Act Model Now - How to get started in acting, modeling, and other talent professions, now, without getting ripped off by a modeling and talent scam. From your friends at Tampa Bay Talent.

ACT MODEL NOW

Act Model Now 052012

NEWS 05/20/12 - The modeling and talent scams in the Tampa Bay area continue on. Effective immediately, we will be deploying additional resources over the next year to combat these scams. If you are a Tampa Bay modeling, talent, or school scam (and you'd be pretty sure if you were, and if not, then you're simply either ignorant or deluding yourself), why don't you try to be honest about what you are really in business to do and try to become legitimate? You do not have to lie to people to get work! Baiting people in with the promise of jobs, such as those who are running ads for models who are now needed for major department store fashion shows in the Tampa Bay area, is pathetic, in our opinion. Expect more web sites, more information, more tools to keep you in check, and, for those who are using deceptive marketing tactics and fraud, to be made accountable. The Tampa Bay talent market is going to become ground zero in the worldwide fight against modeling and talent scams!

Free Online Modeling, Acting , and Talent resource sites where you are not obligated to buy anything in order to use the resource, or obtain genuine, worthwhile job leads.

Tampa Bay Modeling
The top modeling resource site in the world is here in Tampa Bay! Tampa Bay Modeling is a free modeling resource site, and there is no obligation to buy anything to use the site. The future of the modeling industry is happening right here in Tampa Bay, and this is ground zero for a revolution in modeling, especially with older sister site Independent Modeling paving the way!

Independent Modeling
Arguably as popular and effective as Tampa Bay Modeling, Independent Modeling will become the top modeling resource site in the world by late 2011. The core modeling resource site, Independent Modeling is a free modeling resource site, with no obligation to buy anything in order for it to be used, for both independent freelance models, and agency represented models.

Tampa Bay Acting
Tampa Bay Acting is a free acting resource site for aspiring and professional Tampa Bay actors. There is no obligation to buy anything in order to use the site. Tampa Bay Acting will become one of the most important, and effective, acting resource sites by the end of 2011.

Tampa Bay Talent
Tampa Bay Talent is the newest Tampa Bay talent resource site, and ties in closely with Tampa Bay Modeling , Tampa Bay Acting, Tampa Bay Film, and our other free talent resource sites. Again, there is no obligation to buy anything to use the sites. We do not bait people in with job offers, and make them buy something, like talent job scams do. Tampa Bay Talent should be up to speed by 2012.

