Model
Chantelle Mathiasson
Posts: 3638
Carson City, Nevada, US
email for sure. I don't know why but I am not very good at talking on the phones...LOL... even though that is what i do for my job...  Definately prefer emails though. ~Chantelle~ www.simplychantelle.com
Model
Jakki Browne
Posts: 3457
Los Angeles, California, US
Leonard Gee Photography wrote:
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. This is what I do, I think it works best!
Photographer
Image K
Posts: 23400
Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Leonard Gee Photography wrote:
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. Works for me!
Model
Carole Hayes
Posts: 876
Garland, Texas, US
Jakki Browne wrote:
This is what I do, I think it works best! Sounds like a wonderful plan!
Photographer
Doug Jantz
Posts: 4025
Tulsa, Oklahoma, US
Depends on a time frame. I had a buddy once who had to back out of some plans last year on an evening. I was downtown and was going to meet him later. Didn't happen! What did her do? He emailed me to tell me he couldn't meet me. I wasn't home to get that!!!! A simple way would have have been to make a 1 minute call to tell me. Sometimes we think everyone is always in front of a computer when they aren't. Email only works if the person is there to read it or has access. At times I may be gone a couple days away from my email. What do some do? Send me emails to tell me things. I can't see it! A phone call would be very simple and quick.
Photographer
Henri3
Posts: 7392
Minneapolis, Minnesota, US
Prefer a phone call very soon after contact, and a meeting shortly therafter if at all possible.
Models who are reluctant to call are very flake prone from my experiences. I'll no longer schedule a long shoot without a phone call, and conformation call morning of the shoot
Those deals where we exchange a half dozen emails that result in nothing are a royal pain...rare...but a real waste of time.
I've even taken to arranging a meeting, brief test ...to establish preshoot rapport.. ... before a major day shoot.... with newer models who don't have much to show in the way of imagery.
And have found it created a measure of trust that makes a real shoot that much better.
Photographer
Michael_Brooks
Posts: 97
Madison, Wisconsin, US
i like morse code and smoke signals. if that doesn't work, i will attach two coffee cans to a wire...
Photographer
ward
Posts: 6142
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
E-mail, then phone to solidify things in person, so to speak. I can do more in five minutes on the phone, than writing 100 e-mails.
Model
Manda Mercure
Posts: 506
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
i prefer email. i'm a bit uncomfortable talking on the phone, even with people i know. i mean i will, but i would really prefer to type, or meet in person.
Photographer
Legacys 7
Posts: 33899
San Francisco, California, US
Henri3 wrote:
Prefer a phone call very soon after contact, and a meeting shortly therafter if at all possible.
Models who are reluctant to call are very flake prone from my experiences. I'll no longer schedule a long shoot without a phone call, and conformation call morning of the shoot
Those deals where we exchange a half dozen emails that result in nothing are a royal pain...rare...but a real waste of time.
I've even taken to arranging a meeting, brief test ...to establish preshoot rapport.. ... before a major day shoot.... with newer models who don't have much to show in the way of imagery.
And have found it created a measure of trust that makes a real shoot that much better. Thank you.
Model
Kelley Gayle
Posts: 12806
Windsor, Colorado, US
Arturo J wrote:
Emails first, phone later... I agree!
Model
aLyshia Lynnette
Posts: 56
Cranford, New Jersey, US
I like email at first, but a phone call has to be made evntually. Email can lead to a constant back and forth.
Photographer
richard boswell
Posts: 1790
New York, New York, US
ever been stood up? ever invested time, effort, money, your reputation, and been stood up? i was i no way "too harsh", if you think i was ... you clearly do not understand what i was talking about ... feel free to call me for clarification, if you look you can find my number. no offense carole, rich Carole Hayes 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....
Yes, I understand that people's time is valuable. Yes, I like emails. No, I'm not a "flakey model."
I have never refused to take or receive a phone call about a job, and I don't like the implication that someone may decide not to work with me because I've said that I think email is a good way to communicate....
