One Final Thing...

I recently checked my blog to find 'Vanity Management' had copied and pasted the same feeble message onto every one of my posts. It seems this 'professional' company has resorted to spam. I can't say I'm surprised.

The posts have been deleted, as I would delete any comment that is posted over and over again on my blog.

If Vanity would like to comment again, ONCE, I will be very willing to reply.

So What's The Best Thing To Do?

If you really want to have the easy access to their jobs, signing up with one of these companies is fine. The only thing I recommend is that you HAVE YOUR OWN PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS TAKEN. Do this in your own time, and don't use one of the photoshoot locations that they recommend to you.

Find your own, do your research. This way, your photos will be cheaper, and you will not be bullied into doing anything that you don't want to do.

If you have your own photos, you have nothing to lose by signing up with Vanity or Zebra. But please be aware you might not have anything to gain either.

How Come These Companies Are Legal?

For a start, many people assume, or are misled, into thinking that they are modelling agencies. They are not. They are basically a site which hosts professional photos, and also job vacancies.

Nothing they do is illegal. Pressuring someone into buying more photos than they want at ridiculous prices is wrong, but easy to get away with.

They never promise you work. If they list you on the site they've done their job, and if you don't make any money from it, it's tough luck.

And It's In Soho!

Some girls have expressed their concern over how dodgy the area of Soho is, where the photoshoot takes place. They think that they will end up being forced into nude shots, or something dodgy that they don't want to do.

There is no need to worry about this.

Vanity and Zebra Management work by staying just above the very fine line of legal and illegal. Forcing girls into naked pictures is very much illegal, and far too risky for these companies to attempt.

Suspicious Facts

Here are a few facts which should make you very wary of these two agencies:

• The companies do not reveal their addresses on their websites, only e-mails, telephone numbers and fax numbers. This makes them very hard to track down, should you ever discover you have been scammed.
• The 'editorials' that the companies send out are fake. When you register with them, they send you out 'press cuttings' to prove that they are legitimate companies. However, these editorials are not sourced. Not a single one has the name of an author or where it was published. This means that the management is very likely to have written these positive reviews themselves.
• Vanity Management, Zebra Management, The Lounge and The Light Room are not listed companies. They are not in Yellow Pages, they have no professional reviews - they have never been mentioned anywhere except by wannabe models stating who they work for, and worried girls wanting to know if it is a con or not.

What Is The Problem?

The thing that most people find suspicious is that when you have been scouted, and then phoned up by one of these services, if you do not have any recent professional photos of yourself, you are booked into a photoshoot, usually with 'The Lounge' or 'The Light Room'.

You are then told that the management will pay for the photoshoot. However, you have to pay for the 'copyright' of your photos, so that they belong to only you. The copyright of a photo is apparently £70 upwards, but they tell you the good news is, you only have to get 1 photo, and they can only host up to 3 on their site anyway. Everyone (I imagine) knows that to get into the modelling industry you shouldn't have to pay a thing. If you've got the right look, people will be willing to fund you, confident that you'll earn the money back in good time. But you're paying for the copyright, so that's ok, right? Honestly, no.

From my experience Vanity Management were quite evasive when I came to ask them what I would have to pay for the photos. When I first asked, I was told 'we pay around £190 to allow you to have a professional photoshoot'. So I dropped the subject. When they phoned me again to confirm I was going the next day, I asked again. This is when I was told the ridiculous price for the photos. 'But it's for the copyright'! they kept repeating.

So that's all fair enough. If you've got the money to waste on 'copyright', then that's ok. Besides, you only have to buy 1 photo if you want. You think.

After being at the photoshoot, you'll be asked how many of the photos you'll want to buy. But suddenly, you're greatly pressured into buying around 15 of them. The reasoning behind this? The more you buy, the better value they become. So it makes sense to buy 7 for £300 when 3 is £210, you're nearly paying that anyway. Obviously this is just a way for the money-grabbers to squeeze every last penny out of you. Should you decline from buying in bulk, you'll find the staff suddenly become very rude! Interesting...

Is There Any Good In These Companies?

To an extent. They are not a scam to the point of taking your money and not doing anything for you. They do register you with their sites, and some people have gained a bit of work experience with them. However this is not guaranteed. You could end up spending a lot of money and not earning a penny.

So Are Vanity/Zebra Management The Same?

Vanity and Zebra are exactly the same in the way that they operate. They both specialise in 'bridging the gap' between wannabe models and professionals in the industry through their respective websites. It is very likely that these two companies work hand in hand. Whether they are run by the same people is unknown, but there are many coincidental similarities between them, such as the same jobs advertised on their sites.

What Is This Blog About?

Basically, many girls have been 'scouted' by the companies known as 'Vanity Management', and 'Zebra Management', usually around Oxford Circus in London. For a lot of young women who have dreamed of becoming a famous model or actress, this is like a dream come true.

However, those wanting to research these two 'services' will find very limited information available. Looking at 'Yahoo Answers' is definitely not going to tell you the facts. This blog will.