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How Important is Professional Communication to you
Hi guys, I'm not talking about the occasional mispelt word or misuse of punctuation. I'm talking about recieving work enquiries from a 'professional' photographer that look as if they've been sms'd by a teenager. Does this affect whether or not you take a job and your opinion of this person? Nov 10 12 06:12 pm Link if I cant read it, i dont work with them. Nov 10 12 06:17 pm Link Based on this comment being on several of the more prominent models on MM, I would say more would not than would. I have read this very same thing on probably 20 or more model profiles. Nov 10 12 06:19 pm Link Kelly Kooper wrote: If Megan Fox or Kate Upton contacted me by 'text speak' or even smoke signals, I would definitely work with them! Nov 10 12 06:25 pm Link Kelly Kooper wrote: Nov 10 12 06:35 pm Link Communication is very important. I was setting up a shoot with a model and we had agreed on price and the date for the shoot. I sent her a message with some additional info such as location and potential travel time and I asked her to let me know if she was OK with all of these details. A week went by and I didn't hear from her so I assumed she was no longer interested and I went ahead and made other plans for that day. After nine days she finally answered me and said that she just realized she had not responded to my message. She's a traveling model and she just lost a paid assignment because or poor communication. Nov 10 12 06:37 pm Link Kelly Kooper wrote: i'll make exceptions for overall tone and based on their port (i.e. if they seem friendly and enthusiastic and their port is top notch). but i don't like working with people who hit on me (i.e. "DAT AZZZ! cum shoot wit me gerl, and is you single?") Nov 10 12 06:41 pm Link Laura UnBound wrote: Amen! Nov 10 12 06:58 pm Link Kelly Kooper wrote: I don't insist on perfection, but to set up a shoot, I need to clearly establish Nov 10 12 07:07 pm Link Caustic Disco wrote: Heeey grl...how cum u post my shout out 2 u? Nov 10 12 07:09 pm Link Kelly Kooper wrote: Everyone misspells words from time to time. There are times when the photographer's first language may not be English, you can usually tell. However, if a photographer sends me a message I have to re-read multiple times to understand, everything is misspelled or they use tons of slang (which I can't begin to understand) I won't work with them. I want someone who's professional not a "clubbing buddy". I'm kind of a grammar freak, lol. Nov 10 12 07:20 pm Link Supermodel Photographer wrote: OP is Aussie. Nov 10 12 07:22 pm Link I'd care more about there work then spelling.... Nov 10 12 07:27 pm Link I have a problem with people who: Are inappropriate. (Calling me babe, complimenting my ass and boobs Talk to me as if we are friends. (Jokes, sarcasme, or just not in professional manner specially if its the first message) Nov 10 12 07:33 pm Link MissLaurelle wrote: I've had several models / young women who might want to model call me "honey", or "sweetie." I think it's pretty funny. I also enjoy humor, although I normally wouldn't be telling jokes at all, let alone a first message. Nov 10 12 07:48 pm Link Not that I don't make mistakes myself, but bad grammar and spelling are big turnoffs for me. As in most other job search situations, these things count against you. Nov 10 12 08:06 pm Link I had a project go south after a simple miscommunication but I look at it this way it was the photographers loss not mine. Nov 10 12 08:06 pm Link Images by MR wrote: Did you misspell "their" as "there" on purpose? :-S Nov 10 12 08:09 pm Link Like Art of the Nude said and others as well, I need to be able to communicate with the photographer about details of the shoot. There have been a couple times when a shoot did not get booked because I could not understand them or get them to answer questions about shoot details. Nov 10 12 08:09 pm Link I don't like if I need to try and decipher what they're trying to say. In my experience these people never actually commit anyway. Nov 10 12 08:23 pm Link Everyone should have a general command of their native language. If it is English, yes, please be able to converse clearly. P.S. I have yet to get a smartphone myself, but good-lord, please stop with the speech-to-text messages. This feature can make someone appear less than intelligent... very quickly. Nov 10 12 08:43 pm Link Olson Images wrote: Since you mentioned that I feel the need to point out it should've been "than" and not "then" Nov 10 12 08:45 pm Link One more time: how Beautiful is the girl??? ;-) Nov 10 12 08:53 pm Link Kelly Kooper wrote: Yes, it definitely makes a difference, but as with most things in life, it depends on the circumstances. Nov 10 