Scam or not? - child model thing

amynicole21 wrote: I received a flyer that there is a child beauty pageant coming to town and they were acceptinging entries, so I sent Sophia's picture in. I thought it was just a silly thing and she would have fun dressing up and strutting down the runway They have "judges" there from the industry that are looking for talent for other potential jobs.

We got the paperwork back today and she was accepted (there are limited entries accepted from each age group). But, and here's the kicker, you have to pay an entry fee of $120 Of course they never mentioned that before.

So, I've always heard that you should never have to pay for anything when you get into the modelling business. Does that mean this is some sort of scam?

cameragirl21 replied: pageants and modeling are not the same--a pageant is purely a beauty contest and most girls are highly trained for it...it's an expensive hobby and i'd not recommend entering if you don't have a coach and a trainer for her. but then again, i hate pageants and am totally against them but i do know the industry.
every pageant has an entry fee, tbh, $120 sounds awfully low, it's usually upwards of 1 to 2 grand!

cameragirl21 replied: also, if it's a prerequisite to get into modeling, then it's definitely a scam...to get into modeling you need do no more than send her pics to an agency and they do NOT need to be professional pics.

Calimama replied: Sounds legit. Just my opinion but I was in pageants when I was little and I think they had something to do with my developing an eating disorder. I'm not blaming the pageants it's just when you enter a child in one they "learn" to have a whole new way of looking at themselves, which in most cases is a negative way:(

Kaitlin'smom replied: Well amy if you see my post I just had Kaitlin in a pageant. She won ALL of it, there was no compition we were told due to the weather.

What all does the fee cover? The fee I paid for gave her entry in to ALL catigories, so she had a chance to win something. As I stated in the other won I am keeping her local and will NOT do the big ones, no makeup, NO swimsuits, NO traning, no expensive dress, no coaching, just simple things to have fun and gain her confidence in public.

amynicole21 replied: The fees cover the professional sound, lights, setting, etc. I guess. Also, every participant receives a trophy. It also says that most of the participants are there for the first time and they don't need to wear fancy clothing or makeup. We really don't have any agencies around here, so I thought this would be a good way to get some feedback without having to go to Miami or NYC.

luvmykids replied: I think pageants do usually charge an entry fee. If everybody gets a trophy I think it sounds great! I'd love to enter Kylie just for the fun and parading around but was afraid she'd be devastated by losing, I may try to find one that gives everyone a "prize" too. If you do it, good luck!

cameragirl21 replied:
i can't imagine there are no modeling agencies in orlando so i did a search for you....
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=modeling+...op=mss&ei=UTF-8
if you want to enter, by all means of course but here's my thinking--if talent agencies from Miami or NYC want to find loal talent in orlando they really don't need a pageant, they could just request photos and then do a cattle call for call backs. i've never known a legit agency to operate this way, tbh, but i've been surprised before.
one of my little models tried something similar and yeah, she got a call back...for her mom to spend 1 thousand dollars to train her to be a model.
a pageant has no bearing on one's ability to model or act, it's merely a show of beauty and rarely if ever do pageant kids get discovered by an agent via the pageant, if they have an agent it's usually something their parents did on the side outside of the pageant.
if you think the pageant will be fun for her then go for it but if you think it's going to get her discovered i'd say that's highly unlikely...no legit agency that i know of sets up pageants to discover talent.
of course i'm highly against pageants and remember, i'm the one who asks kids to lose weight to be in pics so it's not as if i'm againt the industry, i just don't see any positivity in pageants, especially the ones that have swimsuit competitions for 4 year olds.

amynicole21 replied:
No, it's not a modeling agency running this. Most of the judges that are affiliated with this are for local work. And no swimsuit category! Yikes. Images of Jon Benet... or little Miss Sunshine. I don't get that feeling from this thing at all.

Kaitlin'smom replied: What I meant by the fees was I paid on fee to cover all the different things she could be judged on, hair, eyes, smile, personality, attire, overall, and I also had to submit a photo for the photogenic. Also this one also gives trophies to all who enter so if they dont win any catagorie they get a participation trophie which is nice.

Jennifer I agree any pageant that would expect my 4 yr old to modle a swimsuite I would have nothing to do with, I also wont enter her in one that would require a talent, she has some yes but at 4 I will not do that. I was not a fun of the JonBen type pagents but these are different, if she would to be 'discovered' fine but I am doing this to boost her confidence and ablilty to speak in public.

cameragirl21 replied: you know, i actually think one of my little models is going to be in this pageant because her mother told me the other day that she entered her into a pageant that's going to be in Orlando.
well, whatever you decide, have fun with it and hope Sophia has a blast!

cameragirl21 replied:
just for the record, Di and Amy, i'm not judging you or anyone else for entering your girls into pageants, that is not what i meant to say at all, i was simply stating my opinions on them as i have followed pageants for quite some time now just out of mere curiosity and of course because of my own ties to the industry. i am always looking for models so i, at one point was curious to see if i could find some at pageants.
at any rate, Di, if you want Kaitlin to model or if she wants to i recommend sending her pics to an agency because i think there would definitely be some interest in her...she has that classic little girl look that many agencies and children's clothing designers look for. you don't need pro pics, you can just send in snapshots.
Amy, i wish you lived closer, Sophia has just the look i seek out--i'm very into ethnic looking, exotic children and many of my little models are biracial.