should you pay upfront for baby modeling photo shoots?

HI my son is 10 months old and was entered into a comp in the paper, 471 applied and 20 got through and my son was one of those. The only prob is the agency has set up a shoot to get his licence and do a model book, they are asking for 40 pound up front and 100 pound on the day. Is this usual practise as i have read neverto pay up front

Hi Allan, and welcome to JustParents.

The reason I'd advise caution when asked to pay for photoshoots up front is that some dodgy agencies have been known to fake these sorts of competitions as the money they charge to 'get your child on their books' is actually where they make their profit - some never even send on your child's information to potential clients who would then licence / use your child as a model.

Can you tell us the name of the agency? Some are well known to be good agencies who are likely to find work for your little darling, whereas others are notorious for taking your money and doing nothing.

It would also be worth asking the agency what these fees are specifically for, whether you will receive a formal contract / agreement from them, and to provide you a few examples of models they have placed into well known brand work before. Chances are, if they are a scam outfit they won't bother responding to these questions as it's easier to find more gullible parents.

Good luck either way, and congratulations on your son getting chosen in the first place!

I agree with Rob. There have been a lot of things in the news about these sorts of things over the last year or so, and most often they recommend not to pay anything up front. If they think that they can make some money from the photos they should be more than happy to take payment once they get the work in.

I've never heard of a license to have your photo taken.

I dont know how it works in the Uk, in Australia we have to pay a regestration fee of about $150.00 AU
then every six to twelve months we have to get new head shots taken (depending on how much the child changes)these cost anywhere between $100-$200. The registration fee is a one off payment untill the child turns four then it goes up again.
This is through a child modeling and acting agency that is very well known and used alot.Our son has had a few job's from his 1st b'day up untill a year ago.As he is now 4 he is no longer a client as it got to expensive and i would prefer for him to concentrate on his education or something "he" is interested in.I would just check it out and make sure they are a legit company before paying anything.
"goodluck".

This is a well known scam. Run for the hills.

thanx for the replies. we decided not to go ahead with it in the end. we might send some snaps to a well known company will have to see, thanx again for the advice
all the best

no no no dont pay anything