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SEPTEMBER
2006
Model
Consultation Scam
A
model has a bad experience with a model consultation scam.
I am writing
in reference to a company out of (a Tampa Bay location) claiming to
be holding casting calls. It is a classic bait and switch scam and I
knew it the second I referenced Independent Modeling in the interview-
( he asked about my agent) because he started stuttering, acted like
he'd never heard of it, acting snotty and berating me.
As soon as he realized that I have a brain and don't need him or their
"services" he began to insult my character, integrity and
even my age(23). He said I was too old to compete with the "16
/17 yr old tall blondes". He also told me that I would never make
it in this industry because I wouldn't allow him to sell me on their
classes or whatever. It is true that I am inexperienced in this industry
but I am learning as much as I can to try and get started. Knowledge
is power and I love your website. If you have any advice for someone
who knows little to nothing about getting started please let me know.
For example, since TFP is so shady how do you recommend I get started?
Should I contact Aurora for a consultation? I know I need marketing
materials, is the best way to just find a reputable photog and pay for
them? Please respond at your earliest convenience. Thank you very much
for your time and have a great day.
- Michelle, a model from Tampa Bay, Florida
Hello Michelle,
Independent Modeling rocks! I’m not saying that because I used
to be on their staff or anything, but just about everyone who has a
problem with my friends is probably doing something wrong and they are
threatened by any free modeling resource which teaches models how to
get work on their own.
The fact that models are throwing Independent Modeling in the faces
of model scams is hilarious, too! The look on his face must have been
priceless.
If you encountered anyone who invited you to a model job go see only
to have them turn around and try to sell you some service, then yes,
that is a bait and switch scam. Any time that you are bait and switched,
you become the victim of a deceptive trade practice, which is fraud.
You should contact the Florida attorney general’s office, which
handles consumer fraud in Florida, and also the Federal Trade Commission
(FTC), and report what happened to you. If you know of anyone else who
encountered the same scam, get them to contact the authorities too.
You can get more instructions on how to do this and get the links to
the relevant resources by going to Tampa Bay Modeling’s REPORT
A SCAM section (incidently, the section is going to be
greatly enlarged later this month with the opening of our new model
and talent agency scam-fighting resource section for models and abused
agency bookers.
While Aurora PhotoArts is a good photography company to invest in model
portfolio photography with, it is not the only one. Other great photographers
that you should check out include Andy Meng, Craig Huey, Michael Cairnes,
Susan Jeffers, and ITD Photos. Also, please note that Aurora PhotoArts
is our main sponsor, and their senior photographer, C. A. Passinault,
is also the director of Independent Modeling. Although they are our
main sponsor, we are obligated to point out other great photographers,
too, because we will not endorse one company when it could become a
conflict of interest. Know that you will get excellent, professional-quality
pictures with any of these photographers and photography companies.
As a professional model with experience in the matter, I will say that
you should avoid any photographers who agencies and model consultants
refer you to, as there is a great potential for a conflict of interest
there. I cannot recommend any of those photographers who work with agencies.
For a more comprehensive list of reputable, professional photographers,
check out the TALON
Talent Online database over at Independent
Modeling. They even have a reference star-based rating system which
will tell you the ration of good references over complaints that they
have on file at a glance. You cannot go wrong booking the services of
any model portfolio photographer or photography company on there with
a four or a five-star rating (all of the photographers who I have mentioned
are currently five-star rated).
Regarding TFP, it depends upon the definition that you are referring
to. TFP used to be a term that described a professional collaboration
between established professionals. The term has been hijacked by amateurs,
though, and what it generally means now are amateur photographers and
amateur models running around teaching each other bad habits and practicing
poor Quality photography. Most photographers offering TFP (free shoots
to aspiring models) either do not know what they are doing or are up
to no good; in this case it could be considered a shady practice which
has the potential to be dangerous and at the very least usually turns
out to be a waste of time. Would you respect a so-called professional
who did nothing but free work and never got paid? A part of human nature
is something called “perceived value”. Most people do not
assign much worth to things that are given to them, while the same person
may think highly of the exact same thing if they pay for it. This is
why TFP photographers get the dumbass of the year award from me. Not
only do they not get paid for what they are trying to do, but the models
who do TFP with them are far less likely to like the pictures or respect
the photographer because of perceived value. For those unethical TFP
photographers out there with shady hidden agendas such as trying to
meet “hot girls” to try to hook up with them, they should
know that if this is what they are trying to do, then they handicap
any chance that they have with any model simply because they handicap
the potential for respect that any model may have for them. Women are
not attracted to anyone who they do not respect. Please note that I
am not condoning the actions of TFP photographers who are trying to
hook up with models, I am merely pointing out the irony that what they
are trying to achieve becomes less likely because of the reduced respect.
