Modeling Scams to Avoid!
Cristina Dehart
ExploreModeling.com
I want to talk about all the scams that are out there. Okay, in which there are so many and it is because there are so many girls that want to be tall, and guys that want to be tall because you have got what it takes, you are great, whatever. So people take advantage of that and they feel like someone is telling them I look great and I can do this, so—they do not know any better, so they pay and you know, there is no agency that I know of or that I have ever worked with that charges a fee for representation. There is no agency I can say it again, that charges a fee for representation. The only fee they get is 20% of the job they booked for you which means you are getting paid.
So there are a lot of agencies that say, “Oh you are so great and we are going to book you so much work but it cost $1,200.00 just to get with our agency. It is a registration or an initiation fee.” Scam, scam. Just thank them for their time. There is no reason to, you know, create any rockets, just thank them for their time and walk out the door and go to another one. Because—I am not quite sure if that is illegal, I think it is. But they try to hide it and they say, okay well, come and join our agency. They are not calling it the initiation fee anymore because consumers are getting wise and they are thinking okay, you are a scam, so they are saying, “Okay come with our agency but you need to get pictures which I already told you it is necessary but you need to get them here. You have to get them here in order for us to represent you, you need to come here.”
Have to, that is what you should look for. You should not have to use a specific photographer. They can suggest a photographer. Even my agency has a list of photographers which I told you when you are looking for a photographer you need to get a referral, so you can call an agency for referral but you see the difference of having to get your pictures here for representation and we would like to represent you. You are going to need pictures but here is four or five photographers that we use. You can go to them, whatever but this is what you need. See it leads a difference their and in the first one when I am telling you, you have to, there business is based of pictures, is based of selling pictures and not of booking jobs for models.
So if they are charging you for pictures and you have to get them here and then we have this composite card which we can print for you which is going to $600.00, well it does not cost $600.00 to print your composite card though you know, you need to be educated in what they are offering you and what they say and they should not be taking any money. I have never really written out my agency a check, you know, this agency directly to them. I do not know when. The only time I think I have ever written my agency a check which they usually take it out of the money that, you know, from the jobs that you have gotten. But the only thing I can ever imagine is maybe for an agency website.
If anyone is being pushy, if you go to sit with an agency and they put a contract in front of you and they say, you have to sign this, you have to sign it today. We want this much money and they are bugging you and calling you, you are pretty is what they are telling you, on the scam without even saying it, so if you, I mean, there are agencies in New York, everywhere there are agencies very reputable agencies all over the world, the country everywhere and if they like a model and they come in with their parents or they come I by themselves and they are questioning, you know what I am not really sure, a reputable agency would say, take this contract down look it over, if you decide a month you want to do it, if you decide in two months, but now you have the information to work here. But if you have someone that is pushing you, pushing you, it is probably not the right place to be.
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