limit you for fashion stuff, but there may be some commercial opportunities. If I were you, read newmodels.com (section about how to submit to an agency) and send your stuff to the I-group in southfield. I'm also considered a nature model since I'm over 35 and have gotten castings from them for clients like blue cross blue shield insurance. You could also try Productions plus talent shop, but be forewarned that PP is an extremely large agency with a lot of competition. I get very few castings from them and they specialize in acting and tradeshows.

You don't look like a mature model.   

CRIMSON REIGN wrote:
Indeed. I have done a few commercials and extra work from time to time.  My problem is that when they cast for my age group, I never get it because I don't look my age, and when I audition for younger roles, I guess I come off as being to old. So I'm caught between being too old to be young and too young to be old. Hmmmm, that would make for a good forum question...What age range should I audition for?

In your case, it sounds like you need to go to castings better prepared for the role.   If you know they're looking for a certain type, dress that way, do your hair so that it reflects an "older" more mature look.  If you know they're casting for a younger part, dress younger, keep make-up fresh and natural.

Sometimes you are truly caught in the middle and it can take awhile before you "bump" into the next category.  Where I am, anything between 20-30 is no-man-zone.  So I've found ways to play 18 year olds, and 35 year olds.

model emily  wrote:

Maybe, the market up here tends to be much different than the bigger cities.

I once got laughed at here because this awesome 60+ lady is on our agency board.   Stupid, because she is also the face for a local chain of bargain stores, and is quite talented (and funny -- she's also a comedian).  She does all of their commercials, and is booked elsewhere quite often -- she's a local celebrity -- which a lot more than what many people here can say for themselves. 



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCKSKhVHBfw



The amateur crowd often doesn't understand that the type of work that is available depends on the market, and in smaller markets, these commercial/talent agencies rule because this is the type of work that's available.  Once people can start to understand that "real" modeling/talent expands way beyond just fashion modeling in NYC, we begin to reach some form of understanding...

Maine also has a lot of work for the older crowd doing stuff like this:



and stuff like this:





And any outdoors-y thing is huge in Maine... add a dog, and you're golden:



As long as you accept you aren't going to be posing for the cover of Vogue, I think you can find some good commercial/lifestyle opportunities in the right market.

Great example.  I think most on MM are only interested in nude and bathing suite and pretty girls and are not shooting over 50 life style photography.  As has been mentioned, with the baby boomers getting older the number of print ads for that age group is going to grow.

Jerry Nemeth wrote:

You don't look like a mature model.   

Thank you! That's nice of you to say. I have been told that I look too young for a lot of the typical mature model jobs and that if I had a few gray streaks in my hair I would get more jobs (like the casting I mentioned in my above post). Ahh well, I take it as a compliment.

model emily  wrote:
In your case, it sounds like you need to go to castings better prepared for the role.   If you know they're looking for a certain type, dress that way, do your hair so that it reflects an "older" more mature look.  If you know they're casting for a younger part, dress younger, keep make-up fresh and natural.

Sometimes you are truly caught in the middle and it can take awhile before you "bump" into the next category.  Where I am, anything between 20-30 is no-man-zone.  So I've found ways to play 18 year olds, and 35 year olds.

Yup,  I've done both. For  the roles that fall into my actual age group, I've seen the commercials once they found who they were looking for and I was like "oooooh, no wonder they didn't choose me. I couldn't look that old if I tried...lol!"  As for the younger roles, my voice and diction sounds closer to my actual age.