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TFP and TFCD

This is an archive of relevant mail and our replies organized by subject. The date of the mail bag will be noted for each letter, with a link to the related mail bag. This archive is updated on the first of the month when relevant mail is posted in the current mail bag, and the newest letters are added to the top. Other sections of the Tampa Bay Modeling site link to this section so the mail and our responses can be used as reference and support content. We really like this way of archiving so great letters and our replies are not lost in old mail bags and can be easily researched. Enjoy!
~ Model Monica Stevens, Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor

Is TFP For Me? - POSTED APRIL 2006.

What do you have against TFP’s and professionals collaborating together to build their portfolios? I noticed that TFP/TFCD is on your scam section, too. TFP is not a model scam!
-Sandy

May I ask how serious you are about your career? If you’re a model, do you intend to model free of charge? If so, let’s see how long you are able to work in your career. If so, what is the point of becoming a model in the first place?
We don’t have anything against TFP’s. I agree TFP’s are often not scams. Some professionals may elect to do it, but most do not. Most professionals that I know are too busy earning a living in their careers and don’t have time for charity work. The problem with TFP offers is that often, while most are not model scams, some lead into model scams. If it sounds too good to be true, it often is. Nine times out of ten, you really do get what you pay for, and models really need to question the motivation of others who offer them free services, who don’t make money working as a professional, and who elect to work with nothing but amateurs. Why are they offering to shoot models at no charge? What is their motivation? How do they earn a living? If they don’t earn money working as a professional photographer, is there anything that they can truly offer a model that will benefit their career? Do they even know what they are doing, or are they some guy with a camera looking to meet pretty girls (coming soon: A Tampa Bay Modeling original story series about “Chester GWC - Model Photographer”. I am not kidding about this upcoming black comedy serial)? Many photographers offer TFP simply because they don’t have anything else going on in their career. Food for thought: How many TFP offers do you see for male models? How many TFP offers do you see for CLOTHED models? How many TFP photographers have genuine professional models who earn a living through a modeling career in their book? I don’t see a lot of male models, tastefully clothed models, or professional models in TFP work, that’s for sure. Model portfolio photography should be about obtaining professional pictures for a portfolio and should not be used as bait or as a prelude for asking some girl out. Think that I want to be buddies with all the photographers that I work with? Please. I’m selective about who I am friends with, and so is everyone else.
I’m not a fan of TFP’s, and I am speaking from experience. Many years ago, when I was a brand new model with no clue about the industry or what I was doing, I did TFP to build my model portfolio (some idiots on a portfolio networking site suggested this ill-advised course of action). Keep in mind that this was back in the day before cheap digital cameras where photographers had to invest money and professional training into camera gear, film, and film development. The cost of entry into the photography field did keep it limited mostly to those who were serious and made figuring out who the professionals were a lot easier, but the few legitimate photographers in the market seldom offered any freebies. Many liked my looks, though, and I managed to book a few TFP sessions. Although I was lucky and no one took advantage of me, I can say that was far more trouble than it was worth and sometimes indirectly cost me more money that I would have paid had I booked a professional portfolio photography session from an established professional photographer. If I could do it again, I would have saved a lot of legwork, time, and headaches and would have simply paid and invested a few hundred dollars into pictures from a professional photographer who could actually do something for my career. Once I learned my lesson, I finally invested some money into a real modeling portfolio and my career began to work for me because I gave it what it needed.
