Has anyone heard of World Financial Group?

Has anyone had any experience with The Talent Group out of Cleveland/Pittsburgh for child modeling?

• My wife and I are debating on whether to expose our daughter, 2yrs old, to the modeling world. We live in the Pittsburgh area and have only ever heard of The Talent Group as a modeling agency. Has anyone had experience with them?

• Answer:

  There are only 2 legitimate modeling agencies in Pittsburgh: The Talent Group and Docherty. Anything else you will find will either be a modeling school, modeling classes, or something that will cost you a great deal of money. You have to beware of scams like John Casablanca's, Model Search America, and other things that are just teaching girls to do makeup & take pictures. That being said, The Talent Group standards are brutal. It's not a kind industry, and I found people at both agencies that I thought were very intense. I was a teenage model, and was 5'8 and 108 pounds. I was 10 pounds under the healthy BMI limit - and The Talent Group told me I was too heavy. They did sign me, but insisted I get new photographs taken to make myself look less heavy. At the same time, teachers of mine were worried that I had an eating disorder. So I do believe The Talent Group has a distorted view. I wasn't the only person who had this experience with them. I met other girls who were overly criticized too. Docherty I only worked with as a boutique owner, and not as a model. They had some beautiful models, very diverse. I enjoyed working with them, although they did not follow up & give me the photo's that they were to give me for advertising purposes. I lent them clothes for the shoot. I contacted them, but never got my photos or heard from them again. So I don't have much to say for their work ethic, but I can't say anything bad about the standard of models there. I hear more about Docherty in the industry than I do The Talent Group, so that is where I would start first. I think they book more jobs. My sister took her 3 year old son there, but because he was too hyper, he was turned down. At 5 years old, she sent in more photos but was turned down via letter in the mail. It's a tough agency to get into, so don't get discouraged if it doesn't go the way you hope. Child modeling is obviously very different, and hopefully less critical, than teenage modeling was. I would send a few photos to both agencies & see what kind of feedback you receive. If they like the photos, they will call you in for an interview with your daughter. Once you meet them, you can think about what kinds of vibes you got from both places & make the decision that's best for your daughter. Best of luck =-)