|
Forums >
General Industry >
Email vs. Phone Call
I haven't seen a thread about this topic, so here I go again creating one. I personally prefer to communicate through email. Iâm not saying I wonât call someone, I just prefer email. Why? Because sometimes I need to think about details before I respond to certain questions. I find I can be much more expressive about certain things regarding creativity and concepts when I have time to think and type it out. I think my ideas are better conveyed after mulling over it for a little while. When I can re-read the creative ideas I have for a shoot, they always look better then what I could have stated over the phone. What do you all prefer? Jan 10 07 09:46 pm Link Email for sure... for a few reasons: 1) It gives me time to think and doesn't put me on the spot for answers. 2) I can do it at any time of the day which works better with my schedule. 3) I can give descriptions and provide links to what I'm thinking of... on the phone I can only give a vague description. 4) I can't be around a phone during the day at work (I can't have private calls and no cell phones are allowed)... this means most calls have to happen after 6pm.. 5) I have it all in written format so that I can remember what was said rather than having to ask again for details. Jan 10 07 09:51 pm Link E-mail! I have Kids at home....and the name I use here...might not be the name I use at home...I like to know who is going to call me. Carmen Jan 10 07 09:52 pm Link I like to communicate via e-mail, but I like to get a call or three before the shoot, so that I can establish a speaking relationship with the photographer. E-mail is just easier to keep track of. I'm very ADHD, so most likely I won't remember the phone conversation =X Jan 10 07 09:53 pm Link Emails first, phone later... Jan 10 07 09:53 pm Link Email I spend a large part of my day at work on the phone, so when I get home, I basically avoid the phone like the plague  Emails allow me to recall the history of the convo better. And basically every other reason that was already mentioned. Jan 10 07 09:54 pm Link Mia Salen wrote: Same here. Jan 10 07 09:54 pm Link email for sure b/c im a silly ass! Jan 10 07 09:54 pm Link Carmen the MILF wrote: Are you hiding something? Jan 10 07 09:55 pm Link I also think that Models prefer at least one call before the shoot. I guess it has something to do with security. Photographers are more comfortable going without a phone call. If after emailing for a little while, I don't mind the phone call. It does kind of break the ice, especially for nude shoots and such. But If I inquire a model and she gives me a phone number off the bat, I'll email a few more times before I call him\her. Jan 10 07 10:02 pm Link Jeffrey Winner wrote: To tell you the truth, I don't really care if I ever get a phone call... I do my part to ensure my security (for the most part... there could always be a weird situation). Phone calls to me are more of a thing I do only if the photographer wants it... otherwise I don't feel anymore comfortable with a phone call then I would if I wouldn't have had one. Jan 10 07 10:07 pm Link That is a great Question, The issue that I see is that e-mails are good for the first communication, but it can also be a constant waist of time,case in point I am a photographer by trade I do this to eat and feed my family but what I have learned is not too take sites like this that serious simply because a lot of people are out here trying to get discovered or get as much as they can on a freebie basis,and in some cases some have ulterior motives as well,I don,t do many tfp type things not because I am against them but as I said my work is exactly what it is,, work, and I earn a good wage for what I do,, I am sure you may find some shooters very good and honest just as I find some models honest, I may do tfp with someone I have actually worked with in the past but rarely strangers.So I say adviseingly e-mail sure for the first line of communication, Then follow up with a phone call and of course there is always the throw away cell phones..But then what do I know I have only been shooting 32 years,and into my 4th studio,So I was out here before the internet,digital cameras and all of these new toys that make this seem so easy Jan 10 07 10:09 pm Link E-mail then phone. Meet if possible. Jan 10 07 10:11 pm Link Brandy wrote: I was just trying to say that Models, over photographers, seem to have more of a need for phonecalls. Jan 10 07 10:13 pm Link stage4fotografik wrote: an excellent point. For someone who makes a living off photography, the long process of emailing can be a waste. For someone like me, a glorified hobbyist, email is the way to go. I have time to reply, where as a full time pro will not. Jan 10 07 10:14 pm Link Le Beck Photography wrote: I love to meet before hand...only problem is scheduling and time. In an age where scheduling a shoot alone can be hard, scheduling a meeting can also be hard. Jan 10 07 10:16 pm Link Email initially... it's nice to have ideas written down so both parties can go back and double check stuff. But, at least a few days before the shoot I like to do a phone call to go over any last minute questions, etc. Very seldom will I do a shoot where we haven't spoken on the phone first (and I find that email only shoots tend to cancel more than one's where we've spoken... maybe it's the impersonal nature of it). Jan 10 07 10:19 pm Link I like email. There is something reassuring about the written word. I enjoy calls if the model wants to make them, but I don't like to initiate phone conversations. Jan 10 07 10:20 pm Link At least I've found out that I'm not the only one who prefers emails. Does that say something about our society? Jan 10 07 10:24 pm Link 1. e-mail to query and decide if you both agree and would like to work. It saves time and is more precise (trade/prices/type of work). 