Avoiding Portfolio Scams / Portfolios / Home - The Kerri Parker Model Academy

Girls often tell us that they have been scammed before by companies overcharging for portfolio shoots, with some girls reporting that they have paid over a thousand pound for just a few A4 prints or images on CD!

There are quite a few companies out there who invite girls in with the promise of a free makeover and photo shoot, with no pressure to buy the images after.

However once there, the girls are pressured into spending up to £100 per image and even offered finance packages to pay for the ones they want to keep, ensuring they spend hundreds on their images!

It's mainly new models with no experience who fall victim to these types of scams and those who do not research other companies before going in for their free shoot - which ends up anything but free!

We have sadly spoken to girls who have then found out it was a scam after shooting but have signed contracts to pay for the images which they have not been able to get out of.

It's a sad fact that some agencies and modelling contests even send their girls to these companies to be ripped off, as they enjoy a huge commission from the shoots.

We have found that the images the girls often receive are not a brilliant quality - certainly not as good as you would expect at around £100 per image, and the girls still end up wanting new ones and come and see us.

If you are looking to do a portfolio shoot make sure you do your research, get recommendations, and don't be afraid to ask the company about any hidden charges or how much it will actually cost you to keep the images. Any companies who ask you to inquire about their prices, and do not display them openly on their website obviously have something to hide and they are likely to be a bit of a rip off!

Rest assured if you get your portfolio done through the Academy there are no hidden costs, and you do not pay per image! In fact you get to keep every single image from your shoot - without watermarks or logos and in high resolution as well!






The most common portfolio scam... The most common scam in the modelling industry are companies who invite you for a free photoshoot and you only buy what images you want to keep. This sounds a fair deal, you go down, enjoy a makeover and lots of shoots and are then shown all your images. So whats the catch? Well they they charge you around £80-£100 PER IMAGE that you want to keep! It's been reported on the news and on Watchdog that these companies use pressure selling techniques forcing the girls to spend hundreds, and sometimes over a thousand pounds on their images! Many girls who have come to see us for portfolio shoots or Model Tutorial Days have been ripped off this way, spending often around £800-£900 for just a few images which were not even good enough to find them work! The companies will even offer a repayment method to get you spending even more!	Model agencies employing these scams... There are several agencies in the UK who work alongside these companies to scam the girls. They have no intention of ever finding the girls work, they just enjoy a huge commission from the portfolio shoots! Be wary of any agency who says you need to attend one of these test shoots, or portfolio shoots in order to get on their books or appear on their website. As chances are you will spend hundreds and never get any work from it! New models are often conned this way as the agencies in question spend thousands advertising on search engines, so they are always on the top spot when girls search how to become a model! Another way an agency may try and scam new models out of money is to tell them they are only allowed to get their portfolios done through them if they wish to be represented by them, even if a girl already has a portfolio of images!	Modelling contests employing these scams... There are a few modelling contests in the UK who work alongside these companies, knowing full well that the girls will end up spending hundreds for their images. They often work on the basis saying girls in their contest win a free shoot with a well known company. It's the same story - girls will go for the shoot and end up spending hundreds on just a few images! The modelling contests involved work on commission with the companies offering the portfolio shoots, and often see big returns from the amount of new models they send to them! The girls attend the portfolio shooting thinking they have won a free makeover and photo shoot when it reality they need to pay hundreds of pounds to keep the images! Be wary of any contest offering this and don't be afraid to ask how much the images will be in advance should you want to purchase any.

When you attend a portfolio shoot you may be shown how to pose by the photographer, and get some nice images but can they tell you which images are likely to find you work, and what to do next?

Kerri will advise you on what types of modelling you would be suited for and what your next steps at progressing as a model would be. There are not many people out there qualified to tell you how to make it as a model, and so your best bet is to learn from someone like Kerri who has travelled the world with modelling and forged a successful - and long term career out of it!

The Academy set up it's Portfolio Packages to try and stop girls getting scammed from other companies. Whereas girls may spend £100 for just one image with many portfolio companies, with the Academy the Silver Portfolio Package costs just £150 and includes over 200 images on CD! It also includes some airbrushing, and advice from Kerri as well.

With all of our packages the costs are upfront with nothing else to pay! Be wary of anyone who does not advertise the costs upfront with you and waits until after the shoot to discuss this as it is likely you will get ripped off.

With many companies charging up to £100 for an airbrushed image, all of our packages include not just every image from the day on CD but also lots of airbrushing. If you were to require further airbrushing we charge just £10 an image! So it's easy to see where you are being ripped off with other companies.

Please click here to view our different Portfolio Packages, and to find more information about how to book in with us.

The most common portfolio scam...

Model agencies employing these scams...

Modelling contests employing these scams...