Call 12 For Action: Pulse Management Stacey Eastman Scouting Photo Mill

Talent agency troubles
Rick DeBruhl
Call 12 For Action
Aug. 23, 2004 06:35 PM

Susie Ries and her daughter had big dreams of magazine photo spreads after a talent scout for a company called Pulse Management approached her.

According to Susie, “She told me they were a management company, they weren't an agency. They don't charge anything. She wanted us to come to this big call session.

Pulse Management had a good-looking web site, and a great pitch. The only catch was that Susie needed not just photographs, but “quality" pictures. Of course Pulse preferred they come from their recommended photographer. The photo shoot wasn't cheap. According to Susie they wanted $2,000.

Misti Wagner is a talent agent who also puts on seminars for people who want to get into the business. She says $2,000 is way too much money to spend for a set of talent pictures. She says children under the age of five don't the professional set of photos. Wagner says anyone over five should expect to spend between $200 and $300.

Susie Reis actually set up a photo shoot, until she learned more about Pulse Management. She says, “He never ever explains that it's his wife that owns the photography business that he's referring you to. “

In fact, the San Diego Better Business Bureau was suspending the company's membership for that very reason when Pulse Management resigned. It is now headquartered in Portland, Oregon. The address listed on their web page is apparently not a fancy office but a mailbox at a UPS Store.

Wagner says she hears the same story over and over. “I get calls on a daily basis. And I have submissions that come in from various companies from children who have gone into these companies and had their photographs taken, and never seen any work at all... at least not a paying job. It's one thing to get a job. It's another if it's a paying job.

Susie Reis is glad she didn't spend $2,000 for the photo shoot, but she says she also should have done more research in the beginning.

You can find more advice about what to watch for when considering a talent or management agency on the Better Business Bureau's web site. You can also search each individual company on that site. Beware of companies that have not been around long or may have changed names recently.

No one at Pulse returned our telephone call on the day we wrote this story.

In addition to her work as a talent agent, Misti Wagner has started a company called Actors and Models First Steps First Hand. She puts on monthly seminars giving advice for people who want to get into acting or modeling. The next two-hour class will be held at the main Phoenix Library this Saturday from 10am to noon. The cost is $40. For more information you can call 480-921-8903.

BBB talent agency page:
http://www.bbb.org/alerts/article.asp?ID=477