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Smallville, USA
I know as of...well...today, ive been starting threads left and right and this is no exception. Im just speaking on my personal frustration (this is noone elses fault, except possibly my mothers) with where I live and how much it...well...sucks for modeling. Granted I go to college in Philadelphia, but I am definately here by way of Oreland, PA (if that doesnt sound like am uptight suburban village, I dont know what does). But, since I am a college student in a major city, and due to some random ass circumstanes, I am carless. So, after battling the obstacle of getting out of smallville #4154, Im stuck in a city with out reliable transportation so Im still none the better. Because of this, not only am a limited as hell on photographers, other models, and job opportunites in general, but I come off as "unprofessional" when that really isnt the case Anyone else frustrated with there they live in reference to modeling, and even if I did have a car, Id be hittin up 2 hour travels left and right. God dammit someone move me to Manhattan Mar 13 06 08:24 pm Link Errr, I think I understand the question. Modeling in Michigan sucks too... Mar 13 06 08:33 pm Link Northern Illinois is ok, I suppose...I did recently manage to find Milo in Rockford by coincidental search. The thing is, I can generally only get to Chicago for one day at a time (so I had to miss the Midwest Hair/Beauty Expo because the call was on Thurs night and my spring break hadn't started yet...not only that, but I didn't notice the post in enough time to come up with plans to stay with family in the area) *rant officially over* Mar 13 06 08:47 pm Link Yea, things like that happen to me all the time, a photog Sara Butler offered, like (found me and offered) to do TFP with me, she was real informative, it would have been like 4 looks, shame she's in an entirerly different county than me... Mar 13 06 09:03 pm Link Try living in Alabama for a while. I have to travel almost 2 hours to the south, or drive 5 hours to Atlanta if I want to work with a wide variety of photographers. I'm lucky to have a couple of photographers in my local area who have been gracious enough to work with me, though. I can't say I have to suffer being in a small town for long, though. I am moving to a big city in Germany in a little over a month. I just don't know of any photographers or the such over there, so it will be basically like starting all over again. Mar 13 06 09:04 pm Link I would love to move, but it would also require transfering schools, not to mention...I'd probably gettin eaten alive becasue at 18, i dont have the know how to move....and my mom would throw a huge bitch-fit... So, I guess im stuck in Oreland, and photographers ever in Oreland, Pa.....no? yea, didnt think so Mar 13 06 09:07 pm Link You should try central Maine.... the model pool is so shallow, the fish walk. And yes, I too am hit with 2-3 drives either with models coming to me, or me going to them. Add to that the rather conservative, uptight atmosphere and it becomes something of a hell-hole. Mar 13 06 09:19 pm Link -Katrina- wrote: Well, it's unlikely Manhattan is going to move to you. LOL If it did, you probably would be some sort of god or mythic superpower and would not have a need for neither college nor modeling Mar 13 06 09:27 pm Link jac3950 wrote: Hmm...I guess in retrospect some people...well...a lot of people have it "worst" than me, but dammit, I can still whine if I wanna Mar 13 06 09:44 pm Link None of you folks got anything to complain about. Try Two Rivers, Alaska. 30 miles outside Fairbanks. Population of the entire state is less than most towns that people consider small. Population of the town is less than most high schools. 8 hour drive to the nearest mall. Half the town is owned by southern baptists who think the Oscars are a porn flick. And I specialize in nude art and intimate portraits. Still, I find talented models for nude work, buyers for my prints, clients for my portrait and wedding business. It's all about networking and patience and persistence. If you're sitting and waiting for someone to contact you in Smallville, you'd better have a comfortble rocking chair. If you're marketing yourself, opportunity will come. Put your name and your face in the place where those who need to see you look. Then do it again. And again. And again. Someone sees my name every day - in the university art department, the lingerie store, the florists, the camera store, the wedding store, the dress shop, and I make an effort to get my card in at least one new outlet every month. Talk to those who know someone who knows someone who knows someone and get introduced. Then do it again. And again. And again. Seven degrees of separation is often just two or three degrees in Smallville, so this is one place you've got an advantage. Inquire about opportunities with people who might not think about using your talents if you didn't put the idea in their heads. Remember, it never hurts to ask. Maybe you want to be a catalog model, but the used car dealer might be shooting a commercial or having and open house next month and need a spokes model. Not catalog, but not a resume killer, right? Leave an impression. Put your business card in the hand of everyone you meet in an appropriate context, then give them a spare to pass on. Send thank you notes to those who give you an opportunity. Even if they turn you down, thank them for the consideration and remind them that you'd like to be considered next time as well. Be a conduit. When you meet someone who could benefit from meeting someone else you've met, put them in touch. Make sure they know you were keeping an eye out for opportunities for them as well as for yourself. Many will return the favor (not all, but that's OK - it only takes one). Bottom line, whether you're a photographer or a model, you are your product. You may have fewer potential customers in Smallville than you