Answering a Reader Question #999

Anonymous Wrote:

I auditioned at a mother agency and they sent an offer. They require models to pay a monthly roster placement fee of $10 and pay for their first photoshoot which is $159 and this that says on there "You will receive an invoice which you can make partial payments on over the next 90 days for $378. You'll schedule your next shoot in 30 days, the final shoot in 60 days and we'll order your comp cards once you've completed your portfolio. You will receive your portfolio book at the time of your first shoot." I already did tfp with photographers and they said they could use those but I would need a waiver signed from each photographer I collaborated with. Do mother agencies usually have these fee's? Why don't they recommend models to free test shoots instead of charging them? Is it worth it?

Hi, Anonymous!

I apologize for the delay since you posted your original comment/questions on a blog post back in September and I'm just now getting back to you. I've been dealing with family losses and took some time away to recharge and refocus.

I'm sure you've made your decision by now but I still wanted to answer your questions in case it might help someone else who may be in a similar situation. If you want to provide us with an update on which route you ended up taking, we'd definitely welcome it!

Any agency that requires a model to cover the cost of test shoots and similar fees upon offering a contract for representation is within their legal rights to do so (it would be illegal if they asked you for those fees upfront first and then gave you the contract). It is up to each agency's discretion whether they will have the model cover the costs out-of-pocket, if they'll cover the expenses themselves (which they end up taking out of each paid booking received as a "short term loan" of sorts) or if they'll allow for images from other shoots.

At the end of the day, welcoming a model onto an agency's roster and taking all the actions necessary to get him/her into the system, marketed properly and introduced to potential clients costs time and money so by putting these types of fees in place, it helps the agency ensure they have their financial ducks lined up in a row.

It is a good sign that they allow you to use the tfp from the other photographers, however, so I hope you were able to get the waivers needed in order to use those photos for your portfolio.

One of the reasons why agencies don't flock to the idea of having models do test shoots for free is because oftentimes the photographers models seek out and the quality of the pictures produced are far below the kind required for an agency to use. Nothing is worse than having a model do test shoots and show them to their agent, only to have the agent tell them they can't use any of it. So that's why they aren't always eager to go that route, unless they've seen the photographer(s) work and feel confident they can pull off the quality preferred.

Any agency/mother agency will tell you that some form of investment is required to play at the professional level and I agree--as long as the fees are reasonable and a contract offer is on the table. In your case, that sounds like this falls under that category. Each agency has its own way of breaking down its fees for portfolios, comp card printing, online maintenance on the site, etc. and I've seen rates much higher so these appear reasonable and in line with what is to be expected.