Image 1 Studios, LLC

Scam, Trying to put a legal noose on my neck, poor company

23rd of May, 2011 by DigitalHallucinations

Ok, so here's the story. I saw an ad posted on Craig's List for a traveling photographer in my area. I decided that I'd apply for the position. At first things were going great. The woman I was interacting with, her name was Heidi, and she was very friendly and helpful at this point. The Craig's List bounce/encrypted e-mail mask would not take my portfolio size, so I decided to send a message. Below is the ad (After it was edited to reflect "Portrait" emphasis), the initial e-mail I sent, her reply, and my reply to her. This all took place between May 15 - May 17.

Advert:
Traveling Photographer (Kansas City and surrounding areas)

Date: 2011-05-14, 10:35AM CDT

Reply to: [email protected] [Errors when replying to ads?]

Our nation-wide executive portrait photography company is looking for
superior photographers/retouch artist to add to our team for better than
average pay. You must have world class customer care and be willing to
travel extensively. You must have a strong understanding of Photoshop.
We have clients in all states and we are growing as fast as possible
to meet their needs. Must be willing for immediate training.

Please include a brief cover letter and resume along with several samples of your work - particularly portraits.

Location: Kansas City and surrounding areas
Compensation: $800-$1,200/week + plus semi-annual bonuses.
Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
Please, no phone calls about this job!
Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My first e-mail:

Hello,

I have been trying to send my cover letter, resume, and
mini-portfolio to you through the provided craig's list e-mail link on
your advertisement. However, I believe the 13MB .PDF Mini-portfolio
file is being rejected by the craig's list forwarding service due to
size, it's not giving me very much information, however this is the only
determination I could think of. Do you have an E-Mail address which I
might be able to send this to directly? Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank You,
***** ******
http://kansascity.craigslist.org/med/2380645480.html

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Her Response:

On 5/17/2011 7:19 AM, [email protected] wrote:

Hello Jason!

Thank you for your persistence! Please send your requested materials
to this address instead. ([email protected])

Heidi

Sent from my iPhone

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My Response (which as you read will tell you held my Resume, Cover Letter and Partial Portfolio):

Hello Heidi,

Thank you very much for the information. I have included with this
e-mail an attached copy of my cover letter, resume, and mini-portfolio.
However, I went and re-read the advertisement again and it seems to have
changed from general photography/portfolio requirements to portrait
centric requirements. I will compile a few more portrait shots over the
next couple of days and get them to you as well. However, I wanted to
get my resume and portfolio in for immediate consideration so you may
see the type of work I do in both photography and retouching. I thank
you very much for this opportunity.

Sincerely,
***** ******
p. ***.***.****
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So, that all sounds good right? Yes, I would agree, she's very helpful and very communicative. However, I now had a name of a company I could look for (the Craig's List advert didn't mention the company name). So, I searched for Image 1 Studios in google, found another Ripoff report, and the same report posted on a scam informative site. That was the first minor redflag. The report detailed the guys issue with them not being able to reschedule an interview. His dealings were with a woman named Stephanie Hurley (You'll see her name later). I figured 1 report, 1 angry guy, that's ok, these things happen. However, the website also looked hokey. He wasn't able to find their website, however, I found it at www.image1studios.info. First red flag here is the domain. .info is free to register everywhere I believe, and even if not, it's what? 8 dollars to register a .com for a year? and, image1studios.com was not taken when I checked the other day. The second red flag in this is the fact that their website looks like it was designed just to have a site, there's no content, the 1 "Album" is locked, there seems to be "Other Albums" that have no existing buttons, and there's 3 posts on the side (presumably the guestbook) asking for passwords to view things. The only information on the page is that they are executive photographers, and do onsite photo retouching. However, the locked album that is there is for a family reunion? How does this even make sense?

The next day (Thursday), I get a telephone call at 8:30pm, which turned out to be a mini-interview. It was Heidi and she asked me several questions about my prior experience, my camera experience with different brands/bodies/lenses, questions about my studio lighting experience and if I minded traveling a lot. She mentioned that I would sometimes be away from home anywhere from 1 week to 1 month. I have no pets, and my fiancee is in school pretty much full time, so I didn't really take issue with this. The interview went smoothly, and she had said that she had several other people to contact and if she was still interested that she would call within 48 hours to schedule an interview.

The next night (Friday Night) at 8:30pm again, while I am in the concession line at the movie theater, Heidi calls, and gives me the good news that she wants to interview me on Monday. This is where things start to get really fishy. During this call, she mentioned a few things, that my interview would be on Monday some time, and that tonight she would send me an E-Mail with the address, and attached to that e-mail would be a Non-Disclosure Form. That's pretty standard, but then she dropped the news, "I need you to sign and have this notarized BEFORE you come in for your interview. I CANNOT interview you without it" she then proceeds to tell me "You'll see a lot of legal mumbo-jumbo on there, but all it really says is that we have marketing trade secrets and you cannot divulge those to anyone". At this point, I am trying to pay for food at the concession stand and decided I'd read the NDA when I got home. I kindly said "Ok, I look forward to meeting with you" or something to that effect and we hung up.