12 09:02 pm Link I appreciate professional communication a lot, but I've learned not to place a whole lot of importance on it as I've noticed some models can be very disorganized yet be great in front of the camera. Nov 10 12 09:03 pm Link GoldieImages wrote: I've noticed that if the model is "very disorganized" there's a very high probability they won't ever BE in front of the camera. Nov 10 12 10:13 pm Link Olson Images wrote: Jojo West wrote: Thanks for the spelling tips, since moving to Canada my english is getting much better Nov 10 12 10:18 pm Link Laura UnBound wrote: 1000000x YES Nov 10 12 10:26 pm Link Intelligence is defiantly a must for me, if you can't carry a decant conversation; don't bother, and by the way saying stuff like "ur fin hot wanna fuck?" is NOT a decant conversation. A model I shot with once had that on her profile page for a while. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Nov 10 12 10:29 pm Link Some people in this thread need to understand that english may not be some ones first or even second language. Nov 10 12 11:17 pm Link Images by MR wrote: Oh I completely agree, and allowances are and should be made for that. The reason I pointed out the example I did? The model was born and raised in Texas. Nov 10 12 11:32 pm Link Images by MR wrote: I was going to address this in my original post but wanted to see how people responded first. Nov 11 12 12:00 am Link As a writer and former English teacher, I long ago realized that holding the average American to the impossible standard of being able to write a simple declarative sentence without numerous grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation errors would most likely drive me crazy. These days, it works better if I just assume everybody under the age of 40 is functionally illiterate and allow myself to be pleasantly surprised when I meet anybody who actually LIKES language enough to use it correctly, even, perhaps, elegantly. Plus, I have also discovered that those models who can articulately hold up their end of an email correspondence are generally the ones most likely to follow through on a commitment and actually show up for a session. I don't think it's a coincidence. Nov 11 12 12:06 am Link Most of the models I have communicated with do a pretty good job of carrying a conversation. Some do a better job than others, of course, but if I have to figure out what it is they said (as opposed to just reading it), it's strike one. I understand why a person would use "shorthand" in a text message, but in a place where characters aren't limited (like here), what's the reason? To save 10-12 keystrokes, perhaps? If you're too lazy to type "anyone" and you type "n e one" instead (it's actually one more character if one includes spaces), strike two. Most of the time, these things don't turn into shoots because they lose interest with my questions. I'm not one who wants to dictate details to anyone, so I ask questions. If they don't want to answer them, that's fine ... but if they don't communicate, it's strike 3. I don't have to worry about them not showing up now. Nov 11 12 12:34 am Link Communication is important - not just the content but timeliness as well. Last March I was asked to shoot a magazine cover on very short notice (3 days). The magazine had pulled its cover photo after learning that the model had not signed her legal name to the release. I emailed 20+ area models who listed fitness as an interest (and looked fit), confining my search to those who had signed on to MM in the previous three days. I was still receiving initial responses to my email in late September. Rarely do I search for models who have not been on MM in the previous 10 days. Currently I'm trying to set up a shoot with a model and a wardrobe stylist (the stylist is the one who's in contact with the clothing designer and the MUA). One checks email once or twice a week, the other once every 1-2 weeks. It's maddening! Nov 11 12 12:52 am Link Nov 11 12 12:53 am Link I've found that if you can't take the time to type coherently, you usually don't take the time to really care about the shoot you are trying to set up. I don't crucify people that use there, they're and their wrong, but talk like a grown-up if you want to be treated like one. Nov 12 12 03:18 pm Link Sourcelight Photography wrote: Sad, but true, and I do believe your last paragraph is spot-on. Nov 12 12 03:32 pm Link I consider attention to detail important when deciding if I want to work with a photographer. If a photographer can't take the time to properly communicate, there is a possibility they also won't take the time to properly show up... properly shoot.. properly edit... Nov 12 12 03:36 pm Link Jojo West wrote: I gotz boobage and it no matter howz I writz! Nov 12 12 03:37 pm Link |