I signed a contract to become a "promotional model" with the Candy Ford Group a couple of years ago. I still, to this day, have not been paid for some of the promotions that Candy Ford sent me to years ago.
I made innumerable phone calls to their office to check on the status of payment. Most of the time, I would get the same answer: "Our client hasn't paid and there is nothing I can do." I was under the full understanding that my contract stipulated that I wouldn't get paid until their client paid. I would have understood delays in my payment (s), however, I don't understand not getting paid at all.
This situation of not getting paid for my work occurred multiple times. The first photo shoot that I invested in through Candy Ford was supposedly "a discount" that The Candy Ford Group was offering to all of their promotional models in order to expand their website. The results of my shoot were horrible as was the makeup that was done by the on-site makeup artist. The photographer provided no guidance as to what I should wear or bring and the final pictures reflected this lack of professionalism.
The next year I found an ad in a Boston magazine saying that the Candy Ford Group was looking for "New Faces." I again applied to the agency, thinking that maybe this "New Faces" Division would have runway jobs or more reputable jobs that would make me more money than the meager $10-12 per hour promotional jobs.
I got a call from the agency saying that CandyFord was selecting only a few "quality candidates" to in order to expand their print and runway division. They said that if I were "chosen, " I would have to put down another $1,000.00 for a photo shoot with a different photographer. This time, the shoot was "guaranteed" to produce satisfying results with the promise of a free reshoot if the results were not to my liking. The shoot produced no marketable photographs and I was never offered another shoot.
I moved to NYC specifically to pursue modeling and every New York City agency/agent that looked at these pictures said that none of the photos were marketable. Granted, the pictures were taken for a "Boston Market, " but they could not believe that I had paid CandyFord $1000 for the photo shoot and had gotten such horrible results. (This excludes the more money I had to put down for the developing of the pictures and composite cards which, conveniently enough, was not included in "their special package.")
I never received one phone call from CandyFord regarding print or runway work. Their original promise was that I would "most likely get work two to three times a month" and that I would recover the cost of the the photos within the first couple of months. Now, as I look back on these lies and misleading information, I realize that the only reason Candy Ford was placing this ad for "newfaces" was to increase their own profits.
Seeing that they are still in business today, I want to make clear to the public and any potential victims my complete disgust and disillusionment with The Candy Ford Group. They should stop misleading and taking financial (and emotional) advantage of young women with dreams about becoming models.
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