Forums > Model Colloquy > How Important is Professional Communication to you

Model

Kelly Kooper

Posts: 1240

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

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

Model

Laura UnBound

Posts: 28745

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

if I cant read it, i dont work with them.

Nov 10 12 06:17 pm Link

Photographer

Kev Lawson

Posts: 11294

Las Vegas, Nevada, US

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

Photographer

PhotographybyT

Posts: 7947

Monterey, California, US

Kelly Kooper wrote:
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?

If Megan Fox or Kate Upton contacted me by 'text speak' or even smoke signals, I would definitely work with them! big_smile

Generally speaking though, no, I wouldn't work with anyone who sends me sms type messages but I guess the bottom line depends on who they are.

Nov 10 12 06:25 pm Link

Photographer

Supermodel Photographer

Posts: 3309

Oyster Bay, New York, US

Kelly Kooper wrote:
mispelt

Nov 10 12 06:35 pm Link

Photographer

Top Gun Digital

Posts: 1528

Las Vegas, Nevada, US

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

Model

Julia Steel

Posts: 2474

Sylvania, Ohio, US

Kelly Kooper wrote:
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?

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

Model

CRIMSON REIGN

Posts: 842

Baltimore, Maryland, US

Laura UnBound wrote:
if I cant read it, i dont work with them.

Amen!

Nov 10 12 06:58 pm Link

Photographer

Art of the nude

Posts: 12067

Grand Rapids, Michigan, US

Kelly Kooper wrote:
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?

I don't insist on perfection, but to set up a shoot, I need to clearly establish
*Where we intend to shoot, and if it's at my studio, that the model understands how to get here
* When, exactly, we are shooting
* What the model's limits are in relation to what I want / need to shoot
* Details about wardrobe, makeup, and the like
* That they understand the "no escorts" policy, and various things relating to that
* Compensation, including any number of details with a TF shoot

If I can't have a professional, coherent, discussion of those things, and any other matter that might come up along the way, I'm not going to bother with the arrangement.

Nov 10 12 07:07 pm Link

Photographer

PhotographybyT

Posts: 7947

Monterey, California, US

Caustic Disco wrote:

(i.e. "DAT AZZZ! cum shoot wit me gerl, and is you single?")

Heeey grl...how cum u post my shout out 2 u?

tongue (haha)

Nov 10 12 07:09 pm Link

Model

JWest

Posts: 1000

Asheville, North Carolina, US

Kelly Kooper wrote:
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?

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

Photographer

Orca Bay Images

Posts: 33877

Arcata, California, US

Supermodel Photographer wrote:

OP is Aussie.

Nov 10 12 07:22 pm Link

Photographer

Images by MR

Posts: 8908

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

I'd care more about there work then spelling....

Nov 10 12 07:27 pm Link

Model

retiredanddeleted

Posts: 3561

Azul, Buenos Aires, Argentina

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

Photographer

Art of the nude

Posts: 12067

Grand Rapids, Michigan, US

MissLaurelle wrote:
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)

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

Photographer

OLSON IMAGES

Posts: 90

New York, New York, US

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

Model

GQ The Couture Model

Posts: 320

Seattle, Washington, US

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

Photographer

OLSON IMAGES

Posts: 90

New York, New York, US

Images by MR wrote:
I'd care more about there work then spelling....

Did you misspell "their" as "there" on purpose? :-S

Nov 10 12 08:09 pm Link

Model

Dekilah

Posts: 5236

Dearborn, Michigan, US

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

Model

Jordan Bunniie

Posts: 1755

Salt Lake City, Utah, US

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

Model

Jules NYC

Posts: 21617

New York, New York, US

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

Model

JWest

Posts: 1000

Asheville, North Carolina, US

Olson Images wrote:

Did you misspell "their" as "there" on purpose? :-S

Since you mentioned that I feel the need to point out it should've been "than" and not "then" tongue

Nov 10 12 08:45 pm Link

Photographer

Julian W I L D E

Posts: 1831

Portland, Oregon, US

One more time: how Beautiful is the girl???   ;-)

Nov 10 12 08:53 pm Link

Photographer

DougBPhoto

Posts: 39248

Portland, Oregon, US

Kelly Kooper wrote:
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?

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

Photographer

GoldieImages

Posts: 173

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia

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

Photographer

Art of the nude

Posts: 12067

Grand Rapids, Michigan, US

GoldieImages wrote:
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.

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

Photographer

Images by MR

Posts: 8908

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Olson Images wrote:
Did you misspell "their" as "there" on purpose? :-S

Jojo West wrote:
Since you mentioned that I feel the need to point out it should've been "than" and not "then" tongue

Thanks for the spelling tips, since moving to Canada my english is getting much better smile

Nov 10 12 10:18 pm Link

Model

Izrah

Posts: 264

Elk Grove Village, Illinois, US

Laura UnBound wrote:
if I cant read it, i dont work with them.

1000000x YES
I this is a passion, but it is a part of an industry. Professionalism is key in every part.

Nov 10 12 10:26 pm Link

Photographer

Viator Defessus Photos

Posts: 1259

Houston, Texas, US

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

Photographer

Images by MR

Posts: 8908

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

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

Photographer

Viator Defessus Photos

Posts: 1259

Houston, Texas, US

Images by MR wrote:
Some people in this thread need to understand that english may not be some ones first or even second language.

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

Model

Kelly Kooper

Posts: 1240

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Images by MR wrote:
Some people in this thread need to understand that english may not be some ones first or even second language.

I was going to address this in my original post but wanted to see how people responded first.

This correspondence I'm referring to is definitely not a language barrier issue. I expect grammatical and spelling issues from people who don't speak English as their first language. That is to be expected and absolutely fine - as long as we can still communicate. If not, it's the same problem as those who are lazy and unprofessionalism in their messages.

Nov 11 12 12:00 am Link

Photographer

Sourcelight Photography

Posts: 284

BOISE, Idaho, US

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

Photographer

Lovely Day Media

Posts: 5885

Vineland, New Jersey, US

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

Photographer

Camerosity

Posts: 5805

Saint Louis, Missouri, US

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

Photographer

B R U N E S C I

Posts: 25319

Bath, England, United Kingdom

Typing with one hand is hard...





Just my $0.02

Ciao
Stefano

www.stefanobrunesci.com

Nov 11 12 12:53 am Link

Model

Alex Adair

Posts: 27

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, US

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

Photographer

M Pandolfo Photography

Posts: 12117

Tampa, Florida, US

Sourcelight Photography wrote:
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.

Sad, but true, and I do believe your last paragraph is spot-on.

Nov 12 12 03:32 pm Link

Model

JessieLeigh

Posts: 2109

Las Vegas, Nevada, US

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

Photographer

Eridu

Posts: 623

Boston, Massachusetts, US

Jojo West wrote:

Since you mentioned that I feel the need to point out it should've been "than" and not "then" tongue

I gotz boobage and it no matter howz I writz!

Nov 12 12 03:37 pm Link