In my opinion, TFP’s are nothing more than shortcuts that cheap models and photographers use to avoid paying for what they need. We all know that taking shortcuts often costs more in the long-run in any career. You only cheat yourself by taking shortcuts! If a model or photographer cannot scrape up a little money to pay for what they need and invest in their career, their priorities are not conductive to surviving in a competitive industry such as the modeling industry and they are not being very smart. Speaking as a model, I don’t respect professional photographers who work for free. Professional models are not inclined to work with or contact photographers who they do not respect, either, and we value our time too much to waste it, too. Why is it that TFP photographers are always whining about models who don’t follow through on their “bookings”? While I do not condone anyone setting up something and then flaking out, we all need to realize the primary law of human behavior: people will always do what they feel is in their best interest. Actions always outweigh words. If a model decides to blow off a TFP shoot, do you think that they respect the photographer to begin with? I don’t think so. Some photographers may think that they are undercutting photographers who charge for their services by offering free photography services. What often happens (and recent investigations have proven this to be correct) is that the photographer digs themselves into a hole and acquires a reputation of being a TFP shooter or doing substandard work, even if they actually do good work! When they finally wake up and start charging for their work, it is a lot harder to climb out of that hole. I know a photographer who used to do TFP many years ago. While some models worked with him, none of them respected him or his talented work. He was perceived to be a schmuck who could not be taken seriously. A true friend of his (a girl who was not a model and had nothing to gain by taking advantage of him) sat him down one day and told him the truth: That models were taking advantage of him for services that common sense indicated should cost SOMETHING at the very least. The photographer woke up and started charging for his work. It took a couple of years to shake off his reputation of being a free shooter and work that was harder than it should have been. He is now a major player, commands a high level of respect, and makes a respectable amount of money in the modeling industry while doing what he has always loved to do, and models treat him very well.
This TFP controversy can be solved easily. TFP photographers can quit being chumps and stop underselling themselves. They will earn the respect and the pay that they deserve, as well as work with genuine professional models.
There are some professional photographers who make a living by charging for their services and are concerned about the market being corrupted by guys with cameras and aspiring photographers shooting “models” for free. I wouldn’t worry about it. From what I’ve seen, perceived value keeps everything in check. Most professional models who are serious about their careers do not go the TFP route, and if TFP photography were really a threat, TFP photographers would be swamped with work. This is not proving to be the case at all, and the market should balance itself the way it should by creating separate markets of the haves and have-nots.
Did you know that most people outside of the modeling industry automatically assume that model portfolios are an investment that cost money? Take some time and think about this. People who think that TFP’s are the way it is done learn this misconception from others, and often it plays on the greed of people who think that they are entitled to something for nothing. Any business professional that you ask outside of the “modeling” industry would laugh at they suggestion that they could become a professional in any career without making a reasonable investment into services from professionals who make a living doing what they claim to do.
As for me, I don’t trust or respect any professional who works for free. It’s not a profession if it isn’t a real career (career=income and respect). It raises too many questions for me to take them seriously, and this is how it should be. Models who want to insult a photographer should contact them and ask them to give them free portfolio pictures. I guarantee you will piss off any working professional photographer with an inquiry. If the photographer chuckles and wants to do TFP anyway, the model should ask themselves if it is worth it and really wonder about the motivation. I’d have to wonder about their self-respect, and would wonder if there is something wrong with their work. Most models would walk away, and I don’t blame them.
~ Model Monica Stevens, Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor

