Industry Model & Talent Studios Slick and sleazy, with one expense after another Edgewater New Jersey

I was at a mall and one of their talent scouts approached me about my older daughter. I was skeptical so I asked them some quesitons. They said their agency would not get paid until my daughter got work.

I took my two daughters for the "evaluation" at their office. It seemed that they were not very selective about who they invited ... a bad sign already.

We met with a "director" who looked at my girls' pictures quickly and pronounced them photogenic. We would of course need them to shoot pictures for $495. I asked if we would have to pay for the pictures they would use to promote my kids, and he said no. We signed up only the older daughter for photos because we knew the younger was harder to work with (despite that, the "director" kept pushing that we sign up the younger ... another bad sign).

I brought the older daughter back for the photos session. I was not too crazy about the hair and make-up. As we left we were told that we would need $40 to pick up our slides next time. I asked if there would be any other expenses before our daughter would be marketed, and I was told "no".

I came back to view the photos and was not impressed, but the girl showing them to me kept saying "CUTE" and "ADORABLE" as if trying to convince me. Meanwhile, I hear another customer screaming in another room using the words "lawyer" and "thousand dollars". Another bad sign.

I then met with another "director" who also fawned over what I thought were average pictures of my child. She then told me (surprise!) that I would have to buy hundreds of dollars worth of photos for them to distribute. At that point I walked out.

Yeah, I feel like a fool, even though I thought I was more skeptical and prepared than most. I feel bad for all those families I saw who brought in kids (often more than one, and sometimes ... honestly ... not photogenic) and who clearly had limited financial resources.

The people in this business should be ashamed. They invite almost anyone who might have money in, endlessly call their kids cute, and they don't honestly answer questions about how much all their services will cost. And lets face it, there are not that many jobs for kids, so how can they really "promote" hundreds of them?

William
West Orange, New Jersey
U.S.A.