The primary audience for this particular blog is models somewhat new to the modeling industry and/or aspiring models.

The scams in this industry are abundant! I’m getting more angry about the scams I keep seeing on myspace, the internet, my inbox and even in the mail. First, here are a couple of absolutes:

DO NOT ENTER CONTESTS THAT REQUIRE ENTRY FEES, PERIOD!

DO NOT SPEND YOUR MONEY ON MODELING “SHOOTOUTS” OR “JAMS”!

On the first warning, especially on myspace recently, I’ve been getting hit up to be in various contests that require an entry fee. The catalyst for this blog was an invitation to participate in a contest where A NATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY chain offered a “reduced rate” for “models” to have their photos taken. Once that chain (and only photos from that chain would qualify!) had taken your photos, you could qualify to enter their contest after you paid an additional submission fee.

WTF?!?!  Is it just me or is this most duplicitous and underhanded means by which to sell photo packages and take money from girls who probably don’t have any to spare?!?! I have no problem with a chain inviting its customers to enter a contest, but to proclaim this type of contest as a valuable means toward launching a career in modeling is ludicrous!  Furthermore, to suggest to aspiring models that they should pay a national chain for portfolio grade images is nauseating and insulting to models and professional photographers! If you are serious about modeling, someone on this large planet of ours, probably within a few miles of your home, is interested in building their photography portfolio. Use myspace, onemodelplace.com or modelmayhem.com to find them and learn from each other - grow in this industry together. That’s exactly what I did!

Regarding the “shootouts” or “jams” - whatever you want to call them, BEWARE!!! There is at least one nationally-known U.S. bikini company that has used disingenuous tactics to lure models into their events. I was a victim of one such scam that started with a phone call claiming I had won the online portion of a contest. They later claimed they made a mistake, (I found out that someone else had actually won) but they refused to refund my deposit until I involved a third party.

Remember: Being a model is something YOU ARE PAID TO DO!!! It is your j o b! Do the cashiers at McDonalds pay McDonald’s for the “privelege” of having a job?!?!? If you are paying someone to “allow” you to be a model, YOU ARE BEING SCAMMED!!!!

“Shootouts/jams” CAN BE excellent opportunities to network. It is essential that you exercise a great deal of caution when it comes to spending your money on such things. The lure of these types of events is the model will have the opportunity to get a lot of photos from a lot of photographers. He/she may also have the opportunity to network with businesses who could later consider him/her for work. KEEP IN MIND that usually many of the photographers at these events are not pros. If you’re an amateur model, then there’s no harm in working with amateur photographers. Like I said, you can grow together. But if you have a well-rounded portfolio, reconsider! Furthermore, if you’re a well-respected model, you should be getting paid to work a shootout/jam. Don’t sell yourself short! I’ve already established this business is cut-throat. So if you sell yoursef short, expect no shortage of people ready to prey on you!

If you’re attending a shootout/jam in the hopes of getting published in a well-known magazine, just send me the money you plan to spend and I’ll provide similar results. I promise, 99.9% of the time, you’ll never hear from me except for a courteous “Thank you” when I receive your money! We SO badly want to believe there is a magical/fast answer to everything we attempt that we sometimes forego logic and reason in favor of hope. (From the Matrix: Hope — it is the quintessential human delusion, simultaneously the source of your greatest strength and your greatest weakness. ~ The Architect) Don’t let hope be your weakness when it comes to managing your finances! Expecting to be published just for attending one of these events is like expecting to be cast in next Summer’s hottest movie because you have your own Blockbuster card.

On a positive note, a quick peek in my pics section on MySpace will reveal hyperlinks to some incredibly talented photographers. If, by some cosmic freak occurence, all of these guys were available for a “shootout/jam” for a weekend and the fee was only a couple hundred dollars, then you would find me there as long as it was near my home, close enough to drive. “My” guys are top-notch! I KNOW that I would be working with excellent photographers, creating fabulous content I could use.  However, it is extremely unlikely that such a professional and highly-skilled round of talent will ever happen to be at one of these shootout/jam-type events. I have seen other extremely-talented photographers put together promotional packages to offer their sevices at a reduced rate but this blog is not about them - those are not scams.

In closing, models do not pay entry fees for contests. Models do not pay employers to work. It’s not unusual for models and photographers to work for each other for free! But if you’re “invited” to an event where you’ll be photographed by dozens of photographers for a 2-3 day period, YOU ARE WORKING and you should be compensated for your work! If you consider getting 1000’s of the exact same pose in the exact same piece of clothing to be compensation, so be it. Just keep in mind that you’ve given your time AND money for that “compensation”.

Okay, so I didn’t plan on writing all of that in a blog, but I do hope it helps some models.

Onward and upward,

Teresa Noreen