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BEWARE OF THESE TOP TAMPA BAY MODEL SCAMS: Tampa Model Search, Tampa Bay model search, Florida model searches, Tampa Bay model placement, Tampa Bay model consultant, Florida modeling consultants, Tampa Bay TFP photographer, Tampa Bay model portfolio photography scams, Tampa Talent Scams and Tampa Bay model job scams. Be aware of what they are, and be careful!

As of February 24, 2007, Tampa Bay Modeling and our industry allies are at war with unethical and unprofessional elements in the Tampa Bay and Florida modeling industry. Our primary targets are Tampa Bay model consultation and agency placement scams, Tampa Bay model searches, Tampa Bay model job scams, Tampa Bay TFP photographers, and Tampa Bay model photography scams. We expect the fight to last years, and we already know that we have been tremendously effective in helping to change the modeling industry so far, as we have the dominate voice in the Tampa Bay modeling industry. Models, your help has arrived, and it is right here.

Regarding Tampa Bay model and talent agencies, we are now convinced that the licensed ones (and all of the ones who are SAG franchised) are on the level and are not doing anything wrong. This said, they have no business managing the career of any professional model, due to the fact that they are working conflicts on interest, as they also represent other models who are in competition for the same jobs that they refer them to. Tampa Bay model and talent agencies also have no business referring aspiring models to any photographers, and we strongly recommend that models find photographers on their own and obtain their modeling portfolios before talking to any modeling agencies. Model and talent agencies should be used only as a source of model jobs and nothing more. By all means, utilize model and talent agencies as one of your many sources of potential jobs, but never let them tell you what to do and always scrutinize their advice. The agency way is no longer the only way, and there are professional alternatives to Tampa Bay model and talent agencies! Also, please note that model and talent agency scams are still around, too.

The Tampa Bay Talent Sites

ADDED MARCH 29, 2007. UPDATED OCTOBER 01, 2007

TAMPA BAY MODELING - TAMPA BAY ACTING - TAMPA BAY FILM

There are now a total of three Tampa Bay Talent web sites. These sites are Tampa Bay Modeling, which you are now on, Tampa Bay Acting, which has launched but had a rough launch and isn't as up to speed as we would like, and, of course, Tampa Bay Film, which has surprised us with its popularity; it is now the fastest growing web site in our group and its size is now equal to our own, with no end in sight. Tampa Bay Film may become much larger than the rest of us by this summer, and this will be an important property. Here at Tampa Bay Modeling we are used to conflict, as we have been fighting a modeling industry war for several years now, and our experience will surely give the Tampa Bay Film staff and their allies a major advantage as they fight for change and professional growth. All of the Tampa Bay Talent sites, of course, are Raptor Class sites which are optimized for scam-fighting operations, so we are set up for fighting.

Where are our sister regional modeling sites? These region-optimized mirror web sites, tentatively known as Miami Beach Modeling, Orlando Modeling, and Florida Modeling (don't bother looking up domain names on these, as some are already taken by others and the titles / domain names have not been finalized yet) are presently on hold until we can add new features to Tampa Bay Modeling and update some of our older content. We have teams of models and modeling industry professionals already assembled to work on these sites after they launch, although we are now finalizing site production protocols so our web master is not overwhelmed with work. For now these sites are on hold. Our regional modeling resource site editors, to assume their responsibilities once these modeling sites go active and launch, are as follows:

Orlando Modeling - Orlando model Patricia Olson is the Editor of the Orlando Modeling site. She is a top fashion runway model from New York with a B.A. in Mass Communications.

Miami Beach Modeling - Miami Beach model Maritza Gonzalez, an old friend of Danielle Cooper's, will be the Editor of the Miami Modeling web site. Maritza is a fashion model from Miami Beach, Florida, and she has worked with many modeling agencies in her career as an employee as well as a model. She is a professional booker and has headed agency divisions, such as the new faces division at a large agency.

Florida Modeling - Tampa model Heidi Duran will helm the Florida Modeling web site. Heidi is a commercial print and fashion runway model with professional experience in New York, Miami, and Europe. She has worked with the top modeling agencies in the world, including Elite and Ford.

As you can see, we have a lot going on here, and we are growing constantly. This spring and summer, we will be adding more features and a ton of modeling career tools and resources. We are even bringing back our Tampa Bay modeling mail bag, with Tampa Bay professional model Monica Stevens, this spring (with an improved, streamlined format so we can keep up with that and our web master can also work on mail bags for Tampa Bay Acting and Tampa Bay Film)! We look forward to the difference that we will make in the Tampa Bay modeling industry, and we're sure that all models are very excited by the potential, the possibilities, and the results of our hard work. These are truly exciting times for Tampa Bay Modeling and the Tampa Bay modeling industry!

