Work With Me
About
The Industry Letter

For Parents Navigating Child Modeling

You don't need
more advice.
You need the truth.

Most parents searching "how to get into child modeling" find the same recycled tips, predatory agencies, and wishful thinking. I built this to change that. Real industry knowledge. No fluff.

Free to follow  ·  On Substack  ·  Agency-owner knowledge

The Real Problem

Why most parents waste months
going in circles

The child modeling industry isn't complicated — but it is opaque. And that opacity is expensive. Here's what keeps families stuck.

What I Help With

Clarity on the six things
that actually matter

Not a checklist of generic steps. A framework for making smart decisions at every stage of the process.

01

Agency Vetting

How to identify legitimate agencies in your market, what questions to ask, and exactly what the answers should tell you.

02

Submission Strategy

What photos agencies actually want to see, how to write a submission email, and when in the year to make contact for best results.

03

Protecting Your Family

The specific contract clauses, fee structures, and requests that signal a scam — and how to exit gracefully when you spot them.

04

Setting Realistic Expectations

How long this actually takes, what early bookings typically look like, and how to tell the difference between a slow start and a dead end.

05

The Child's Experience

How to prepare your child emotionally and practically for castings and bookings without creating pressure or over-investment.

06

Market-Specific Reality

How the industry differs by market — New York, Los Angeles, regional — and what that means for your strategy and expectations.

Work With Me

Three ways to go
deeper.

Direct access

Direct Access Q&A

$75 per question

One question. One personal video response from a working agency owner. Delivered to your inbox within 48 hours.

Ask a question →

Newsletter & community

The Industry Letter

Free or $8 / month

Weekly writing on the child modeling industry from the inside. Free to follow. Paid subscribers get one live group session with Brandis every month.

Subscribe →

One-on-one consultation

Agency Ready

$400 4 families per month

A private consultation for parents new to the industry: how it works, what it costs, and how to vet an agency, applied to your child and your market. Includes a written action plan, an agency shortlist, and a snapshot review. Parent only. Education, not a representation interview.

Book a consultation →
Brandis Ohlsson, Children's Model Agency Owner and Founder of Model Mother

About Model Mother

I'm not a coach.
I run an agency.

I have owned a children's modeling agency for 14 years. I have reviewed thousands of submissions, signed hundreds of children, and watched parents make every mistake in the book — not because they were not smart, but because no one told them how this industry works.

I built Model Mother because the information gap is real and the consequences are real. Families lose money to scams, miss genuine opportunities from lack of preparation, and eventually give up thinking their child was not good enough — when preparation was the only thing that was missing.

I am also an advocate for AI safety protections for child models. As artificial intelligence reshapes this industry, the unauthorized use of children's likenesses and the replacement of real child models with digital replicas is a growing concern that most parents do not yet know to look for. Real children deserve real protections. Real work should go to real people.

What I share here is not theory. It is the exact framework I use on the other side of the table.

I have owned a children's modeling agency for 14 years
Reviewed thousands of child model submissions
Placed children with national and regional clients
Advocate for AI safety protections for child models
Zero pay-to-play, zero misleading promises

Free to Follow

The Industry Letter
for Model Parents

Writing on the child modeling industry from the inside. Written by an agency owner, not an influencer.

  • How to tell a legitimate agency from a predatory one
  • What agencies actually look for in a submission
  • Contracts, commission, and the fine print, in plain language
  • What is changing in the industry, and what it means for your family

Subscribe free

Free to follow. Paid subscribers ($8/month) join a monthly one-hour live Q&A with Brandis.

Subscribe Free

From the Agency

Questions worth asking
before you start.

The answers are more complicated than most parents realize. That is exactly the point.

Ready to Start

Stop guessing.
Start with the right information.

The Industry Letter for Model Parents is free to follow. Real industry knowledge from an agency owner, delivered to your inbox.

Free  ·  On Substack  ·  Written by an agency owner