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Services No Longer Require... More TFP grief
Saw a casting from a Model who wanted to create a very specific look - matching a famous singer. The model has the body, not the face, but with a great MUA the look could be achieved I offered to do it - free - including studio, photography, MUA and retouching, but needed a specific MUA to be available That was at the start of the 3rd week in January The MUA contacted me today to say she's free tomorrow, so I contact the model to tie it down - and I'm informed that my 'Services are no longer required' because I have 'made her wait too long' and that the 3 week delay was 'totally unprofessional' Er... "Sorry, that was the first time that the hundreds of pounds worth of free work was available" Or is it me? Feb 09 13 09:59 am Link She has 'the car complex'. You offered her a brand spanking new top of the line fully loaded Mercedes. You paid for the car including TTL, filled the tank with gas, had it detailed inside and out, paid for 12 months full coverage zero deductible insurance, parked it in her driveway and then dangled the keys right in front of her. She expected an Aston Martin One-77 because she's just that fabulous. Feb 09 13 10:14 am Link PR Zone wrote: Most likely, she either made other arrangements or lost interest. You hadn't made a commitment, understandably. So was she supposed to just sit around hoping and waiting? Feb 09 13 10:15 am Link PR Zone wrote: *** hmmm, good question. Feb 09 13 10:19 am Link Sounds to me like you just got a fabulous shoot set up for tomorrow and all you need is a model with a hot bod. Shouldn't be too hard to pull off. Post a casting and start messaging models right now that you have this shoot set up for tomorrow. I'm sure you can find someone who'd love to be Gaga or Madonna or Beyonce or whoever you're talking about emulating, with a great makeup artist doing the transformation. As for that other model, sounds like you probably saved yourself some trouble by having her cancel. Feb 09 13 10:20 am Link communications during those 3 wks ??? Feb 09 13 10:21 am Link She wasn't as committed to the vision as you were. Maybe that is because of lack of communication on your part...who knows? Maybe you didn't explain the concept enough in terms that she understood so that she was on board with it. Maybe she didn't think you were good enough to pull it off...maybe she didn't think she was good enough to pull it off. When there was a delay in setting a date, did she know what the delay was for? Was she expecting to hear from you within a couple days? It is hard to tell what someone else is thinking if you haven't really communicated it properly. Feb 09 13 10:24 am Link Did you tell the model that you would try to put a team together? Sounds like that model just wants people to jump threw her hops. Feb 09 13 10:27 am Link Sounds like she's no longer interested. Sorry. Feb 09 13 10:27 am Link seriously - you contacted someone like "drop everything and do this tomorrow" and you're upset it didn't happen? you went through all that trouble but didn't stay in communication with the subject? how is it a prob with the model? Feb 09 13 10:29 am Link It sounds like there wasn't enough, or at least adequate, communication during the planning stages. If she thought it was unprofessional that it took 3 weeks I can only assume you weren't updating her and she thought you had just dropped the ball. I can't imagine if there had been communication and you had informed her the talent or resources wouldn't be available for several weeks that that conversation would have gone the same way. Feb 09 13 10:39 am Link diva. next. Feb 09 13 11:09 am Link PR Zone wrote: 3 weeks can be a life time for some models as they can age very fast. Feb 09 13 12:28 pm Link PR Zone wrote: Sounds to me like the problem is with you. Feb 09 13 12:40 pm Link Gotta agree with the others, it looks like you missed out by not keeping the line of communication going! On any shoot, let alone a very key shoot such as the one you had planned, you have to nursemaid the whole process along. Speak to all concerned at least once or twice a week, more if there are many people involved. Typically, I will keep the channels open right up to an hour before shoot time, and should that fail there's always a back-up ready to go within hours, ha, even the back-up can fail though! But, don't let it get you down, even at this hour (9.15pm at time of writing) you could easily find another model here in London. The place is literally bursting at the seams with gorgeous models! Never too late to put out a casting! Feb 09 13 01:16 pm Link ME_ wrote: +1 Feb 09 13 01:18 pm Link PR Zone wrote: It's you. Feb 09 13 01:19 pm Link Dude... there was ZERO investment on her behalf... and hundreds of pounds (dollars here), according to you, on your end. What did she have to lose by cancelling on you?... not a freakin dime. That's what happens when you work TFP and get nothing for a deposit. Time to revamp your business plan... Feb 09 13 01:32 pm Link Some models schedule their shoots weeks in advance. I'm now scheduling shoots in late March and early April. Unfortunately if someone I've been talking