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Please Don't Pay


One of the biggest misconceptions is that you have to pay to get an agent or to become a successful model. No...you...don't!

An agency first and foremost, believes in the models they represent. A true and legit agent will sign you without asking for any money upfront. If anything, they may recommend you working with one of their photographers to start putting together your portfolio. That part is up to you, but in general, no respectable and reputable agency will ask you to pay hundreds of dollars upfront for training.

Scams operate successfully because too many people think that if they invest a small fortune into their modeling career, it'll get them more exposure. There are talent conventions, expos, whatever they want to call themselves nowadays, that do give pretty good exposure to aspiring models, but the bottom line is that no matter how much you pay anybody, it won't guarantee you a solid modeling career.

Don't trust companies that advertise models for hire in the newspaper. Don't trust anyone who insist you need to pay in order to have them put together your portfolio, online profile, blah, blah, blah. That's nothing but a scam, scam, scam!

Believe in your true worth and deal with agencies that have a good and consistent track record. Use the Better Business Bureau website to research companies that seem suspect. If you believe in yourself and demand nothing less than perfection, a true agent will see that and take the chance of signing you with no strings attached.
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Anonymous said…
Hello,
My daughter is interested in modeling. We have been in contact with a booking agency that has sent us a contract. In addition to the contract they required her to get her own photos taken which we have don. We are to send the photos along with $199. They tell us the fee covers the layout of her marketing materials as well as her feature on their website. Do you think this is ligit? Any advise you can give us would be appreciated.
November 18, 2013 at 9:45 AM
Dania Denise said…
Hi, Anonymous! You'll find the answer to your questions in its own post, titled "Answering a Reader Question #684," which can be found on my other blog: "Modeling 101 - Answering Readers Questions."

Please visit this link: http://amodelsdiary-readerquestions.blogspot.com/ and you can view your post there. Thanks for reading!
November 21, 2013 at 10:30 PM
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