One Source Talent - One Source Talent Agency This company ripped off my father and sister for a $495 one time fee and a $39.95 monthly fee for "materials and services" which they do not provide. They take "unprofessional" pictures. Beverly Hills, California

You are right on the money.

Here's my story: I see these guys post on  Craigslist  and on google ads. All you had to do was answer a couple questions and submit a photo (optional), and someone would call you within the next couple of days. The "optional" to submit a photo should have raised a red flag right there, but I just submitted my stuff to see what would happen and went on my merry way. A couple days later, I got a call from One Source Talent, saying they wanted to meet me. I decided, "why not?" I can always say no.  When I got there,  the  office  was run by hot 20 something year old girls-clearly people who did NOT have experience in the industry. It was like "Boiler Room" but with hot women! They rounded all 50+ people into one room and showed off pictures of their "Success stories" (These people were all the ideal model type who would have found success WITHOUT One Source!). They also said "You don't need classes! Look at Jessica Simpson! Hahaha!" Then one by one they would call people to be interviewed as if only a few people got selected. They called me in, asked a few questions, and told me to come the next day. Having nothing to do and trying to expose this company as a scam, I went. The next day, I went to the LA office. I came 15 minutes early. Despite that, the person I was supposed to meet with didn't come 30 minutes after my call time (I waited 45 minutes!). While I was waiting, a client was waiting for his month follow up interview. I asked him if they booked him for any major  work  during his first month. He said he hadn't gotten anything and that it was mainly his fault because he was not submitting himself, when OneSource is supposed to submit you. I asked what kind of work did he see on his Onesource site. He mentioned a lot of reality shows and  extra  work  that anyone can find for free on Craigslist. Finally, this 20 something year old girl named Lynette Silvio asked me into an office, and then asked me a few questions before taking my photo portfolio. Lynette took my portfolio, walked out, and came back 10 or so minutes later and said "We think you're marketable, and we want to work with you. She then whips out this sheet of paper that she wants me to sign. It stated $495 with a monthly recurring fee of $39.95. She also suggested that I used their photographer who range around $400-800, depending on how many looks I got. When I asked which specific agencies and casting directors does OneSource work with, Lynette Silvio was stumped and said, "we work with many, many, many agencies and casting directors." I also asked if there were any success stories of average looking people like myself because all of the success stories on the site and their "Wall of Fame" were people who had the ideal model look or was a really cute kid. She failed to answer the question and provide examples of average looking people finding success through OneSource. I left with an unsigned contract. My ONLY regret was not hitting on the hot chicks working there.

In brief, professionals the world over now use digital photography. I have modeled for a world renowned professional photographer who had a stellar reputation, authored books and photographed for Kodak Corporation. Yes, he still used his old film Hasselblad but he and all the pros on the shoot were using professional grade DIGITAL. You may be surprised what great quality even a mid-grade digital can produce now. Certainly fine for portfolio and head shots.

May I also suggest the original complainer do a significant amount of research on modeling and agents. It is importnat to know what really is the industry standard before you sign contracts with any agency.

Some of these complaints are not justified, although the actual customer service and relationship with this agency may be worthy of complaints. Of course you will have to apply for jobs yourself, and they are not going to do ALL the work for you.

IF you are going to try to be in the entertainment industry you need to do research NOW and know what to expect before bumbling into an agency and you have no clue what to expect, what is normal business practice and what is a true rip-off.

Most complaints I see about modeling agencies are because people don't have haven't educated themselves before hand and because they don't read the contract before signing.