to about shooting randomly sends me a message saying we can shoot tomorrow, I would decline as well because that day is more than likely already booked. Perhaps in the future you should keep in touch with a model more regularly if you're working on getting a team together so she isaware of the possibility that it might happen short notice, but that still won't guarantee she'll be able to make it. You have to communicate accordingly. Sorry, in this case it was you. That is unless you had a date set up... Feb 09 13 01:42 pm Link If photography does not pan out for you, dont try sales. You dont have the skin for it. Its called rejection, something that happens every single day. Not to be condescending, but Mommy cant be around forever. Feb 09 13 01:49 pm Link I'm not understanding why people think he wasn't in enough contact with her. We really don't know how their conversations went. Was it "That sounds great, I'll get back to you when I can figure out if this specific MUA is available"; or "That sounds great but I definitely want to have this one specific MUA do it and I'm not sure when she is open. She normally gets booked weeks in advance. As soon as she tells me she's got a slot available, I'll contact you immediately with the details." If someone contacted me more than 2 times, at the very most, in less than 3 weeks to say they were still working on the shoot details, I myself would be pretty much "OK quit bugging me, just tell me when it's set up, or if 2 months go by, whichever comes first." I hate constant updates. I just don't have time for that. Feb 09 13 01:53 pm Link PR Zone wrote: If it was her casting & she giving you a response like that, it probably means she already shot the idea w/ someone else. Feb 09 13 02:00 pm Link ME_ wrote: That all fine and dandy, but you can't expect it to be ok to be told the day before "hey we're set for tomorrow see you there", that's unrealistic. *shrug* Feb 09 13 02:25 pm Link Jojo West wrote: That is true, but we don't know if that's what he said or how the previous conversations went. Maybe they discussed the likely possibility that things would be very last-minute because of this MUA's schedule. Feb 09 13 02:29 pm Link Michael Pandolfo wrote: This. Feb 09 13 02:56 pm Link A three week delay without communications is very unprofessional. I don't blame her for dismissing you. Feb 09 13 03:02 pm Link I see no problem with a 3 week gap with no communication, I've done it as have llamas. Feb 09 13 03:07 pm Link c_h_r_i_s wrote: True, but once that momentum has gone it's very difficult to get it all back together, unless it's someone you know well. Feb 09 13 03:16 pm Link ME_ wrote: There's a difference between constant, unproductive updates ("Hey..soooo...how are you?") and informing the client of status changes (Just wanted to let you know I'm meeting with 2 MUA's this week and after we meet I'll drop you an email to let you know how it went...") Feb 09 13 03:18 pm Link That's a long time to wait for a "are you free tomorrow" type of deal. Not sure if I'd say it wasn't professional, but it could have been unexpected on her end. Andrew Thomas Evans www.andrewthomasevans.com Feb 09 13 03:25 pm Link I read this post as "unrealistic expectations" from both parties. Feb 09 13 03:36 pm Link c_h_r_i_s wrote: Customer Service is job one if you are a professional. I don't know of a single llama, MUA or other talent ( worth shooting) that thinks 3 weeks is ok without some sort of communication about what's going on. Feb 09 13 03:39 pm Link As others have said still time to post a casting :-) x Feb 09 13 03:58 pm Link Illuminate wrote: From what I'm reading the op fulfilled the requirements for models casting. It was the model who was creating the look the photographer was supplying MUA and studio ect. Feb 09 13 04:24 pm Link c_h_r_i_s wrote: Once he replied to the casting he was engaged. If he was interested enough to offer up all the perks that he claimed, I would assume he would have kept the lines of communications going. Maybe used the time to meet the llama, etc nail down the concept why,when etc. being a professional is much more than simply tripping the shutter. treat every project like the real thing...otherwise why do it? Feb 09 13 05:47 pm Link Unlike everyone else here I'm going to say it's HER not you. It was her concept and you agreed to create it "for her". That coupled with the fact that it's TFP means there's nothing to be "unprofessional" about. Diva. You dodged a bullet there, my friend. However, as you seem to be really into the concept yourself (I assume so as you've invested a lot in pre-production) he's what I'd do - Call up one of your go-to models - someone you can rely on to shoot with you at short notice (I think most photographers know a few models like this). Then shoot the concept anyway and send the original model the photos. "Here's what you missed out on. Bye!" Feb 09 13 05:59 pm Link I don't understand the issue. The shoot just didn't work out. Feb 09 13 06:06 pm Link Did you remain in communication for those three weeks or just only let her know last minute? Feb 09 13 06:12 pm Link twoharts wrote: +1 Feb 09 13 06:16 pm Link GPS Studio Services wrote: +1 Feb 09 13 06:44 pm Link |