Actually, I don't think anybody here has said that they won't communicate by phone; the original question was, I believe, "which do you prefer?" Please don't get snippy with us for answering honestly....
Photographer
Bondo Photo
Posts: 250
Glen Burnie, Maryland, US
I hate talking on the phone, but I really prefer it because it's easier to clarify and discuss everything. It's so easy to miscommunicate when emailing back and forth with simple ideas that could be discussed in a matter of seconds.
I had a model cancel a shoot via email one hour before our shooting time. She wasn't professional or respectful enough to call me and tell me directly. I just happened to check my email before I left for the studio and found that little nugget of joy.
Model
Tikeya
Posts: 8075
Edgewood, Maryland, US
Bondo Photo wrote:
I had a model cancel a shoot via email one hour before our shooting time. Damn. It's ridiculous for one to think that sending a cancellation notice via e-mail ONE HOUR PRIOR TO SHOOTING TIME would be sufficient...and to just assume that the person will be reading that e-mail within the hour. ![https://bestsmileys.com/thumbs/1.gif]()
Photographer
Larry Brown Camera
Posts: 1081
Atlantic Beach, Florida, US
I cant judga theire spellng by fone.... emale ie bestes !
Photographer
terminated user
Posts: 520
Henderson, Nevada, US
I start by email and then work my way up to phone
Photographer
San Francisco Nudes
Posts: 2910
Novato, California, US
Tikeya wrote:
Damn. It's ridiculous for one to think that sending a cancellation notice via e-mail ONE HOUR PRIOR TO SHOOTING TIME would be sufficient...and to just assume that the person will be reading that e-mail within the hour. ![https://bestsmileys.com/thumbs/1.gif]() I not only had that happen, but in the email she asked about dates to reschedule the shoot. Um, yeah, right.
I do everything in email - I usually have several things going at once and it's just a lot easier to keep it all straight if it's in one place. If for some reason we hash things out on the phone I then send an email to recap the conclusions. If a model wants to chat as a comfort thing I'll do that, but only after all the basic stuff's hashed out in email.
One additional point - I've set things up with models who were clearly on a cell phone, not at home, who said "Oh, yeah that sounds good". Do you really think they wrote it down or would remember it? At least with the email it's effectively written down somewhere.
Model
Carole Hayes
Posts: 876
Garland, Texas, US
richard boswell wrote:
ever been stood up?
ever invested time, effort, money, your reputation, and been stood up?
i was i no way "too harsh", if you think i was ... The part where you were too harsh is the part where you addressed this:
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. to all models.
If you want to address it to the models who have stood you up, that's fine -- but please don't assume that the rest of us are anything like them, without knowing anything about us aside from the fact that we're models, and address us with such undeserved rudeness.
Photographer
Legacys 7
Posts: 33899
San Francisco, California, US
Photographer
Bob Helm Photography
Posts: 18922
Cherry Hill, New Jersey, US
Perfer email because they are less intrusive in your schedule but perefer a phone call the day of the shoot to confirm and for contact on the day of the shoot
Photographer
ImageConcepts
Posts: 447
San Francisco, California, US
Email only if the model is experienced...if she is new...this will be followed by a phone call, more emails, a pre-shoot meeting if possible, then more emails then shoot.
Photographer
ChrisPaul- Chrispimages
Posts: 512
Los Angeles, California, US
I hate calling people
I dont like email that much either
I prefer a texting
then getting called so that I dont have to be the leader of the conversation
Photographer
richard boswell
Posts: 1790
New York, New York, US
yea i typed out a long explanation which was some how not uploaded onto the boards ... i thought since i quoted no one and, was pretty clear about the behavior i was referring to, my "grow up ladies" was specific enough in who it was directed towards. i'm sorry you didn't get it ... i also offered to discuss this over the phone, since i was not really interested in typing my original lost reply over again. and extended to you a "no offense" ... never mind ... Carole Hayes wrote:
richard boswell wrote:
ever been stood up?
ever invested time, effort, money, your reputation, and been stood up?
i was i no way "too harsh", if you think i was ... The part where you were too harsh is the part where you addressed this:
to all models.