Tampa Bay Film
A free indie film resource site for Tampa independent filmmakers, actors, and talent. Tampa Bay Film is not only a resource site, but its purpose is to help to evaluate and promote Tampa indie film.
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Welcome to Act Model Now, a free online modeling, acting, and talent resource web site for aspiring models, actors, and talent, as well as professional talent. Act Model Now is based out of Tampa Bay, Florida, and is a free service from Tampa Bay Modeling, Tampa Bay Acting, Tampa Bay Talent, Tampa Bay Film, Tampa Bay Photographers, and additional professional talent resource site which we are affiliated with.
Act Model Now does not advertise in the paper, on the radio, or on television. We have nothing to do with any advertisements for modeling, acting, and talent jobs. We do not advertise modeling and talent jobs, and do not obligate anyone to buy any services in order to use this site. We can understand how some people can be confused with us and parties who advertise, as the terms “act model now” are generic key words which are often used in such advertisements, but we are not affiliated with any business which advertises modeling, acting, and talent jobs. Regarding jobs, we recommend that you do not respond to any job advertisements for modeling, acting, and talent jobs, especially in local markets such as the Tampa Bay market. We have never seen any advertisement for such jobs to turn out to be legitimate. In our experience, unethical businesses use job offers as bait. They pay out money to advertise jobs which may or may not exist, and if they do exist, they are not worth booking. What we’ve seen is that when people respond to those job advertisements, they are made to buy services or classes in order to be considered for those jobs. This is wrong in more than one way.
It costs money to advertise! How are they going to make back that money? Is the business the one which is actually casting and conducting the job? If so, how many jobs do you think that they have? If the job exists, is it even worth being considered for? Does it pay, or does it pay enough? Will they consider everyone for the job without requiring them to buy something?
Common versions of modeling and talent scams in the Tampa Bay area are companies which do not identify themselves when they advertise jobs, and the jobs are vague. What happens is when models and talent contact them to be considered for the job offer, and the models and talent are told that they have to pay for photography, portfolios, composite cards, and classes before they can “try out” for the job. This is where the claim that “no experience is necessary” comes in.
Seriously, though, do you know of any worthwhile modeling and acting jobs which will work with people who are not qualified? If you were a company who required models and talent for a project, would you book someone who didn’t know what they were doing?
These companies will try to claim that they can give the aspiring models, actors, and talent the experience that they need, but those claims cannot be proven. Another thing that you have to consider it that the company advertising modeling and acting jobs was not honest about what they were really in business to do. If they are a modeling or acting school, or some sort of photography business, why weren’t they straight up with what their business was all about? Why didn’t they honestly advertise what they really do? Why are they advertising a modeling or acting jobs as if it was their deal, or present themselves as some pseudo agency or casting director?
If they have to mislead and trick you in order to get you to contact them so that they can sell you something, can you trust them? Can they really give you the experience that you need in order to book the jobs that they are advertising if they have to lie to you for you to contact them?
What is experience, anyway? How does one obtain experience; the experience that they need before they can actually book a worthwhile job?
Actors and talent need to seek out schools that they need to develop their skills. These schools need to be reputable, and they need to be honest about what they are in business to do. Prospective students should be able to check references, and to be able to verify that previous students are out their booking worthwhile jobs, and that what they have learned is actually benefiting their careers. If ANY school advertises modeling and acting jobs, we recommend avoiding them.
Do not buy anything from anyone who advertises jobs!

Tampa Bay Acting and Modeling Schools
In our opinion, the following schools and instructors are reputable. Please note that we are not, in any way, affiliated with any of them, and do not obtain referrals from them, or make any money by referring people to them. Although it is our educated opinion that these are all legitimate and professional sources, seek them out at your own risk, and check references. We are not liable, in whole or part, for any experience that you have with them. The following parties are also not responsible for anything on this site, or on anything on any of our affiliated sites, and opinions expressed therein may not necessarily be shared by them.

Tampa Bay Community Theater Groups
You can’t go wrong trying out with Tampa theater groups for the best value in training, You can even network with other actors for references for schools that they know of. We know that Tampa Bay theater groups are not actual acting schools, but there is no better place to obtain experience.

Patel Conservatory. Straz Center for the Performing arts, Tampa, Florida.
The Patel conservatory is regarded as one of the best acting and talent schools in the Tampa Bay area. The classes are inexpensive, and the instruction is qualified. This is a great value for any aspiring actor or talent in the Tampa Bay area.

Venue Acting Studio, Saint Petersburg, Florida
We hear good things about the Venue Acting Studio from Tampa Bay actors and talent. Their alumni have done very well in the entertainment industry.

Jack Amos, Tampa Bay, Florida
Tampa Bay actor Jack Amos is a professional actor who knows his craft, and he offers classes in acting. He is a veteran of many independent films and projects.

