Model/Talent Convention Scams"Model/Talent Convention." What a great concept, right? Spend a few hundred dollars to see people from real agencies instead of spending a couple thousand dollars going to New York - only to find out no one has time to see you.
The big problem with the vast majority of modeling conventions, however, is that there are just too many of them going on - every weekend in dozens of towns all across the country - for them to be attended by real scouts, real agents, etc..
Who are those people with the name badges then?
More often than not they're just "friends of friends" - not real scouts, not real agents and not real decision makers.
Many conventions advertise that a large number of agencies will have agents, scouts or some other sort of "representatives" on hand to see you, but when you get there you may only see a few people wearing "name badges."
(You thought they would all be patiently waiting for everyone to take turns walking down some makeshift runway? Look in the dining area or in the bar area as most of them will be in one of those two places.)
FACT: Real agents do not live and work out of motor homes - and there are simply not that many of them to go around to travel to and properly staff all of these "events".
So why pay several hundred to several thousand dollars for a few seconds of "exposure" to individuals that are incapable of even recognizing a potential model, let alone signing one?
The newest come-on? "Meet the most famous model scout in the world! We will invest in you and introduce you to 30 top agents for free!" Sounds good, but what you will actually be doing is attending a two hour meeting with a couple of hundred other people (zero agents present) where the "scouts" present will try to convince everyone that gets "selected" to part with $500 to $600 for useless pictures to show to the agents at the a "free convention" that you will have to pay several hundred dollars or more in travel expenses to get to - only to be told you are "too short, too old, not what we're looking for right now," etc.
Then the promoters skip off to the next town - with your money. (Check their website for a very long list of places they have been to and where they will be going next.)
It may seem convenient to attend a "model/talent convention" that comes to your town, but what is more important - doing something that is convenient, or doing something that is real?
There are thousands of fake modeling and talent agencies and a relatively small handfull of real ones - especially in the state of Florida - so feel free to send an e mail with your name, stats and a small jpg photo or two and we will try to point you in the right direction.
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