If you want to address it to the models who have stood you up, that's fine -- but please don't assume that the rest of us are anything like them, without knowing anything about us aside from the fact that we're models, and address us with such undeserved rudeness.
Photographer
SolraK Studios
Posts: 1213
Atlanta, Georgia, US
e-mail for certain information to be exchanged and kept on file. I expect a phone conversation before things can go any further. My number #1 pet peeve is e-mailing me or text messaging me something like a cancellation or a reschedule 24 hours from the time of a scheduled shoot.
I've met a few models who e-mails seems to go on and on without end, I usually just move on.
Model
123455534343
Posts: 9488
Arthur's Town, Cat Island, Bahamas
Email first for the basic information, then phone. It's easier to get a feel for the person and talk out details and such over the phone. Plus, some people stink at corresponding via email.
I know I'll sound like a photographer here, but a pet peeve of mine is when I ask for someone to call me to discuss things further and they continue emailing instead. Or they say they'll call on a specfic date and they don't.
Photographer
nathan combs
Posts: 3687
Waynesboro, Virginia, US
email if cool for the first contact but i like to talk on the phone after more personal
Photographer
Fotogene
Posts: 562
Chicago Heights, Illinois, US
I opened my first studio in 1969. We only had the telephone or walk ins. Before that we had to rely on carrier pigeons.
Today I get lots of direct and inpersonal emails. There seems to be a much higher incident of stand-ups if there is not a phone call and / or meeting prior to the shoot although there are those models that are just plain criminal in how casually they treat a business appointment with any number of prior assurrances.
Serious models tell me some of us make and break pre-set shoots as well. As an industry we should press for laws similar to trafic tickets with both criminal and civil penalties for setting and with no notice standing up a shoot. For the party that is thre ready to shoot which for either the model or photographer / MUA / Hair / Fashion professional costs not only the set up and preparation time but the opportunity cost since all any of us have to sell is our time.
Did I just change the thread?
Photographer
San Francisco Nudes
Posts: 2910
Novato, California, US
Rena wrote:
a pet peeve of mine is when I ask for someone to call me to discuss things further and they continue emailing instead. Likewise a pet peeve of mine is when I ask some inital questions in email and I get a "call me" and a phone number back. Well, I don't know if it's worth calling until my questions are answered, and maybe not even then if I have followups. I'm generally hard to reach by phone and phone tag sessions can take days before we connect. What usually happens is a couple of days go by and I haven't had time to call and by then somebody else interesting has contacted me and we set it up in email and I never do get back to the person who wanted the call. So the person who told me to call them misses out on a paid job.
Photographer
Lucinda Wedge
Posts: 4315
Littlerock, California, US
Arturo J wrote:
Emails first, phone later... ditto.. I have had problems with e-mails, I am sarcastic and laugh a lot and it doesn't always come across right through e-mails, then if they say something back I may misinterpret, so... I prefer phone calls if there is any confusion as to how someone is taking my sense of humor. Hearing their voice helps me to know if they get me or not and if this relationship is workable. Then we move on to meeting then decide if there will be a shoot or not and what that shoot will be about. There are many steps before I shoot - generally (nothing is written in stone though) 
Photographer
Bondo Photo
Posts: 250
Glen Burnie, Maryland, US
Lu wrote:
I have had problems with e-mails, I am sarcastic and laugh a lot and it doesn't always come across right through e-mails, then if they say something back I may misinterpret, so... I prefer phone calls if there is any confusion as to how someone is taking my sense of humor. That's exactly how I feel. I have a sense of humor or certain mannerisms that don't always translate correctly through written word.
