Modeling agency and photos?

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DeweyWatermelon

New member
Is it normal for certain modeling agencies to make you get your own photos? I found what seemed to me a decent mostly commercial and talent agency. Their comp photos were decent. They have a small workshop where they go over make-up, hair, picture poses, etc. because you mostly have to do your stuff for commercial or extras. They say that a way to get free photos for cheaper is to take their workshop which includes a mini shoot. It'll be in the 400 dollars range. It is a licensed agency. This agency accepts a wide range of people because different clients want different people.

Of course, I don't have the money at this point, but I also think there is no guarantee that you'd get work, so I wonder if it's really worth it spending 400 something dollars for a mini shoot that you may get some bad ones and may not be enough to complete the composite card.

Tyra Banks always says that you shouldn't pay for anything. They pay it for you. Is this agency just saving themselves money if they don't believe in you and making money?

I wonder where you draw the line with paying for your own photos.
Oh MixedMojo chill out! I am just asking for opinions. S*it happens out there in the modeling business, so I can ask what I want, and if you're tired of hearing "women like me" who as the same d*mn s*it over again to make sure what they're getting into, then stop wasting your energy anymore. It's that simple. You're worst than Tyra Banks btw, and I never claimed I was some sort of amazing weird model you see on covers or whatever crap you're trying to put in my mouth. I am more interested in everyday average people commercial type. If you're so burned out with these questions, then quit reading them!
This is mainly the topoic about what's a fair thing to do when it comes to paying out of your pocket. Opinions vary that it's okay to ask.
 
Yes it is quite normal.

Basically if you apply to an agency with a couple of snapshots and they take you on, the agency will do one of a couple of things.

1. a good agency will have a few recommended photographers who they use. These photographers know the style that the agency requires in the models books. The agency will send you along to them to have shots taken and you arrange with the photographer what it will cost etc and pay the photographer directly. Sometimes if the photographer is trying out new equipment or the like then they might shoot you as a test and you won't have to pay or you will only pay for the prints.
Or
the agency will send you along to the photographer and cover the costs initially but take it out of your fees when they get you work.

2. a smaller agency (basically one just getting bodies on their books) will either tell you to go and find a photographer and get shots done or will have their own related studio who will shoot your book for a price. They are unlikely to cover the costs initially as all they want is bodies and are unlikely to get you much work.

What you should not be paying for is the registration with the agency.
What you might have to pay for is z-cards and an admin fee and your initial photos for your book.

Tyra Banks is right and wrong. If the agency thinks you are the next big thing then they will potentially invest in you and cover the costs - this might happen 1 time in 100,000.

The majority of time you will have to cover the costs of your intial shots for your book.
 
Yes, it is normal. Especially if you are an amateur, they're not going to pay for you to get your own portfolio. You know, I really get tired of the diva thing with you "model chick" type women - models are professionals, and you don't get professional status simply for being a model. A portfolio is a resume, it shows what you are capable of. And last I checked, resume writing isn't free either. Here's a rule of thumb, if you "need" something, you'll either have to pay or trade for it. You don't get it because you're "pretty", and you're not that hot of a commodity - you're a model, there are like thousands of you people. And if you go to an agency without a portfolio, you're not just going to get a job. And with nothing to offer, you're not worth anything to anyone until your portfolio proves otherwise. Tyra Banks is a diva because she's a gozillionaire, with her own show, and 20 something years of her own experience - which means she can pretty much say anything if it meant you'd tune in next week. Becoming a model how she describes it, as a beginner (which is possible, btw), is like trying to hit a bullet, with a smaller bullet, while riding a horse. It's just not something that happens everyday. And usually, if you haven't been asked to shoot with a photographer at no cost to you, you're not that great. You may have potential, but not enough to justify the cost. No, it's the photographers that cost. You should get that straight. Models are like mannequins, you find one that your clothes will fit on and who can sit still in front of a camera for as long as they are told to.

I don't know where you women get that it's so glamourous. It's a job, like any other.

Of course the agency will suggest you pay for their workshops to get your port, they're a business. If you want to get a port for free, or next to nothing and/or trade, create a profile on model mayhem, and ask for TF work to build your portfolio and get a little experience in front of the camera. Then take that to an agency.
 
Tyra lies, and is quite oblivious to the industry at large, regardless of how long she was in it.

Comp cards and portfolio updates are generally the model's responsibility. Agencies can often set up "unpaid tests" with certain photographers for these purposes, ask them if they know of any photographers that offer tests.

When in doubt...if you have an agency look, you should have no problems finding quality unrepresented photographers to TF with.
 
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