We DO NOT recommend any well-known acting and modeling schools in the Tampa Bay area which are national chains. In our opinion, they are expensive, poor value schools. We’ve caught at least one of them advertising acting jobs, too, which is highly questionable, too.
Regarding modeling, aspiring models do not actually need schools. They need professional portfolios and composite cards, however, which demonstrate the range of looks that they can obtain as a model, and that they can actually pull of the job, which is the only experience which is required. Models need to obtain these career tools from professional photographers who specialize in modeling portfolio photography and composite car design, photographers who are honest about what they are in business to do. These modeling portfolios and composite cards will cost money, as they are an investment into your modeling career and the marketing of your modeling career, and you get out of your modeling career what you put into it.
Models will find that wedding photographers, portrait photographers, and guys with camera offering shady deals of free portfolios are a waste of time, and are often dangerous. You will not get what you need from these people.
Models need to also avoid nude, boudoir, glamour, risqué swimsuit, “sexy” photography, and provocative poses in their modeling portfolios, unless they are experienced models who wish to specialize in such limited fields of modeling. The entire point of having an effective modeling portfolio is to maximize the marketability of the model, and such inappropriate photographs will undermine, and even cripple, the marketability of a model. Such pictures also undermine the professional credibility of the model, and makes it look like they don’t know what they are doing. If you were a business who needed models to market your services or products, would you want the face of a model who has questionable pictures all over the place representing what you are trying to market, especially if it conflicts with your market? Think about conflicts, and the market which you are trying to work in. If it makes you harder to market and to book mainstream modeling work, avoid it. Remember, too, that pictures are forever, and they CANNOT be undone, ever. We’ve heard of more than one photographer who has done sexy photography, risqué bikini photography, and shot models in modeling photography with provocative poses, and then turned around and sold those pictures to adult businesses; the adult businesses used the pictures, often out of context, to market adult services which the models would have never agreed to do. Besides the point that the models were never paid for usage of these pictures, their credibility and marketability as a model were permanently damaged. Avoid such high risk modeling work until you know what you are doing, and then, only if you have decided that you will specialize in that kind of marketing. Once you get into high risk modeling work, you will find it very difficult to book most modeling jobs!
In the Tampa Bay and central Florida areas, there are, perhaps, five photographers who will be able to give you the professional modeling portfolios and photography that you will need to market your modeling career. One of these photographers, whom we are directly affiliated with, is C. A. Passinault, who has been photographing models professionally since for over ten years. C. A. Passinault is also the only photographer in the world who owns top modeling and talent resource site, which include, but are not limited to, Tampa Bay Modeling, Independent Modeling, Florida Modeling Career, Advanced Model, Tampa Bay Acting, Independent Acting, Tampa Bay Talent, Independent Talent Resource, Tampa Bay Film, and many more.
Tampa photographer C. A. Passinault’s photography and design services company is Aurora PhotoArts Tampa Photography and Design.
The evolution of the advertised modeling job scam
While it is speculated that recent developments in advertised Tampa modeling and acting job scams is a result of our efforts to help people recognize and avoid them, some of them are now using more ambitious tactics. Recent advertised modeling and acting job scams have resorted to name dropping, which is a pathetic attempt to “prove” that the job offers are real.
If these companies are dumb enough to advertise who the jobs are, we recommend contacting the jobs directly. Any legitimate job will consider you without trying to sell you products or services, regardless of whether you are qualified or not. When in doubt, feel free to skip the middleman, especially if the middleman is not a licensed modeling and talent agency. In Florida, you MUST be a licensed modeling and talent agency, with a TA# issued from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, in order to make any money from referring models, actors, and talent into ANY modeling, acting, or talent job!