2. phone to decide dates, locations, outfits. I mean it can drive you crazy e-mailing back and forth for dates and talk about it. One phone call is much faster, you have better "feel" for the person. 3. confirmation e-mail. Summary of what was discussed and agreed on phone. No one is confused or forgets. 4. phone for cacellations less than 48 hrs. in advance. Otherwise it's rude to e-mail someone few hours befoe the shoot and expect them to read it in time. Jan 10 07 10:29 pm Link Jeffrey Winner wrote: Agree for the most part, except for scheduling. The fact that different people take different time to reply to e-mail (and some don't reply at all!) makes scheduling a nightmare. I'm leaning towards doing scheduling strictly by phone. Jan 10 07 10:30 pm Link semyon wrote: 80% of the time I can schedule via email. Jan 10 07 10:37 pm Link Like most who have responded, I prefer to have details in email. I don't mind phone calls, certainly -- but I also don't require them. Some people are awkward on the phone, so if somebody prefers to handle everything through email I'm just fine with that. One reason I like email, that I don't recall seeing mentioned, (and admittedly, I skimmed this,) is that it can be hard to fit calls into busy schedules. We may be in different time zones, one of us may be more available during the day and the other late at night, or something along those lines; in those cases, it's much easier for each of us to respond when it's best for us.... And as long as both parties answer every question in the email, there's no unnecessary dragging out. [rant] It really bothers me when questions are ignored/left unanswered! In a phone call, it's easy to excuse because you may end up side-tracked -- but in an email, it's right in front of you, in black and white! All you have to do is re-read before you hit "send." [/rant] : ) Jan 10 07 10:44 pm Link double post Jan 10 07 10:47 pm Link Both. Email is fine, but it isn't gauranteed that all is well and the reciever has read the email. Email should not be the primariy communication but apart of the communication. Jan 10 07 10:58 pm Link Arturo J wrote: Yup, that's what I prefer too. Talk on the phone a day or two before shooting to go over details and answer/ask any questions. Jan 10 07 11:02 pm Link i can't hover over the computer waiting ... as soon as we make the agreement to work i move the rest of the details to the phone, just to be efficient. i am almost always working one way or another. more often than not i have my phone with me, and not one of my computers. this is peoples time we are talking about here, sooner or later you will learn that that is by far you most precious commodity. until then you will continue not to be taken seriously, and called a "flakey model". dale and i had to turn several models away (who we really wanted to work with btw) this last week because of this very issue. you snooze you loose, grow up ladies. rich Jan 10 07 11:15 pm Link richard boswell wrote: Okay Jan 10 07 11:19 pm Link I will do a phone conversation if I have to, but seriously I sound like a retard on the phone. With email I can think about my response and the details are all there. It is good to see others are more in tune with email as well. I was beginning to think I was missing shoots because models wanted to set things up by phone. Although only a few have requested a call or phone number. Jan 10 07 11:21 pm Link I work full time at Sephora.com as a Beauty Advisor, answering phones and emails all day. When I get home I am so not motivated to talk to people...so usually it's email until before the shoot. Good to talk with someone to see if you will have rapport/ enjoy working together. But more often than not I can't come up with a lot of ideas on the spot by phone, though email (and yes as others mentioned having that email/ message to go back to) is great for keeping track of your ideas. Jan 10 07 11:24 pm Link Email first, then phone. If you can't be bothered to call me or give me a number for me to call you, then can I really trust you to show up for a photoshoot ? Jan 10 07 11:26 pm Link Carmen the MILF wrote: Imagine...Ring, ring, ring. (Son answers) Hello? (Caller) Hi. May I speak to 'Carmen the Milf?' Jan 10 07 11:28 pm Link Michael Thayer wrote: See.. I think this is the wrong idea. I don't think a phone call guarantees a model showing up... it may help but it definitley won't make that model show. I'm not positive what brought that notion about... Jan 10 07 11:29 pm Link richard boswell wrote: Here, here my friend. I just had to do this with a model this week. She replied to my shoot in her area, she gave me a number, I called, asked her to send me certian info. Didn't get the info. That inner feeling that I get often, told me to get a back up because people are very strange. I did, but before I made any moves to contact the back up, I didn't want to assume anything. So I called the model, but I felt now that her wanting to shoot now was now more of being put on the spot. That I don't like because what I'm looking for won't show up in my work. Jan 10 07 11:37 pm Link Brandy wrote: i mean there was nothing hidden about what he stated. Look at it from a photographer's perspective. A phone call is very important. Email, as popular as it is, still have limits. There is no gaurentee that the model will get it or if he or she do, will reply. Jan 10 07 11:41 pm Link Phone call. Jan 10 07 11:51 pm Link E-mail is fine to get started, btu there is no booking unless and until there is a phone call. I'm not willing to commit until I hear a voice and know that everything is understood between us. Jan 11 07 12:59 am Link *** Michael Thayer wrote: Jan 11 07 01:21 am Link richard boswell wrote: That seemed unnecessarily harsh.... I'm hoping none of it was directed at me, but since you addressed us all with a very general "ladies" there's no way to know from what you wrote.... Jan 11 07 01:27 am Link email phone meet for casting meet for shoot Jan 11 07 01:29 am Link |