Sincerely,

The 2007 Tampa Bay Modeling Staff

Fashion / Commercial Model Danielle Cooper
Tampa Bay Modeling Editor and Senior Writer

Fashion / Commercial Model Monica Stevens
Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor, Staff Writer, and Content Editor

Model Nancy Slater
Ambassador and Tampa Bay Modeling Founding Model

Model Laura Perez
Tampa Bay Modeling Staff Writer

Model Talesha Larsen
Tampa Bay Modeling Staff Artist and Designer

Swimsuit / Bikini Model Jessica Moore
Tampa Bay Modeling Staff Writer and Public Relations

Fashion Model Sidney Thornton
Tampa Bay Modeling Staff Writer and Legal Secretary

Model / Actor Chris Capri
Tampa Bay Modeling Staff Writer, Contributing Model Photographer, and Security

Orlando Modeling - Orlando model Patricia Olson

Miami Beach Modeling - Miami Beach model Maritza Gonzalez

Florida Modeling - Tampa model Heidi Duran

SPECIAL THANKS

Tampa Bay model Jillian Nicols - Independent Modeling

The Staff of Independent Modeling, Independent Acting, Independent Performer, TALON Talent Online reference contact database, Advanced Model, and Frontier Society

California / Florida Model Kitty Kavey - Florida Models

Tampa Bay Entertainment Producer / Professional Polymath C. A. Passinault

Passinault.Com - The Passinault Entertainment Group and Passinault Industries LLC

Tampa Bay Advertising Agency EOS MediaArts, a Passinault Industries LLC company

Tampa Bay photography and design services company Aurora PhotoArts, a Passinault Industries LLC company

Tampa Bay Event Planning and Stage Production company Eventi Events and Stage, a Passinault Entertainment Group company

Tampa Bay indie film, video game developer, and music label production company Dream Nine Studios, a Passinault Entertainment Group company

Tampa Bay Model And Talent Agencies

Tampa Bay Advertising Agencies

Tampa Bay Art Directors

Chris Woods - Icon Film Studios

The following models, actors, talent, production professionals, and supporters: Lauren Moss, Danielle Cooper, Brian Steel, Monica Stevens, Jillian Nicols, Sidney Thornton, C. A. Passinault, Chris Woods, Joe Davison, Nolan Canova, Harmony Oswald, Kitania Kavey, Sarah Bray, Ann Poonkasem, Shane Kelley, Kasey Kelley, Somali Rose Kletch, Simon Lynx, Craig Kovach, Brent Cameron, Marlon Brown, Rachel Eaglin, Michael Christian, Steve Benz, Matt Angelo, Don Asbough, Jack Amos, Alyssa Bakun, Brenna Barry, Tiffany Tenn, Craig Huey, Andy Meng, Spellbound Soul, Keljean Connolly, Amanda Craft, Susan Jeffers, Stephanie Duncan, Leticia Godwin, Kinsley Goldburg, Jinelsa Rosado, Shilah Goodwin, Charlotte Mansfield, Charlotte Durnell, Kevin Hentkowski, Joy Nash, Roxanne Kowalska, Laura Lowie Narvaez, Jane Park, Erin Whitehead, Monica May, Jason Lugauskas, Jennifer Curry-Deleo, Robin Kay, The late Sophie Blackburn, Damien Kincannon, Josh Kincannon, Paul Guzzo, Pete Guzzo, Sofia Kolesnikova, Serena Lorien, Lisa Marie Lowrey, Kristen Ludwig, Woody Luke, Denise Marks, Tara Moore, Rob Mussell, Nazia, Kristin Renta, Kristen Serena Willyard, Mark Robinson, Angela Simons, Lynn Slawsky, Laura Jean Angelone, Angelique Angel Haywood, Christina Spake, Alissa Young, Rosemary Riquel, Kerri Hall, Michelle Marin, Krista Washington, Shirley Cuscaden, Catherine Croak, Danielle Dolan, Rick Danford, Porl Delinco, Terry Hogan, Gus Perez, Ann Marie Spizuoco, Melissa Webb, Rachael Lee, Rod L. Griffin, Marcus Kotch, Alissa Ali Young, Terence Nuzum is God, Lisa Ciurro, Shelby Mcintyre, Amanda Beck, and Melissa Maxim.

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