Modern Talent Group

Think you should be careful about what you post. I’m not sure if the company is legitimate or not BUT you need to post accurate info.
1. They don’t «charge you for printing» they advise you that you need Headshots and a Zed card, which you will eventually no matter where you go. They then offer you a styling and photo session with their photographers, which you can accept or turn down. I asked questions and was advised we could get our own pictures with our own photographer if we chose to.
2. The first response is absolutely correct, they are a NON EXCLUSIVE TALENT MANAGEMENT company NOT AN AGENCY. You need to know which is which, what they do, and then make a decision which, if either, you need before you accuse any company of being a fraud.
3. Understand that anytime you are approached in a mall or other public place where people gather and an unsolicited person with a handful of 3^rd party business cards tells you you (or your child) should be a model you should be wary on gp.

Doesnt have a talent agency license.
That is all I need to say!

Well. This is my story.
SO. I did not get scouted. I submitted to them through Backstage after seeing a post for them looking for new talent. I did a LOT of research (this was in november of last year) and couldn’t find ANY negative reviews at the time, so when they called me, I went ahead and went to the meeting.
I met with Tracy at their office in downtown LA. She was very nice, she liked my headshots, and unlike other people who were asked to spend money getting new ones, she said mine were fine, and that all I needed to do were order more.
I was out of headshots at the time, and though I usually use Argentum, I took a chance with their IN Focus Studios figuring any agency would want me to have photos. $ 275 total. Not INSANE.
I met with Denise for my career planning where she added MTG to my already filled out LACasting account, and went on my merry way.
3 months later, I finally got my picture, but where I order 300… I only got around 35. Red Flag
So I called MTG and spoke to Maria, she and Denise both said that the agency needed to keep the majoring to send out on submissions… red flag.
So…6 months later I haven’t heard so much as a PEEP from these people. Red Flag. I have a pretty extensive resume, and a lot of training, professional headshots… come on… not 1 audition… red flag.
So I called Denise on her cell phone and asked for the rest of my pictures to be sent to me as I am going to cut my loses and move on. I said I expect over 200 and she goes «well you won’t have that many, we will send you whats left but we’ve been submitting you for things with those, and I’ll include a report of what we submitted you for»…RED FLAG. REALLY? I’m now pretty sure that I paid for 300 headshots through these people, they probably only ordered the 30 I received… and took the rest of the money.
Assuming I will not receive any photos, I just decided to go on LACasting and remove them from my account and this «Fame Talent Agency» that they paired me with from my account as well.
Funny thing though is that I just called, at 10:30pm, the phone number associated with this so called Fame Talent Agency. Someone answered… which startled me because I assumed I would get a machine.
Basically, when I told her because I was interested in learning more about my representation she said «you’ll have to communicate with MTG, and HUNG UP ON ME»…red flag… would a real agent hang up on any of their concerned talent.
It’s ok, $ 275, and I learned my lesson. Steer clear of these people!

We were also scouted at the mall. This guy came up and asked if my daughter was interested in modeling (she’s 12). Someone called to set up an appointment, figured I should at least check it out. Like the others mentioned in their reviews, the lady (Denise) talked about the photoshoot, head shots, how much it would cost, blah blah blah. She asked my daughter about her grades and explained to me that she needs to bring her grades up because we need to get a work permit and the school has to sign off on it.
So 3 weeks pass and I get another call asking if I had thought about it more. I said the school year is almost over and my daughter’s grades haven’t gone up. The lady said if I’m willing, we can sign a waiver — a waiver for what I’m not sure. But she made it sound like the waiver has to do with her grades.
Finally, I asked an actor co-​worker about this and he said the first thing I should do is Google this place. That’s when I stumbled upon the reviews and now it all makes sense whey they were pursing me so hard. My co-​worker is also a photographer and he said no reputable photographer uses the «auto» setting, as John C. mentioned.
Luckily, I read these reviews and saved myself a few hundred dollars.

Scam. Total bullshit.
I was «scouted» outside of LACC because I had a «unique» look. Sure I’m good looking and well dressed but that’s beside the point. The company called me 3 times to set up an appointment. I’ve never had a company invest so much interest in getting an appointment with me. It’s usually the other way around.
I went to this «interview» today, and was given a sign in sheet and a form to fill out. It asked for both of my parents names and their occupations. I’m 27. Why in the hell would they need this information? When I asked, the woman who came to collect my form, if I really needed to give this information she nonchalantly said «No, it’s fine.» This is when my suspicion began.
There was some sitting in a chair across from me who couldn’t have been older than 18. He didn’t look unique or of any special quality. My suspicion grew further.
A few minutes pass by and I’m greeted by this woman with about 2 inches of cover up, two shades too dark and very blah hair asking me to come back with her. The layout of the place is very confusing. You’re sent through gold doors to a waiting room. Sit there, then you exit those doors back out into the hall into a very plain, run of the mill office. As one of the reviewers said earlier, the location of this «Talent Agency» being in DTLA was more than exceptional. It’s unheard of.
Anyways, this person has me sit in a dimly lit, poorly furnished sort of dirty room, made to look like office. As I sat, waiting for my interviewer, I looked around the room at the many framed fashion photos on the wall. I’ve taken photography classes and many of my friends are photographers. The photos were crookedly cut out of magazines and pasted on mounting board, crooked, and then framed. That’s when I started to realize I was venturing into some BULLSHIT.
She sat down and talked for about 11 minutes. $ 500 commercial prints, $ 5K commercials, music videos and even some 6 figured bullshit. Everything is FREE. They set you up with blah blah blah, and get you blah blah blah and you can get up to 30, YES, you heard me right! 30 shoots a week! WOWEEWOW.
I’m not fucking idiot. I’ve been given this bullshit line before. Don’t worry everything is free, BUT… you have to pay $ 375 for prints provided by the talent agency because they have to have their logo on them and people have tried to fake it before and yada yada. If I haven’t convinced you that this company, which has also gone by other names such as Contour Management and N Focus studios, are scamming you for money and will never give you work, then by all means go to the interview. See what it’s all about. But hear me now. I’m calling shenanigans.