would in Metropolis, but they're out there. You've just got to make sure they know you're out there too. Smallville only lacks opportunities for those who are convinced there's no opportunity to be found. Mar 13 06 09:45 pm Link Excellent advice Timm! Future small town resident, Don Mar 13 06 09:49 pm Link Okay try South Carolina. I mean I started out in a hick town called Williston, where the fine dining was Hardees, your household shopping was done at Dollar General, and groceries were bought from none other- Piggly Wiggly. Then I ventured out, yes, to the big city of Columbia, oh yeah (being sarcastic here) But for me it really is a big city compared to the two stop lights we had back home, but for modeling, it's doing me little justice  Mar 13 06 09:53 pm Link Pittsburgh is great for my type of photography...as long as one can afford to fly/bus/drive to somewhere else when it's time to shoot anything. In a way, I suppose it's done me some good being stuck in Pensyl-tucky...I've had to do my work with minimum resources and maximum resourcefulness...basically it's forced me to evolve my own personal style with little reliance on fabulous models, fabulous wardrobes and fabulous locations...I take pride in the fact that I can do a full days' work with only two lights in a space smaller than the average freight elevator. Mar 13 06 09:57 pm Link Melvin Moten Jr wrote: Pensyl-tucky...lol, cute. But, I do see where your coming from on acquiring the ability to work off of minimal resources, I suppose when the opportunity arises that you are able to take advantage of big time resources, even more great things come from it Mar 13 06 10:21 pm Link I love Lana Lang / Kristin Kreuk ! Mar 13 06 10:25 pm Link Terry Breedlove wrote: Well, there are opportunities in Smallville, but let's be realistic, Terry. Mar 13 06 10:33 pm Link Hell if I was ever realistic I would never have become a photographer !  Full sail a head, damn the torpedoes.Mar 13 06 10:37 pm Link -Katrina- wrote: If that ever happens, I'll be sure to let you know! Mar 14 06 01:12 am Link it could be worse, you could be living in australia, photographic backwater of the WORLD, thank god for aircraft and passports. Mar 14 06 01:15 am Link Tim Hammond wrote: I hate to ask, but why? Tim, Alaska, why? Mar 14 06 01:18 am Link Ashleigh Williams wrote: Check your messages . . . I have a solution for ya! Mar 14 06 06:09 am Link Nearest Shopping mall - 67 miles away. Nearest Starbucks 83 miles. Hunters orange is around all year. You have now entered the model/photographer twilight zone. My home town. It's rough. You want to work and create. Ready, willing, and able - but no one to collaborate with. Arghhhh. LOL My empathy, and sympathy my fellow strandeds. You're all awesome though!!! Mar 14 06 06:17 am Link I have everyone beat. I now live in Israel. All the women have what I call "small town syndrome". Mar 14 06 06:22 am Link tgimaging wrote: I find it funny that a large percentage of small town people are able to rattle off random facts and figures which display just how small their town is...and...I will admit, my town that I currently live in is small...but it is close to a city, I live in a township that is a 6.16 square mile community, and within in that township are 5 towns, so...i guess that equals an entirerly different zip code per mile. and in my specific town, litteraly all the commerse consists of a small ass market, wine place, pizza place and gas station. Bare essentials im sure.... Mar 14 06 07:30 am Link UnoMundo Photography wrote: LOL! It's one of those "if you don't get it, you'd never undersand" things. UnoMundo Photography wrote: There's a couple military bases and a small university within an hour's drive. There's the occasional open-minded person among Fairbanks's 50K southern baptists. Lots of tourists come through every summer, and you'd be surprised how many of them want to be photographed nude, partially nude, or in lingerie in the Alaskan outdoors. I go to Anchorage several times per year, where there are nearly 300,000 people and models are more plentiful there. I manage. UnoMundo Photography wrote: Absolutely! But use FedEx. UPS can't find my place. Mar 14 06 08:50 am Link -Katrina- wrote: With all due respect, I don't think anyone in Pennsylvania, or even on the eastern seaboard, really understands what "small town" means in the west. A small town surrounded by 40 other small towns is not a small town, it's just a rural city. If you can drive to the city and back in a day, you haven't experienced a small town. If you haven't lived where the population density is less than 1 person per square mile, or where the road distance from your town to the next populated place is greater than 100 miles, you've never experienced a small town. If there are over 1,000,000 people within a day's drive, you should have no problem at all finding opportunities to do what ever you want. Mar 14 06 09:03 am Link -Katrina- wrote: No offense, but seriously stop complaining. I just did a searched under Orelands zip within 5 miles there were 16 Photogs, open it up to 10 miles you got another 100, and thats just on MM. Its not the photog's fault you don't have means of transportation or find SEPTA unreliable or just don't want to get on the bus. Mar 14 06 09:36 am Link As far as I can see, you have 2 choices: 1) Move 2) Build an artistic community. It takes a bit of an effort, but you've got to find the other local models & photographers, form a little community, encourage & inspire each other, etc. Portland, Oregon, where I live, isn't exactly a small town, but it is far from the various centers of the universe, but we have worked at meeting each other and helping out the less skilled folks with opportunities & experience. We refer models to each other. We collaborate on ideas. We have day trips with a small number of models & photographers all working together. So, I guess my bottom line is that I have no complaints. Mar 14 06 09:45 am Link |