Later that night, I get home, and there's nothing in my inbox. I go to sleep wake up in the morning. Still not there. I decide to call her. I get her voicemail and leave her a message expressing that I had not received the e-mail yet, and to please call me if something had gone wrong, maybe it was lost in cyberspace, you never know. No return call all day. So, at 8:30pm (on a saturday night mind you) I try calling again, she answers the phone, so I explain I had left her a message and that I still had not received the e-mail. She explains that the "Admin's" mother in law passed away and that I would definitely receive this NDA and e-mail tomorrow (Sunday). Now I must ask at this point, does any of this sound legit to you? They wish for me to read over and sign a legal, binding document within 24 hours? AND have it notarized? Anyways, I leave my concerns inside my head for now, hoping that the e-mail would get to me early and I could call my Lawyer (A good friend of mine) and have him look it over for me. No such luck. I receive the next e-mail at 4:19pm on Sunday and here it is below (complete with the NDA (Parts bolded for pertinent info).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi Jason,
This email is to confirm your interview appointment on Monday, May 23rd @
3:15pm with Heidi Hostetler. Attached you will find a Non Disclosure
Agreement. Please bring a signed, dated, and notarized copy of the
agreement with you. Ms. Hostetler will be unable to interview without
this completed document.

The interview location is: Leawood Executive Suites4745 W. 136th St. Leawood, KS 66224

Yours in Service,

Stephanie Hurley
Image 1 Studios
Vice President of Operations
678.650.0519
[email protected]

---------------------------------<Attached NDA with bolded parts>----------------------------

NON-DISCLOSURE
AGREEMENT

This
Non-Disclosure
Agreement (this "Agreement") is made effective as of
(date) _____________,
by and between Image 1 Studios,
LLC, of 3130 Hwy
25E South,
Tazewell, Tennessee
37879, and _______________________,
of _________________________________,
_______________, Kansas.

In
this Agreement, the party who is requesting the non-disclosure
from the other party shall be referred to as "Image 1", and
the party who is agreeing not to disclose
shall be referred to as "photographer/applicant".

Photographer/applicant
is interviewing to be
an independent contractor for Image 1.

1.
NON-DISCLOSURE
COVENANT.
For a period of 5
years,
or as long as is enforceable by the laws of the State of Kansas,
whichever is longer.
After the effective
date of this Agreement, photographer/applicant
will not directly or indirectly engage in any business that competes
with Image 1. This covenant shall apply to the geographical area that
includes within a 50 mile radius of any offices or associated offices
wherein Image 1 operates in all states depending on enforceability
utilizing states' laws

2.
NON-SOLICITATION COVENANT.
For
a period of 5 years,
or as long as is enforceable under state laws wherein Image 1
operates,
after the effective date of this Agreement, photographer/applicant
will not directly or indirectly solicit business from, or attempt to
sell, license or provide the same or similar products or services as
are now provided to, any customer or client of Image 1.
Further, for a period
of 5 years,
or as long as is enforceable under state law,
after the effective date of this Agreement, photographer/applicant
will not directly or indirectly solicit, induce or attempt to induce
any employee of Image 1 to terminate his or her employment with Image 1.

3.
PAYMENT.
Image 1 will pay
compensation to photographer/applicant
for the covenants of photographer/applicant
in the amount of $.50 per year.
This compensation
shall be payable in a lump sum on date of interview.

4.
CONFIDENTIALITY.

Photographer/applicant
will not at any time or in any manner, either directly or indirectly,
use for the personal benefit of photographer/applicant,
or divulge, disclose, or communicate in any manner any information
that is proprietary to Image 1. Photographer/applicant
will protect such information and treat it as strictly confidential.
The obligation of photographer/applicant
not to disclose confidential information shall continue for a period
of 5 years or for as long as is enforceable under state law,
whichever is longer,
after the effective date of this Agreement. Within the period of one
week after receiving a written request, photographer/applicant
will return to Image 1 all records, notes, documentation and other
items that were used, created, or controlled by
photographer/applicant.

5.
ENTIRE AGREEMENT.
This
Agreement contains the entire agreement of the parties regarding the
subject matter of this Agreement, and there are no other promises or
conditions in any other agreement whether oral or written.

6.
SEVERABILITY.
The
parties have attempted to limit the non-disclosure
provision so that it applies only to the extent necessary to protect
legitimate business and property interests. If any provision of this
Agreement shall be held to be invalid or unenforceable for any
reason, the remaining provisions shall continue to be valid and
enforceable. If a court finds that any provision of this Agreement is
invalid or unenforceable, but that by limiting such provision it
would become valid and enforceable, then such provision shall be
deemed to be written, construed, and enforced as so limited.