Scam! If I could give them negative stars, I would. Think John Casablancas or John Robert Powers. An organization that sells products unrelated to the masking agency they portray themselves to be. If you don’t know who or what those scams are, then you’re in for a real treat with Modern Talent Group. I was a little worried that the talent managers were based out of downtown instead of closer to Hollywood where everything happens. But I decided to forgo my better judgement, a decision I’m still kicking myself for.
I went in for an initial interview because I had met one of their «scouts» while shopping for shoes at a mall. I was seeking representation so this seemed like a great opportunity for me. Maybe it would help me get my foot in the door and make all my dreams come true. I was very excited until I started finding out more about the company. You have to wonder about a company that has to employ «scouts» to grow their business. If you’re a reputable agency, people would be coming to you. Not the other way around.
This company appears to be a printing or photography company masking itself as a talent management company. They charge you over 700 dollars for crappy pictures taken by amateur photographers. (Right now, you could probably get a good photographer for 200…300 max). They sell the photos in your initial meeting as if they were going to be beautifully done by established industry professionals in a luxurious photo studio. One of many lies they will be telling you.
First off, I was pretty much worried for my safety when I arrived at the shoot location. The outside of the studio looked like a scene from a ghetto black gangster film from the 90’s in a part of downtown that looked more shady than Slim himself. Once inside, the space did look better but nothing like the photos they used to sell you on buying the photos. It was a factory. You could see how they were just trying to churn out as many photos as possible for the limited amount of time they had while renting this space. Four or five make-​up artists packed into a little corner preparing the talent for their shoots while three photographers took a person out and shot photos. Lots of little kids and their unsuspecting parents running around hoping that this would be their big break.
I went into make-​up and the make-​up artist did nothing but put on one layer of completely flat make-​up. (I didn’t realize this until after I saw the photos). I was relieved to see that it was at least MAC make-​up and not some Walgreen’s brand. There was no definition nor lifting of any of the highlights in my face. The make-​up artist made my face look fat and completely flat. Hair was supposed to be included in the package but I ended up having to do my own hair. Had I known this, I would have brought my hair products. The ones they gave me did nothing to style or shape my hair.
Then came the photos. The person taking my pictures had less experience in photography than me and was shooting on «Auto» mode the entire time. I’m no great photographer nor professional by any means but I at least know how to shoot on manual mode. What kind of real or professional photographer shoots on Auto mode??? In the end, it showed how bad the photos were. My photos showed up off-​color, off-​focus and over-​exposed (apparently, manual focus was too difficult for the photographers). The angles they used were shot from underneath me so that they can show all the under-​chin fat of my face. I don’t understand why they consistently used this technique as it has never rendered positive results for anyone I know. All my photos made me look fatter than I really was in real life. The photos did nothing to make me look my best.
As a talent management agency, they didn’t audition me or see if I had any talent. It felt like they were primarily interested in the size of my bank account. You have to think, a talent manager’s job is to invest in people they think have potential and manage their careers. If you don’t even know where your client wants to go nor how much potential this person has, how will you properly manage your client? But they were quick to take your money because that’s what they do. They take your money.
Also, talent managers only take on as many clients as they feel they can properly handle in guiding their careers to success. That day, I could honestly say at least 20 people came through the studio looking for pictures. They have photo shoots every week. So just for argument’s sake, in a month, that’s approximately 80 clients a month they are «managing». In 1 year, they will have amassed 960 clients. How does one manage the careers of that many clients?
Don’t believe the positive reviews on this page. They are paying someone to create fake accounts to write fake things. Why is it that positive reviewers only have one or two (max) reviews on their profile while the negative reviewers have multiple reviews? FAKE account! Check the BBB. Save your money and sanity.

This place is a scam. Any real talent agency will never ask you for money, and they try and get you to pay over $ 400 to have some printing company make headshots for you. I think they actually ARE the printing company, masquerading as a talent agency so they can take advantage of people. Im surprised more people havnt spoken up about this place… and the filtered reviews prove even further how scammy this is, they’re obviously written by employees lol wow.