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How good do you have to be???
Photogs/models: How good does a wardrobe stylist/designer have to be in order for you to pay them? Do any of you pay stylists travel fees to come style shoots for you? I know my location isn't 'ideal' for fashion, but still-what is a stylist who does design, set/art/story direction, hair, makeup (using this term loosely) etc. actually worth? Jun 03 06 01:20 am Link You have to be good enough to get a real client! Jun 03 06 01:21 am Link yeah....well....you'll have to define 'real client' for me. Yes, I have people who pay me to style them-but the question is in general. Or per photog/model preference Jun 03 06 01:24 am Link SoVi-Southern Vitality wrote: Myself, usually use someone local (i.e., in the city where i'm working); tend too to go with people i've used before. That said, yes, I'd look at someone's Book as talent to possibly keep in mind for future work. Largely though, for me anyway, it's a budget question that will ultimately be accepted or rejected by the client. All i'm doing is expressing my preferences. Jun 03 06 01:26 am Link My point is that it doesn't matter how good you are, it's how you sell yourself!!! Jun 03 06 01:28 am Link yes, [above], marketing is everything! Jun 03 06 01:30 am Link Some of the local photographers who have an endless line of customers are also generally the worst photographers I have seen. There are so many extremely talented people out there who stuggle to make it...it's odd how it's reversed. Talent doesnt make you rich, Marketing yourself does. I see a lot of two sides in my market. On one side, you have talent, but you can't market yourself worth squat (I believe I'm included in this for the most part). On the other side, you can sell a rain coat to a porpoise, but your images arent anything spectacular. If you really want to make some money, learn some economics, marketing, and running a small business to start out with. If you get that down, you'll have a 95% edge over either of the two sides, a killer combo of talent and saleability. Jun 03 06 01:31 am Link Hamza wrote: so it wouldn't matter to you if you contacted a stylist you've never worked with before, and they did a bang up job of selling themselves, but when they got to the set they were horrible? Jun 03 06 01:31 am Link I'm not saying I don't know how to market myself-I went to college for that-I'm just asking for opinions and if photogs/models are willing to pay for that. I'm just the opposite. One designer I work with didn't know the first thing about how to get models, photogs, etc to shoot her stuff. With all the sewing and school she has, she doesn't have time to market herself. So I do it for her. But if even if I had seen her stuff everywhere, if I pay for a dress and it falls apart as soon as I get it home or the quality is, then marketing doesn't make up for her lack of talent. Jun 03 06 01:33 am Link SoVi-Southern Vitality wrote: Real client: magazine, ad campaign, ad agency, event planner, modelling agency, whoever's paying the bill. To answer you original question, whatever the client has budgeted for the shoot, that's what's available to pay the shooting team. If you do more than one thing on set, that can work to your advantage for bookings with clients that have a tight budget, but those are the very clients that don't pay so well in the first place. Jun 03 06 01:35 am Link SoVi-Southern Vitality wrote: i don't think that's what he was saying, or i hope not ... Jun 03 06 01:36 am Link SoVi-Southern Vitality wrote: ahh I can tell you are a debutant, btw.....your work will sell itself....if it can.... Jun 03 06 01:42 am Link FML-Photography wrote: I know a chick right now who is NOT a stylist-she owns a clothing boutique. Yet she gets a a lot of work here and her name is all around but (her store is closed/seized) that doesn't exactly equate to people buying her clothes. She has a horrible reputation for always being more than 2 hours late to everything, personal problems, the list goes on. Yet when videos, fashion shows etc come to town I hear her name pop up. So I'm wondering do you think she's even getting paid for this stuff or is she just on a TFP/TFExposure basis??? Jun 03 06 01:42 am Link Michael Raveney wrote: ? Jun 03 06 01:43 am Link SoVi-Southern Vitality wrote: yeah, see it all the time in mainstream circles; gets down to some unknown variables as to why such & such was chosen to do a job when so & so was obviously so much better qualified. Jun 03 06 01:45 am Link Why don't you just ask the boutique non-stylist? Perception is the key to marketing yourself (I mean, just browse around this site for a while), so maybe her gigs are sounding better than they really are. Edit: So she knows