7. INJUNCTION.
It is agreed that if photographer/applicant violates the terms of this Agreement irreparable harm will occur, and money damages will be insufficient to compensate Image 1. Therefore, Image 1 will be entitled to seek injunctive relief (i.e., a court order that requires photographer/applicant to comply with this Agreement) to enforce the terms of this Agreement.

8. APPLICABLE LAW.
This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of Kansas.

PROTECTED PARTY:

Image
1 Studios,
LLC

By:
_______________________________
Image 1 Studios,
LLC
President

NON-DISCLOSURE
PARTY:

By:
_______________________________
Photographer/applicant

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I bolded the necessary "Spooky" bits to make it easier to read. Basically, in my understanding of this "NDA" it's a whole lot worse than just "Marketing trade secrets" If I was to sign this PRIOR to the interview, I'd be basically saying, I will NOT work for any other photography company that competes with them on any level (So far all I know is executive portraits, pictures, and event photography, as well as any retouching I do could be taken from me for 5 years or more), it also states that I will give them anything they ask for that I used on one of their shoots, so if I happen to use my own camera, or lighting, or anything else, I have to give that to them. That last one may be a stretch, however, at this point I am not willing to take any chances, I want to have my attorney read it for verification. So, I send an e-mail to Heidi, she replies, and I reply back, I will post them in order below.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Heidi,

According to the time stamp on the e-mail I received from
Stephanie, the message hit my inbox at 4:19pm this afternoon. I
don't mean to be picky or anything however, you guys are asking me to
read, process, comprehend, and sign a legal agreement with
notarization in less than 24 hours. My Interview is at 3:15pm
tomorrow afternoon. I understand that it may affect my standing with
your company, however, after reading this agreement, it is telling me
that I may not work for any of your competitors for the next 5 years
without knowing the first thing about who and what image 1 studios
does and who your competitors even are.

There are a few other things inside this agreement I am unclear on
and I would like to have the opportunity for my lawyer give it a read
before I sign it. It is for this reason that I must ask to
reschedule the interview for a later date and time. I will need at
least Monday and Tuesday for this process, which means that I could
be ready to interview anytime Wednesday or later. If you absolutely
need me to interview tomorrow or Tuesday, I must regrettably decline
your invitation.

I sincerely hope this does not hinder what could be a good
relationship between myself and image 1 studios, and that you have
time for interviews later this week and I look forward to an answer
either way. I thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
***** ******
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her reply:

On 5/22/2011 6:26 PM, [email protected] wrote:

Jason-

I'm sincerely sorry to hear that, and I wish you all the best.

Heidi

Sent from my iPhone

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My reply:

Heidi,

Please try to understand. I really do want this interview.
However, I know 0 about your company, and you're asking me to sign away
5 years of my passion based on that. The whole point to an interview is
for you to find out about me, and me to find out about your company. By
signing this agreement, I am under the impression that I would not be
able to work for even Olan Mills or some other portrait studio, nor
would I be able to work for any event photography, or any photo
retouching places. It also seems, by this document that I wouldn't be
able to even work for myself in these fields. All of these things for
the next 5 years... That just doesn't seem fair without giving me some
information about who you are and what you do first.

I have tried to research Image 1 Studios and seem to come up with
3 different businesses when doing a google search. I am pretty sure
that the scam report posted is about this particular Image 1 Studios, as
well as some other things that point to you being a reputable company.
However the website for the company is less than what someone would
usually expect from a nationwide photography firm that deals with
executives on a regular basis. There is nothing listed about you on the
better business bureau either. Somewhere it was stated that this was a
fortune 500 company, yet I find no record of you guys on the fortune 500
list either. All these things have sort of left me confused and I am in
need of a 3rd party opinion on whether or not the document is safe to sign.

It's almost as if you're asking me to buy a one of a kind brand new
concept car that's never been reviewed by anyone, seen by anyone, or
heard of by anyone, and then telling me it's the only car I can ever
drive for the next 5 years, and not telling me about it's safety
ratings, gas mileage, other cars in its class, etc. I would really like
you to reconsider, or perhaps explain about image 1 and it's competitors
so that I may make a more informed decision on what to do with this
NDA. I hope to hear from you.

Sincerely,
***** ******
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I still have yet to receive a reply from her. If one happens to come up, I will update this post. However, I strongly urge anyone that has applied or is attempting to apply for this company to seriously re-think their strategy. It seems very fishy that they will not give me time to have this analyzed by a lawyer, and it seems even worse that they're wanting me to sign something this rigid in such a short amount of time. They would have effectively owned my career in photography for the next 5 years had I signed this document. I am sure of this, and my lawyer hasn't even called me back yet.

As stated, and just to reaffirm, I will be keeping this post updated if I get any more information.

Thanks For reading.

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