Free Modeling Agencies

Most of the time people think of free modeling agencies as agencies that don't charge any upfront fees or make models take required modeling courses or pay for photo shoots before they can be represented by the agency.

Having to pay for mandatory courses or photo shoots are things to watch out for. Models should never be required to take a course or shoot with a particular photographer in order to be represented. Having said that, there is nothing wrong with agencies recommending preferred photographers that they would like you to shoot with. Use your best judgement in this case. Is the agency insisting that you use their "in-house" photographer or is the photographer someone who regularly shoots models for a variety of agencies? "In-house" photographers can signal a problem, but referrals to preferred photographers generally does not.

Does An Upfront Fee Make The Agency A Scam?

No, not necessarily. Just because an agency expects you to cover your initial start-up costs or they have a reasonable fee to join does not automatically make it a scam. The key word here is "reasonable". A couple of hundred dollars or less is one thing - a few thousand is another. No new model should ever pay thousands of dollars to start a modeling career.