clothes, but she's not a stylist? Is that like a Guy With Camera? A Chick With Clothes? GWC, CWC, I like that... Jun 03 06 01:47 am Link SoVi-Southern Vitality wrote: ? Jun 03 06 01:49 am Link Michael Raveney wrote: oh..I meant the debutant thing? sorry.. Jun 03 06 01:52 am Link Richard Dubois wrote: She doesn't really know clothes either; she had a little money and decided to open a boutique here. She knows a lot of people here too. I mean I know her..assisted w/ her on my first video (more like did the work). But I don't understand why if you have so many problems w/ someone on a regular basis why you would continue to call/use them. Jun 03 06 01:56 am Link SoVi-Southern Vitality wrote: this might help: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=debutant Jun 03 06 01:58 am Link SoVi-Southern Vitality wrote: Ah, you hit the nail on the head: "She knows a lot of people here..." Sounds like she is something of a good self-promoter, and as for why unreliable people get re-booked, I'll never know. I do know that it catches up to you after a while - there are a few blacklisted people in the city I work in. Jun 03 06 02:03 am Link SoVi-Southern Vitality wrote: When you ask if I or someone is willing to pay a stylist, the question comes to mind to me is what do I need a stylist for? Jun 03 06 02:04 am Link Hamza wrote: Umm... to bring the clothes for starts... Jun 03 06 02:08 am Link Michael Raveney wrote: uh...ok...well being more direct, were you trying to be funny? just asking. if not then suggestions?? Jun 03 06 02:09 am Link SoVi-Southern Vitality wrote: Hamza wrote: so it wouldn't matter to you if you contacted a stylist you've never worked with before, and they did a bang up job of selling themselves, but when they got to the set they were horrible? Part of selling yourself is SHOWING your previous work, like in a portfolio... Jun 03 06 02:09 am Link SoVi-Southern Vitality wrote: nah "funny" is not in my nature...more like facetious..... Jun 03 06 02:16 am Link Richard Dubois wrote: That's the thing right there..there are a lot of photogs who feel they don't need one. They tell the models to bring whatever they have. One photog I worked with (via the model) didn't know what pin-up was and had never heard of TFP! I haven't even had a chance to shoot things like editorials etc b/c it's like there's no concept of what that is. Yeah I know what editorials look like and when I see them I know that I can do that same thing. But it seems that from the responses I've gotten thus, I am the only one who thinks so Jun 03 06 02:17 am Link SoVi-Southern Vitality wrote: Just curious: How much networking do you do online vs. in the "real world"? MM and other sites are only one avenue to pursue (and only online have I ever heard the term "TFP" - in the "real world" industry, using that term gets a lot of raised eyebrows. Conversely, industry people know what editorial, high fashion, beauty, lifestyle, commercial, creative and testing mean, but online, most people don't). Jun 03 06 02:30 am Link SoVi-Southern Vitality wrote: Just curious: How much networking do you do online vs. in the "real world"? MM and other sites are only one avenue to pursue (and only online have I ever heard the term "TFP" - in the "real world" industry, using that term gets a lot of raised eyebrows. Conversely, industry people know what editorial, high fashion, beauty, lifestyle, commercial, creative and testing mean, but online, most people don't). Jun 03 06 02:32 am Link Michael Raveney wrote: yeah same thing Jun 03 06 02:33 am Link Richard Dubois wrote: I do the majority of my networking in the 'real world' as well as the internet non-MM; I'm well aware what MM is and I use it for what it is good for. Every now and then I stop thru the forums and see what's going on. But for whatever reason it seems whenever I ask a question or for advice people turn it into something else. What I'm curious about is how only one person actually answered my original question...all I asked was if people pay stylists to travel to them and what a stylist's talents are worth to them.. Jun 03 06 02:42 am Link Richard Dubois wrote: That was my answer - to both of your questions. To paraphrase: there is no one set fee for anything, including whether your travel expenses are paid. Jun 03 06 02:54 am Link SoVi-Southern Vitality wrote: Maybe because some people thought that you wanted to explore the possibilities a little, such as when you brought up your boutique friend. Your original question was a good one, but with no black and white answers. If you're feeling a little testy, then forget it. Jun 03 06 03:00 am Link Richard Dubois wrote: SoVi-Southern Vitality wrote: No I do not pay to have a stylist travel to me. I have no need for it. Jun 03 06 04:38 am Link |