Here’s an online resource for photographers looking to get canvas prints: Royal Canvas

If you’ve never had a photo printed up on canvas that is stretched over a wooden frame, you have to try it. Canvas prints are my personal favorite way to display photos.

portland photographer pete springer

Modeling agencies serve an important role in the fashion industry. But not all agencies are legitimate.

With the news that the owner of Vault Model Management was arrested for sexually abusing at least one of his teenage clients, it seemed like a good idea to list the legitimate modeling agencies in Portland for reference.

If you’re new to modeling, keep in mind that legitimate agencies NEVER charge a fee to represent you. The agencies make their money by keeping a percentage of the paid work they book you. Which means usually they’ll only sign you if they know they can get you work. But there are a lot of scams to look out for.

One “agency” scam involves an agent scouting you and telling you they want to sign you but you’ll need photos first. And coincidentally, it turns out the agency owner is also a photographer. For the bargain price of $2500, the agency owner/photographer will shoot your portfolio. Try to hire another photographer to shoot those same photos, and you’ll learn only the photos shot by the agency owner are acceptable.

One obvious issue with this scam is that as a real-life model, you’ll be working with all kinds of photographers. It’s very unlikely that your agency rep/photographer will be the photographer on photo shoots. In other words, if the agency owner is the only person who can take decent photos of you, it’s unlikely they are a legitimate agency.

Here are some questions to ask before signing with a modeling agency:

In my experience as a model photographer in Portland, these are the established, legitimate modeling agencies in Portland:

If the Portland modeling agency you are thinking about signing with isn’t on this list, I’d be very careful before signing. Check references. Trust your gut feelings. Ask around. For example, it’s long been rumored that Vault was basically a dating service for the owner. Apparently it was much worse than that. By taking the time to check around before you sign, you’ll learn information like this. Portland is a small town and it’s easy to get the low down when you check around.

Portland photographer Pete Springer

For photographers interested in moving forward into the future — make sure to check out New Media Photographer. You’ll find weekly podcasts, tips, links, and basically so much photography info you may have trouble keeping up! Seriously — 150 podcasts?!? It’s going to take you a while to work through all of those!

I met blogger, photographer, media guru Rosh Sillars at ASMP’s Strictly Business workshop in Los Angeles this past winter. He’s totally energetic and absolutely committed to not only moving his own photography business forward, but in helping you move your business forward too. His blog is well worth checking out.

Portland photographer Pete Springer

This tweet made my day:

AerinRoseSwim @petespringer
Love your swimwear shots! Wish you were in NYC!

See why I love twitter? There’s such a broad audience. Twitter definitely let’s you reach far beyond your local market.

Got a cool twitter feed? Post it in the comments. I’d love to check it out.

Here’s mine: @petespringer