If they are not a licensed Florida modeling and talent agency, they cannot make any money referring models, actors, and talent into the jobs which they are advertising. How do they make back their money? We don’t know of a single legitimate modeling and talent agency which pays to advertise jobs, because even when they can make money referring models and talent into jobs, it is still not cost effective for them to pay out money to advertise the jobs. Modeling and talent agencies already have a pool of models and talent whom they represent to choose from, so they are not desperate enough to be able to justify paying out money in advertised modeling and talent searches, either.
What some of these companies do is bait and switch, using deceptive marketing practices, which are fraud, and which the Federal Trade Commission often investigates. They bait models and talent with the promise of jobs, and then sell them something. If the job does exist, it often does not pay anything, or will not pay enough to offset the money already spent on services and products that the people have to pay before they can be “considered”.
Any job offer which claims that no experience is needed should be avoided. Who’s going to book amateurs? Real jobs don’t work well with model and talent searches! Also, if the work is free, and it is “for experience only”, it’s not a job, either! It’s questionable enough when models and talent work jobs which offer them pictures for trade (TFP/ TFCD) in lieu of pay, but even more outrageous when you work some event or fashion show for “experience”, with no pay at all!
Worse yet are so called advertisements claiming that models are needed for fashion shows. How many fashion shows are there which pay, especially in the Tampa Bay market? Avoid these.
What happens is a modeling school, modeling and talent management company, or some other talent development services company approaches department stores and offers to supply models and talent to them at no charge, which is the only way that they can avoid violating modeling and talent agency laws. The “fashion shows” are often done with low, or no, pay to the models involved (and discounts to services sold to the models do NOT count as pay, especially when those services are overpriced to begin with!) The company often piggybacks on the credibility of the store’s name, and name drops them to make it look like the “job” is legitimate. The store is often unaware that their name is being used to bait models and talent into a scheme where prospective models, actors, and talent are sold services before they can be considered for the job.
In the case where a major department store is duped into a modeling and talent job scam where their “job”, which is often without pay, or pays too low, is used as bait so the company advertising the job can sell them products and services, these stores need to be made aware that they are being used to scam people. If they are aware, and continue to allow this, the store would be a willing partner in a modeling and talent scam. Any legitimate company will not allow themselves to be a partner in fraud!
If you discover an advertised modeling and talent job offer where you are required to pay for services, classes, or products in order to be considered for the job, you need to let the actual company behind the “job” know what is going on. Document everything. If they department store or legitimate company persists in cooperating with the jobs scam company, let the Federal Trade Commission know what is going on!
Regardless of if you are qualified or not, you MUST be considered for any job without being obligated to pay for anything! If you are not experienced, or do not have a professional portfolio, however, don’t expect to book it, and if you are in need of these career tools before you attempt to book any job, obtain them from a professional photographer or school who are honest about what they are in business to do.
Never by ANYTHING from ANYONE who advertises a job!
Modeling and talent “management” companies should be avoided, too. What, are they an agency? If they are not an agency, how do they make money when they cannot do it by referring talent into the jobs which they advertise?
Of course, too, you also have modeling and talent development companies which claim to be able to place models, actors, and talent into modeling and talent agencies. Why deal with them when you can do this on your own, free of charge? How do they make their money? By advertising agency placement and jobs, and then selling you overpriced services?
If you must go through modeling and talent agencies to get jobs, do yourself a favor. Avoid any development company which sells agency placement, and get your portfolio and other tools from service companies which are honest about what they are in business to do.

