When you first join a casting website, or start looking for jobs online. It can be quiet daunting, seeing everyone’s portfolios, not knowing what the abbreviations mean but have no fear everyone was a beginner sometime. Although 99.9% of the job advertisements are legit unfortunately there are a few that are not. I’m not saying that these jobs are dangerous and should be avoided, I just think you should just be aware of everything before making an informed decision.
The first thing to look out for is how much detail is in the ad, job advertisements should specify the job at hand e.g location, date, how long your needed for, if it’s high fashion or lingerie….if the job description is lacking detail and is very sparse. Do have a think before you apply…..
Again I want to emphasize about detail, especially the lack of details in payment. For some jobs, you may find that you don’t get paid, the advertisement can just say ‘looking for someone to collaborate with’, ‘TFP’ (Time for Print/Pictures) or payment for travel expenses. Which is absolutely fine and if your just starting out you’ll do a lot of collaborative projects to start with, it is completely normal to do jobs such as these but it should be stated in job post.
Most photographers will allow you to bring someone with you friend/boyfriend/family member etc to make you feel more safe and secure (especially if you haven’t met the photographer before) . I have recently spoke to someone about a job and they made a point of asking me not to bring anyone, I found it strange and so I questioned them about it they seemed to dodge the question, after a few back and forth’s similar to this so I decided to decline the job. I completely understand working as just you and the photographer/director, I personally have never took anyone to a job but if you are just starting out it’s important to know that you have the option for your own security.
If their promising you the world! I recently had someone message my over Facebook to do a L’oreal ad, this woman was stating she was a model scout and a talent manager. At first it was quiet convincing, she asked me if I was freelance or had an agent? Do I have another online portfolio? And which is my most current headshot? All valid questions when being considered for a job. Then I didn’t hear from her for a while, I didn’t think anything of it. About 3 weeks later she pops up on my messages and says there shooting in two days’ time, in wales and that I need to sort my own transport and they don’t cover travel expenses….for something that is for such a big company I figured they would be more organised, I told her that I couldn’t make it on such short notice but asked for her company name and contact details to keep in touch. I haven’t heard from her since. She may have not been a con, she may be very important in this industry and a very busy person, too busy to answer my mundane questions but something didn’t seem right.
If ever you are unsure about a job do your research! Look at their social media sights, read up on their references, ask how they images are going to be used and ask to see their portfolio, remember they say yes to working with you after they have viewed your previous work and asking you questions, so there is nothing wrong with you being cautious and doing the same xxx