If you want to increase the odds that you will be rejected by beautiful
women, by all means enjoy yourself. This TFP hook-up irony is something
that greatly amuses me while, at the same time, I am also disgusted
by the sleazy guys who try this. Talk about mixed feelings!
Sometimes, if you are an established professional model who already
has a portfolio, composite cards, and maybe a few tear sheets under
your belt, you may find professional photographer willing to do a professional
collaboration for time (which used to be known as TFP before the guys
with cameras, or GWC’s, hijacked the term). By default, it you
already have your modeling career tools, you’re not in the market
for investing in portfolio services and the professional photographer
will feel better because they will know that the potential for a conflict
of interest and cutting the throat of their portfolio photography services
is minimal (no professional ever wants to find themselves in the position
of undermining or competing with themselves). If you are just starting
out and don’t have a portfolio already, it may be very tough to
find a professional photographer willing to collaborate with you in
this manner. If you are an aspiring model with no professional tools,
who shouldn’t even try to book any model jobs until you have invested
in the tools that you need. By all means, find a reputable photographer
or photography company and pay for the professional photographs to build
the portfolio and the composite cards that you will need to work on
your own or by being represented by agencies.
I recently took out some time to study what could be the saddest joke
that I have ever seen in the industry. It was some misguided model consultant
business that bordered on being a model consultant scam. It was run
by this TFP model who had used portfolio networking sites to build a
portfolio with TFP. The same model was also taken in my the place that
you are writing about, and had some of their pictures on her model consultant
site. The pictures were so bad that they would have handicapped the
career of this model rather than helped to market her. One thing that
was really sad and amusing at the same time was that she had this plan
where models would be introduced to TFP photographers to build their
“professional modeling” portfolio. It takes all kinds, and
people really need to know what the hell they are talking about before
they form some sort of model consultant business around a bunch of misguided
ideas. So, what do people really get for paying her a few hundred dollars?
She cannot legally book them into model jobs (and there is no incentive
to do that if you cannot get paid for it), she doesn’t know enough
about photography to refer anyone to any photographer. The also contradicts
herself. The very people who she puts down she also builds up as a source
for her “professional” modeling experience. Screw the modeling
schools and the pictures that show that you were taken advantage of
my some model scam. Do you have tear sheets? What model jobs have you
booked and been paid for? Why is your portfolio full of the crappiest
pictures I have ever seen? So much for being a qualified model-turned
model expert. She should spin it as “I, too, have been victimized
by models scams! Let me consult with you today and you can pay me for
my time so you can learn from my mistakes instead of making them yourself!”
What does she claim to offer? She claims to be able to offer models
her professional connections and profiles on portfolio networking sites
that only she seems to know about. Well, guess what? I can recreate
her list by spending ten minutes on a search engine. I can also find
superior information on this site and on Independent Modeling as well
as a list of genuine professional photographers and others on Independent
Modeling. The cost? Nothing but a few minutes of my time. People really
need to quit taking advantage of naive aspiring models and they need
to stop reselling the free information that they take from other sources.
Why not just ask for donations out of pity? I’ll be sure to be
the first one to send five dollars to the misguided model expert fund
if they retire. That business will probably be closed before the end
of the year. I am sure that she means well, but it’s more of a
joke than anything else. What this is could basically be described as
a dysfunctional, mentally handicapped version of a model consultation
scam, and there are many others out there who do it so much better,
and they are actually a danger to models! I haven’t seen a model
scheme that is more pathetic than this one is.
Well, that’s it for my 1,000th rant. Good luck with your portfolio,
by the way, and let me know how it goes!
~ Model Monica Stevens,
Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor
NEXT
LETTER
September
2006 Mail Bag
E-Mail us
and let us know what YOU think! If you wish to add to one of Monica's
answers or disagree with her and want to post an answer of your own,
please let us know what letter and month you are replying to and if
we see that it is relevant we may add it to that month's archive.
C/O Monica
Stevens, Mail Bag Editor
©
Copyright 2006 Tampa Bay Modeling
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