modeling/acting

While you may not want to go to their schools, and pay their fees, there is one expense you really will have to come across with. That is you must have portfolios. I would start with going to light opera companies and local playhouses, get some parts there so you can get some real experience, learn from the others, and if and when you feel you will have more of a shot at paying gigs, then you put together your portfolios. I would go with a professional photographer as there is an art to portraiture. (I am a photographer in So. Cal and currently enrolled in New York Institute of Photography to hone my own skills) Having a really good portfolio is usually one of the two things you need to start getting paying gigs. The other is to catch the eye of an agency or an agent who can promote you. The folks who want you to pay for their courses are only going to be pushing their students so you need to catch the eye of someone doing well enough not to need to "teach" in order to make a living. Theater groups are often the way to go for that. They are also a whole lot of fun!