Act Model Now - How to get started in acting, modeling, and other talent professions, now, without getting ripped off by a modeling and talent scam. From your friends at Tampa Bay Talent. The Act Model Now web site is a free talent resource, and a public service.
Act Model Now is NOT affiliated with any business advertising modeling and talent jobs, and we do not endorse any ads using any phrases on this web site.
WARNING: The following is not a threat, it is merely a promise that we will not take anything lying down. Any legal action taken against this site, or any other attempt to fight us, will be met with the full might of our resources, which may include counter suits, media attention, and us going out of our way to bring the activities of certain parties to the attention of the proper authorities (once the media is involved, the authorities are inspired to investigate and follow through). Do you really want that kind of attention drawn to you? Is it worth it? Can you disprove the logic and common sense published on this site? We didn’t think so!

ALERT! PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO ANY ADS FOR MODELING AND TALENT JOBS!
We do NOT recommend responding to ANY ads for modeling and talent jobs / opportunities. We have never seen a single one turn out to be legitimate; they bait people in with promises of a job and career, and then try to sell them overpriced, low quality services and classes. Some even say that they will manage models and talent, but we wonder how they can legitimately do that when, in the State of Florida, you MUST be a licensed talent agency in order to make ANY money referring models and talent into jobs (to do so otherwise is a felony, which means that it illegal).
If they manage models and talent, but they cannot legally make money finding jobs for them, how do they make money? Do they make money from a service which is different from what they advertised? Can you trust them if they have to TRICK YOU in order to SELL YOU something? Are they going to work for free doing what they advertised, and find you jobs out of the goodness of their hearts? Don’t fall for this.
Only deal with businesses who are HONEST about WHO THEY ARE and WHAT THEY ARE REALLY IN BUSINESS TO DO.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), deceptive marketing practices are illegal. Selling anything under FALSE PRETENSES is FRAUD, which is a FELONY. If they advertise a job and turn around and sell you something, can you trust them? Can they really do anything for your modeling or acting career if they have to lie to get you in the door?
To get started as a model, you don’t need a school! You will need a modeling portfolio and composite cards to market your modeling career, but you DON’T need a school! We’ve never seen a single modeling school which is, in our opinion, worth the expense and the time.
To get started as an actor, you may need some classes, but those classes don’t need to be expensive. You will need headshots, and a resume, to market your acting career, however.
The rule of thumb when shopping for any services that you need for your modeling, acting, or talent career is to only deal with reputable business who are honest about what they are actually in business to do. Also, check their references. Another rule of thumb? NEVER, EVER buy ANYTHING from ANYONE who advertises any job!

In today’s tough job market, everyone is looking to make a living. Some of you, however, have dreams and talent, and the appeal of having a career in the entertainment industry, and working as a professional model, actor, or talent is strong. There is nothing wrong with that, but please keep in mind that appealing industries have a lot of scams, and pitfalls, and that some of these scams can not only waste your time and money, but they can destroy any chance that you have to accomplish your dream! Be warned, and read what we have to say, before doing anything!
So, you’ve decided that this is what you want to do. That’s great. With all of the modeling and talent scams out there, though, how do you get started in the industry?
That’s why we are writing this now, on this web site. We’re your friends at Tampa Bay Talent, Tampa Bay Modeling, Tampa Bay Acting, Tampa Bay Film, and Tampa Bay Photographers, and we’re here to give you the best information on how to get started, and how to spot and avoid scams, for free, and with no obligation whatsoever to buy any services, products, or classes in some so-called school.
Sit back, get something to drink, and read over what is on this site. You can thank us, later, after you begin your career with minimal time and money expended, and without being scammed.
We’ll start with some tips on recognizing, and avoiding, common modeling and talent scams.

1. If they advertise a job, and then try to sell you something, they are a scam, in our opinion.
Never, ever buy anything from anyone who advertises a job! What is often the case is that they lure unsuspecting people in with the promise of a job or career opportunity, and then turn around and sell them something, which how they actually make their money. The jobs are often leads stolen from free online sites, or they might not even exist at all. You should be considered for any job offer regardless of your situation, and without being obligated to pay for anything!
Models will need a modeling portfolio and composite cards to market their career. Actors will need headshots and a resume to market theirs. This said, only deal with professional companies who are honest about what they are really selling. Buying any services from someone who advertises any job is too risky. If they have to trick you in order to get you to contact them so that they can sell you something, can you trust them? If you can’t trust them, can they do anything for your career?

2. We don’t recommend responding to ANY advertisements for modeling and acting jobs.
Why? Because, in the years that we have spent checking out these ads, we have never, ever seen a SINGLE ONE turn out to be legitimate. That’s right, there was either no job, or some so-called “job” that was not worth being considered for. Additionally, keep in mind that anyone advertising a modeling job has to PAY OUT MONEY to run the ad. How do you suppose that they intend to make their money back? In Florida, they have to be a licensed modeling and talent agency in order to make any money referring talent to the jobs that they are advertising. If they are not an agency, how can they make money referring people to the jobs that they are advertising?

3. Modeling and talent agencies are only allowed to make money by finding jobs for you.

4. A modeling and talent agency managing talent is a working conflict of interest.

5. The agency way is not the only way. You can find, and book, talent jobs on your own!

6. No experience necessary to be considered for a job? Don’t believe it!

7. No professional is going to work for free. That includes you.

8. You cannot have any career without investing in it.

9. Models should keep their clothes on. High risk modeling is dangerous for beginners!

PUBLISHED 10/28/10

UPDATED 05/20/12