A friend who also has a blue-eyed baby was asked if he could do a modeling job, and they needed another baby, so she gave the agent my number. And then, through other moms and meeting people at jobs, we've gotten quite a collection of agents' phone numbers. Danny was quite a hot commodity for awhile because he was practically the only foreign baby in town for the summer. Everyone else had gone to their home countries. But really, so many of the expat kids do modeling here. It's kind of funny when I look for Danny online and I see all these other familiar faces.
We had our first job back in July, when Danny was 7 months old for an inflatable pool and neck ring. I had no idea what to expect, but it was very easy. We were paid for the whole day but actual camera time was short. It was a good introduction into the modeling world.
Since then, we've had our share of ripoffs but also dream jobs.
I had a couple hard lessons, in which the clients would not pay for our entire time at the job because he wasn't in front of the camera or they took an unreasonably long unpaid lunch break. As an adult model, I wouldn't imagine this is a big deal because you can do whatever you want, play on your phone, read a book, enjoy the break... but there are so many factors involved with working with a baby. You have to plan around naps, feedings, whether or not he's having too much stimulation. It is absolutely not a break for a mom. This isn't rocket science, people: if the baby is happy and pleasant, start taking pictures and don't stop until the baby tells you he's done. Some of these clients do not get it!
After a couple ripoffs, I learned to fight. It is not my fault that the client was late. It is not my fault that we started two hours later then the time you told me to be here. It is not my fault that the product and set is not ready. You pay us for the time you hired us. *drops mic*
So, those dream jobs I was talking about? Oh you know, the ones where we are paid for 8 hours, but Danny technically modeled for 30 minutes. The rest of the time is spent napping, playing, and getting fawned over by all the assistants and make-up girls. Easy money! But most jobs are only between 2-3 hours. Another easy job for Danny is for crib shoots. "Is it time for his nap? We want him to sleep in the crib" Getting paid to sleep is a dream, right? Getting the baby to sleep is the tricky part for ol' Mama. Hmm, he wakes back up every time I place him in the crib. So, I will nurse him while leaning over the edge of the crib until he falls asleep. That was hard.
He's modeled for several brands and some small Taobao (similar to eBay and Amazon) shops, and once a furniture store (?). The great thing about modeling these days is that you can find the pictures online! There's no begging the clients or photographers to give you hard copies of the photos. If you know the brand name, you can almost always find the pictures. It's such a fun treasure hunt. Occasionally, I will search on the two biggest shopping websites in China: Taobao and T-Mall, I've found about 90% of Danny's products online.
How does Danny feel about all this modeling business? Am I the worst mom ever, forcing my son into child labor? Hardly. He loves it. He absolutely loves all the attention he gets. This baby never experienced stranger danger, which I still haven't decided is a good or bad thing. Living here, we cannot go outside without Danny getting his picture taken by strangers on the street. Even in such an international city, some people are still not used to seeing a white baby.
One day we were out for a walk as a family and this security guard would not stop staring at Danny who was sitting on Josh's shoulders. Josh said to him in Chinese, "What? Have you never seen a white baby before?!" And he shook his head and replied, "No, I haven't." I can say with 100% confidence that Danny has had his picture taken every single day of the first year of his life. If not by me or a modeling job, then by less than discreet people on the bus or subway. I get why Michael Jackson had his kids wear blankets over their heads when they went out. MJ, I'm with ya.
Unless I resort to blankets, I cannot help people taking pictures of my son here. It happens everyday, it's inevitable. With the modeling, we can use it to his advantage. Now he gets paid! Danny's steadily growing his very own savings account. And thanks to my sweet boy, for purchasing those additional air cleaners we've been wanting for the apartment ;)
We've had several jobs with the brand Good Baby, which I'd say is the Chinese equivalent to Carter's/Graco/Playskool. Good Baby makes everything baby/kid related. He's modeled clothes, cribs, toys, jumpers, walkers, carseats, and strollers for them. The photographer that always works with Good Baby really loves Danny though. [Warning: here's where I start bragging on my kid] Several times, the photographer puts down the camera, shakes his head in disbelief, and exclaims, "He's so good!" He's also told me that Danny's their best boy and is on the honor roll. Haha. But really, my nutty kid thrives on attention. The more people that are looking at him, the bigger smiles he'll produce. We have a real narcissist on our hands.
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| Two Dannys! |
This whole thing has been a wild ride. I've actually modeled twice with Danny. The first time was because of poor planning on the client's part. We arrive at a stroller shoot, and they realized that the Chinese "mom" may not look too convincing with a little blue eyed western boy. So, I get thrown into make-up and we do a few shots. I'm pretty sure they just trashed all those pics because I've yet to find them anywhere. The second time was for a baby carrier. It was really fun! It was even cooler when I found those photos.
I know Danny's modeling career will end as soon as we leave China. For now, it's something fun for him to do and it gets us out of the house. How funny it will be for him to move to America and realize he's not the center of the universe anymore.