Photographer
A Perfect Reflection
Posts: 351
PLANTSVILLE, Connecticut, US
Arturo J wrote:
Emails first, phone later... I agree completely
Model
123455534343
Posts: 9488
Arthur's Town, Cat Island, Bahamas
San Francisco Nudes wrote:
Likewise a pet peeve of mine is when I ask some inital questions in email and I get a "call me" and a phone number back. Well, I don't know if it's worth calling until my questions are answered, and maybe not even then if I have followups. I'm generally hard to reach by phone and phone tag sessions can take days before we connect. What usually happens is a couple of days go by and I haven't had time to call and by then somebody else interesting has contacted me and we set it up in email and I never do get back to the person who wanted the call. So the person who told me to call them misses out on a paid job. I'll answer questions that are asked in an email. But details to me are easier to discuss by phone. I never ask someone to call me without answering their email questions first.
Photographer
San Francisco Nudes
Posts: 2910
Novato, California, US
Rena wrote:
I'll answer questions that are asked in an email. But details to me are easier to discuss by phone. I never ask someone to call me without answering their email questions first. I'm glad to hear it. :-)
Model
Pasha M
Posts: 948
Atlanta, Georgia, US
Email me. Its the best way for me to remember our conversation, because I can read it over again. ADHD runs strong in my family. lol.
Call me at least once before the shoot, so I can at least hear your voice. It helps in starting a good relationship.
If we can meet before the shoot, that would be great. But, sometimes thats not possible, so the phone call is appreciated.
Model
Dances with Wolves
Posts: 25108
SHAWNEE ON DELAWARE, Pennsylvania, US
Jeffrey Winner wrote:
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? Email in the beginning.
I will not shoot with a photographer if I can't speak to him or her on the phone first.
Photographer
i c e c o l d
Posts: 8610
Fort Myers, Florida, US
Jeffrey Winner wrote:
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? Did you use the "search" function?
https://www.modelmayhem.com/posts.php?thread_id=103239
You will find my opinion on this matter in that thread.
Photographer
Legacys 7
Posts: 33899
San Francisco, California, US
Rena wrote:
Email first for the basic information, then phone. It's easier to get a feel for the person and talk out details and such over the phone. Plus, some people stink at corresponding via email.
I know I'll sound like a photographer here, but a pet peeve of mine is when I ask for someone to call me to discuss things further and they continue emailing instead. Or they say they'll call on a specfic date and they don't. thank you.
Photographer
Legacys 7
Posts: 33899
San Francisco, California, US
Fotogene wrote:
I opened my first studio in 1969. We only had the telephone or walk ins. Before that we had to rely on carrier pigeons.
Today I get lots of direct and inpersonal emails. There seems to be a much higher incident of stand-ups if there is not a phone call and / or meeting prior to the shoot although there are those llamas that are just plain criminal in how casually they treat a business appointment with any number of prior assurrances.
Serious llamas tell me some of us make and break pre-set shoots as well. As an industry we should press for laws similar to trafic tickets with both criminal and civil penalties for setting and with no notice standing up a shoot. For the party that is thre ready to shoot which for either the llama or photographer / MUA / Hair / Fashion professional costs not only the set up and preparation time but the opportunity cost since all any of us have to sell is our time.
Did I just change the thread? No you didn't change the thread. You just told the damn truth. I addressed in the past and on another forum on this site. My recent point to another photographer. 'You'll learn that there are many flakes on here and it's best to have a back up.' This will save you a headache and financial lost.
I had it happened to me recently, my gut feeling kicked in and said that the llama is going to flake or have an excuse. Well I have a back up and this one is a go ahead.
People always get a back up. And do realize that MM isn't the only place were llamas flake on you. I know students in school who have had llamas, both male and female flake out on them. And that sucks when a grade is apart of this. I never had flakes until I got on here. Only 4. The others that I've worked with on here are eager to shoot and will never flake on out on you.
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Definately prefer emails though. 
