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● Interview content

▶ Explanation of job advantages:

　。No experience required, interesting, high pay, short and flexible hours (but no guarantee of getting any CASEs)

　。After each CASE ends, the photos will be mailed to the model as a keepsake

▶ Explanation of investment:

　。You are asked to pay for promotional photos for clients to view

　。Amount: 500 per photo x postage x printing

　。If there are no CASEs within three weeks, the full amount will be refunded

● Personnel

▶ Person in charge, Mr. A:

　。The only one who was “polite and sincere”

　。However, after the discussion and contract signing, the people carrying out the work were not him but others

　。Busy and difficult to contact

　。His answers were vague, unable to satisfy me or alleviate my concerns

▶ Other employees (except the photographer/stylist):

　。They made me feel unwelcome, as if I were a nuisance

　。After the CASE ended, they did not mail the promised keepsake photos

　　I had to go through Mr. A and repeatedly remind them before they would give them to me; if I did not press them, they simply would not give them to me

　。Overall, they seemed too lazy to deal with me and were very irresponsible. I felt there was no security in leaving my affairs in their hands

● Promotional photos

▶ Beauty turned into an old woman

　I could not understand the stylist’s taste. After the styling and makeup were done, I was completely devastated

　I had truly never looked this ugly in my life. Everyone who saw them said:

“Those don’t suit you at all, you look much prettier in person, they make you look 20 years older than you are, and they’re unbelievably ugly!”

▶ Old woman turned into an overweight woman

　。The styling was already beyond saving, and various factors during the shoot may have caused the final product to make me look about 8 kg heavier than I actually am

　。When I first looked at the photos, my eyes were drawn to:

　　The most eye-catching focal points: elephant-like legs and flabby upper arms

　　Next: an unsuitable outfit

　　Third: an old woman’s face

　　The whole thing was extremely devastating

▶ Photos that may not have been retouched—scary enough to drive away evil spirits—were printed as they were

　。The overly thick and oversized hands and feet, and skin darkened by the sun with an obvious black-and-white demarcation

　　These basic flaws, which the general public would clearly not accept, were completely retained by this supposedly professional company…

　。If they were retouched, honestly, even I, who work in this industry, could not tell what had been retouched

　　Personally, I felt they did absolutely nothing to enhance the model’s appearance

　　Instead, every flaw was magnified and displayed in a stark, exposed manner

　　(I do not know whether my promotional photos were submitted to the client according to the company’s usual procedures. After seeing the comments below, I have also started to worry.)

　Result:

　。No clients wanted me at all, and I could not get any CASEs

　。The promotional photos were so unattractive that they were impossible to look at and unsuitable as keepsakes

　　I could not use them with other companies either, meaning I had spent a large amount of money on something useless to me

● Questions

▶ During the interview, Mr. A repeatedly emphasized:

　。Do not believe the “rumors” about this company online

　。The company operates legally (providing a business license) and does actual work (providing newspaper features)

　At the time, I felt that the company

　had already experienced multiple disputes, frequently had disputes, and knew that its reputation outside was poor

　Now I can understand why

▶ If the number of CASEs is not guaranteed, why not reduce or even eliminate the model’s investment risk and create a win-win situation?

　For example: In today’s digital age, electronic promotional-photo files can be sent to clients through any digital channel

　　　Printing and postage could be completely waived, so why not?

　　　Other than “making money from amateurs by charging them for promotional photos” (a common practice among many modeling agencies),

　　　is there another explanation? I did not ask Mr. A about this

▶ Regarding the practice among modeling agencies of “making money from amateurs by charging them for promotional photos”

Mr. A explained:

　1. There is little money in promotional photos, so there is no need to covet it: Why not just find a few more suckers…

　2. The company’s main income comes from taking a commission on CASEs obtained by models:

　　Wouldn’t that make it even more important to ensure the quality of the promotional photos?

　　For people working in print media, retouching skills are a basic necessity, yet I did not see that

　　The promotional photos gave the impression of being so insincere

　　These two explanations were completely insufficient reasons in my view

　3. We have no obligation to guarantee anything

　　I was speechless, though I understand this profit-making mindset

　　All the risks are placed on the models. This kind of arrangement cannot even be called “cooperation”; rather, it gave me the feeling that I was being prepared to be “skinned”

▶ Received the first CASE on the “last day” of the third week

　。My guess: The CASE was given to avoid having to refund the promotional-photo fee under the contract

　。I did not receive any other CASEs afterward

● Personal summary

I do not have concrete evidence proving

this company’s sincerity or purpose in recruiting amateurs

But my feeling since applying has been one of concern that I would be unable to recoup my costs, along with indifference

I originally signed the contract because of Mr. A (he appeared very honest, sincere in his attitude, and straightforward)

Quite a few amateur models signed for the same reason as I did, and ultimately ended without recovering their costs

Only afterward, when I searched online, did I discover that:

　。The promotional-photo fees they paid were shockingly high—several times mine

　。Regarding the job advantages, what Mr. A told them was even more exaggerated than what he told me

Fortunately, even if this company really did bring me in as a sucker,

my loss was not as painful as theirs (though I still feel I lost a lot)

If I were a job seeker, I would not consider applying to this company