Modeling Scam

If your focus is on modeling career, beware of modeling scam. These scams can be in terms of your money and your time.

There are lots of people, who want to enter in this glamorous world of modeling, but they have no idea, from where to start. Some modeling agencies and photographers take advantage of this situation and exploit new comers.

Their way of working is quite simple. They give advertisements in local news paper and on internet, as a modeling agency or model coordinator. Some of them print posters, which we can find in public place and on public transport. They give offer to shoot your portfolio for very cheap price, which is inclusive of make up and costume.

When you approach them, they may shoot your portfolio for the given budget, but the quality of pictures are good for nothing. An average make up artist charges 1500 INR for his creative work and make up material he uses, We should think about how one can shoot portfolio pictures for 1200 INR which is inclusive of photographer's professional fees, make up and studio over heads.

This is how you waste your time and your money.

Other scam-er may give you higher budget, and transfer you to some photographer. This is a perfect business, but in such case, the commission should never exceed 15%. However, I have come across an incidence, where the model paid 15000 INR for his portfolio to the agent. The agent transferred him to a photographer, whose charges are 3000 INR.

If you make your good portfolio from your own contacts, and then contact modeling agency, reputed agency will accept your portfolio without any condition. A scam agency may ask you for "registration fees" This amount can be anything between few hundred rupees to few thousand rupees. Never ever trust them and pay anything. After all, why they need to register you? They earn their commission from the assignments, they give you, which is a fair business.

Other scam-er may question about the picture quality and demand a new portfolio shoot from their photographer. Or they may ask you to join their acting and modeling classes. This is how they will try to remove some money from you.

Finally, some of them may directly ask you for a good amount (as a bribe) to grant you an assignment. One agency asked my model Himanshu Raghav to make an album, so that his tag as a fresher is removed. He agreed to do it, but then they told him that he will have to bear the entire production cost of making the album!

This is how, bad players in this field cheat you. Extreme case of modeling scam may lead to serious offence, where models are exploited for sex, irrespective of their gender.

So be careful of modeling scam. Search market, keep your eyes and mind open and always visit the agency with at least one companion.

Read about:

Modelling career

Modelling fees

Modelling portfolio

Modelling tips

Model photography

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