In short
- The catalogue has one agency in Enschede: MY Models, working for more than 20 years.
- Registration is free; a test shoot with a photographer, if one is needed, is paid.
- It has six boards, from kids to talent.
MY Models
Enschede is a city in the province of Overijssel, in the east of the Netherlands, by the German border. It is the only agency in that province among the 100 records in our catalogue for the Netherlands. The catalogue lists every business that represents models; we do not vouch for them, and each profile shows what we found, good and bad.
MY Models says of itself that it has mediated between clients, models, stylists and make-up artists for more than 20 years. That shows it puts together the whole team for a shoot, not only the person in front of the lens. The office is at Lipperkerkstraat 371, and the site prints KVK number 08196086. In the catalogue the agency has six boards: women, men, kids, curve, commercial and talent. A list that wide is typical of a regional agency serving local advertising clients.
Free registration and paid photos
The agency's site says clearly that registration is free. That is a good fact and worth naming. The second part of the same page needs more attention. If a model has no suitable photos, the agency refers the model to a test photographer, and that shoot has to be paid for. The site does not say what it costs.
This is the point to stop and ask three things. Would the agency take you on with plain photos shot on a phone in daylight? Can you choose the photographer yourself? And who receives the money: the photographer or the agency? The Dutch police give a simple yardstick: a reliable agency pays for the first photo session on the model's behalf and recovers it from future fees.
The country's intermediaries act forbids taking payment from a person seeking work, but that provision is written for employment contracts. Models mostly work self-employed, and no official text says how the ban applies to them. So rely not on the statute but on common sense and a written agreement.
Other markets
- Apeldoorn has 4modElz Agency, a commercial agency that also runs pageants.
- Groningen has KKH Management, a small agency in the north of the country.
- Amsterdam has 50 of the 100 catalogue agencies; from Enschede it is the other side of the country.
How to get started
- Attach a few simple digitals when you register: that way you learn whether a test shoot is needed at all.
- If you are sent to a photographer, ask for the price in writing and whether the photos will be yours to keep.
- When registering a child, ask how the agency handles permissions: children under 13 need an exemption from the Labour Authority.
- Before the first booking, agree on the commission and the payment term.
- For more on the law and tax, read the guide Modeling agencies in the Netherlands.