OTM (On Track Modeling) aka
AMG (Alpha Model Group)
To Whom It May Concern:
I was browsing through the web, came up to your site,
and saw many complaints on OTM.
(The company has another name: Alpha Model Group
agency.)
I am a very open-minded person and generally give people
or a company the benefit of the doubt. I went to their
invitation at a hotel and listened to their lectures
and promises.
I did sign up with them, but did not pay for their photo
shoot; however, my friend did. We decided to see how
it would turn out: at least one of us would try it out
to see if this is for real.
After reading all the complaints on your site, we are
wondering, did we make a mistake signing up with them?
We have not gone to their photo shoot yet. Can you give
me advice so I can be cautious when I take my friend
to get the comp shoot? What should I watch out for? Do
I have the right to demand the photographer for his name
and his previous pictures before the shoot?
Thank you.
You said: "I am a very open-minded person and generally
give people or a company the benefit of the doubt."
This may be good enough outside the modeling industry,
but it is not so good inside the modeling industry, mostly
because it is not regulated like the other industries.
Whenever a company makes money up front, either from
photos or whatever, don't give them the benefit of the
doubt; those who do are often burned.
You asked: "Do I have the right to demand the photographer
for his name and his previous pictures before the shoot?"
Absolutely! It is in fact one of the best things you
can do, especially since their prices are not competitive.
They are about twice what you can pay elsewhere. Apparently
they charge $600; you can get comp card photography for
$300.
The general rule is the higher the photographer's prices,
the more you need to see his or her previous work. It
should not be a leap of faith.
You should demand to see previous work sampled on a
website for any photographer in general, but their photographer
in particular, because of the earlier complaints: high
prices and low quality.
You must realize if you do not review the work beforehand,
but you pay ahead of time, there is little if anything
you can do after the pictures are taken. Your money is
gone. They don't have a money-back or satisfaction guarantee,
do they?
It would be much wiser and most fair to pay only half
up front, if you going to risk paying up front, and half
once you see the work and think it is good enough.
Can your friend get her money back? OTM has done nothing
to deserve it; they have not earned it; so they should
return it.
Ask them for proof of work they have got models in your
city during the last year. This is very important. Ask
for the names of their clients, and then contact them.
Find out if it was "minimum-wage labor" (for
promotional "modeling," that is $15/hr). Wouldn't
you like to know in advance your chances of earning more
money though modeling than you pay for pictures?
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