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I have had several quite extensive conversations with photographers on MM since joining in July 2019. I find it annoying how the conversation chain can be 15-20 responses then it drops into the nether. I have even got to the point where I had confirmed shoots and I did a followup to make sure it was going on as scheduled, and the photographer never replied. And that was a 180 mile trip. No way I was driving 4 hours and 180 miles for nothing. Are photographers as unreliable as models? I pride myself on professionalism, reliability, and punctuality. But I guess there are people who lack basic professional qualities. I work hard to generate interest and shoots and it gets annoying when things fall apart. Sep 07 19 05:38 pm Link Congratulations on your first 7 weeks on Model Mayhem!
Since you are not a hot, early 20's female model, you may have to experience some let-downs until you find a good photographer that needs male models. Also, do not infer that you had this conversation experience with hundreds of photographers on MM, when it was ONE person that got your hopes up! You DO KNOW that the original Zoolander was a spoof on the industry, right? EDIT: Just looked at your portfolio, seems you have been posting work with a decade between shots. Well, you have to expect drama in your market and you should know that! Joining MM is not a guaranteed pathway to instant modeling success! Sep 07 19 09:09 pm Link Understanding there are 2 sides to every story how does a potential shoot evolve into '15-20' messages back and forth? That's far too many and perhaps the Photographer(s) grew tired of the idle chit-chat ?
Welcome to the Mayhem! Sep 08 19 02:53 am Link Happens often on MM and to both sides. Some [photographers are flaky. Some models are flaky. Your frustration is natural, but you just have to learn to weed out the unreliables without getting bitter about it. Set your standards for acceptable behavior and stick to them. If someone violates those standards, c'est la vie.
For example, in the PM negotiation phase, if a model reads my messages requesting information but doesn't respond in a reasonable time, I figure the shoot's not going to happen due to lack of interest. Time to move on to the next model. Same goes for messages going unread in a reasonable time. Communication is vital. And "no message" IS a message. I never hit the road for a shoot without last-minute verification. I never assume a shoot is scheduled until all relevant details (time, location, compensation, communication/notification protocols, etc) are agreed upon and in textual form..If not, we don't have a shoot yet so there's nothing to get upset about. If you DO have a shoot established and scheduled and the other party flakes, it's extra frustrating, but still, what can you do but review your procedures and cut loose the flake? Sep 08 19 03:32 am Link They probably lost interest in the project or idea from whatever variables played a part in getting to that point and didn't want to have to say it. Too much back and forth texting, project becoming bigger than initially planned, negotiated work expected, etc. (Don't know the details behind the messaging, but most likely something to that effect.) Sep 08 19 04:32 am Link 15-20 messages is a lot of messages to nail down the details. Most of the details ought to covered in the first couple of messages. If negotiations are specific, it would take a few more. Then a reiteration of the agreement and confirmation at the time of the shoot if weeks or months have transpired.
As a newbie, you are more likely to have flakes, I think. It is easier to say the wrong thing or give a bad impression. I would caution you about doing shoots that are away for a while. It is bad enough when you travel 30 minutes and the person is a no show. Sep 08 19 06:00 pm Link I agree with the too many messages comments.
for myself, I try to get the major information into the first message which may sometimes be as succinct as"Interested, tell me more." Second message includes specific details that answer the questions Where? When? What? Why? How? and How Much? followed by "Please confirm or let me know if there's anything I missed." If there is no understanding and/or agreement at this point, there is little reason to go further. The whole message can take no more than twice as many words as this reply and I always use the MM mail system because for all its faults, I know that the people on both ends have the entire conversation before them, which is not always the case with other methods of communication. Failure to respond within a reasonable time is presumed to mean no thanks and I regularly consign non-responses to the trash barrel. All IMHO as always, of course. Sep 08 19 07:43 pm Link Hunter GWPB wrote: I agree BUT in this day and age I've found things have totally changed. The average person under 45 years old don't like to read paragraphs. They feel it takes too long. They'd rather send and receive 100 one line messages before making a decision than read one paragraph that describes the projcect in detail.
Sep 09 19 11:29 am Link Due to the ease of texting, it’s not unusual to have a lot of back and with a model. “What would you like me to bring, what about my hair and makeup, what about parking,”etc. But correspondence petering out from initial, timely and enthusiastic texts or PMs is a pretty sure sign that the event is not going to happen.
I always ask the model to text me the morning-of to confirm. If the model doesn’t text me back agreeing to that, I cancel. If she has agreed to it and doesn’t text me to confirm, I text her once asking for confirmation. If I don’t hear back within 15-30 mins, it’s “Shoot Cancelled.” It saves a lot of time and trouble, and I only live one block from my studio. It’s usually a good sign, and ALWAYS a pleasure, to get the morning-of text: “I’m confirming and looking forward to our session.” Sep 09 19 12:17 pm Link I'm sure I've talked up models about some concept and then ...kinda...faded..
never have I set something up and then ghosted though the model is just a small part of a project.. a lot of times all that other crap just does not come together so the project is 'on hiatus'... I guess the deal is to never get too excited about anything until it is happening.. that might apply to life as well if something is set up though.. no excuse to let the person hanging.... but this is a good lesson for you as well.. stuff WILL come up for you - don't be that guy... contact the photographer immediately..chances are they will understand Sep 10 19 07:28 am Link I just booked a paid modeling job in 2 messages.
If you don't want to waste time with 15-20 or more messages, STOP sending them, STOP answering them, get to the point of the booking. Date: Time: Location: Pay rate: Subject: All that info can be sent in one email/message, if they want to reply with inane questions about your personal life, dog, schedule, reply again with the info that you need. In the end there is NO reason to spend 5+ hours chit chatting to book a 2 hour gig, or even waste 4 hours to book an 8 hour gig. Sep 11 19 09:48 am Link People can be unreliable.
Water is wet. Sep 11 19 10:23 am Link udor wrote: Ya, in my experience most photographers prefer lager models to ale. Maybe a nice stout.
Joining MM is not a guaranteed pathway to instant modeling success! *sound of a million dreams crushed* Sep 11 19 11:14 pm Link udor wrote: Gary Davis wrote: Hahahaa... I was thinking "What the hell is Gary talking about and went back to my original post... and yeah... WTF happened??? LOL... Nice catch and great response! udor wrote: Gary Davis wrote: Just wait until I tell 'em that Santa is not real and the Easter bunny is a friggin awesome Pagan fertility symbol, with sex 'n stuff... Sep 12 19 10:49 pm Link You know if you spill the beans about Santa and the hare your going to freak out half of America and there NOT all in their teens. Sep 21 19 08:40 pm Link Ascension Imaging wrote: Not the dehydrated variety. Sep 23 19 07:31 pm Link |
(Corrected!)
