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Never get a response from Models?
Hey models, So I look for models in my area to work with and send a message. When I see that the message has been read, I wonder why I NEVER get a response. I'd love to know what some models think. I send a message that says this: Subject: Great look. or Love to meet. Looking for models. -------------------- Content: Would love to meet and talk about some photo ideas. My work is at: www.chuckarlund.com antonarlund.tumblr.com Thanks for your time Chuck -------------------- I try to keep it pretty basic. I figure if you go look at the sites you either get a idea or not of what I'm doing. I'm either guessing that my work is not there yet or I'm coming off scary or something. Any ideas? Chuck Nov 20 14 08:06 am Link Anton Arlund wrote: par for this site where "no response" is the response, or a "not interested...or not at this time" Sad but true! Nov 20 14 08:12 am Link  Nov 20 14 08:19 am Link Would "love to meet" seems a pick-up line. Might want to rephrase that. Maybe something simple like just covering: 1. Type of shoot 2. Location of shoot 3. Compensation 4. Hair/MUA/Wardrobe Stylist provided 5. Any Additional Info Meeting and discussing takes time and often can be misinterpreted. Ones who model 24/7 don't have time for that and will move on to the next offer. Nov 20 14 08:20 am Link A few thoughts: 1. Cold contacting in general has a low response rate. 2. Many people fill out model profiles, but either had no real interest in modeling or lose that interest quickly. 3. You can filter your search of models to models only recently active which might improve your results. 4. You are too general with your message in my opinion. Wanting to meet, may sound like a time waster to many models. You also don't specify what kind of shoot you are looking to do or what compensation you are offering. Your message comes across as something generic, not at all specific to that model you are writing. I get you want to keep it basic, but maybe not quite that basic.. Nov 20 14 09:35 am Link My quick guess is that they don't want to take the time to chat about photo ideas. I'd have a specific project in mind and then approach them with specifics. Would you contact a plumber and say you'd like to talk about your pipes. Nov 20 14 09:58 am Link Anton Arlund wrote: Your work is bad-ass, and while I can't imagine you having difficulty getting models, I generally agree that your sparse email reads more like a tag than an actual contact and doesn't provide a sense of what you are looking to create. Nov 20 14 10:04 am Link GRMACK wrote: +1 Nov 20 14 10:05 am Link J O H N A L L A N wrote: +1 Nov 20 14 10:05 am Link There are models on MM ! Open to interpretation. Nov 20 14 10:11 am Link around here no response is a response. it generally means not interested or at least not interested right now. or maybe they never even read the message. or maybe it got lost. some models get a lot of messages. some models are no longer active or don't log in very often. some models don't have time for introductory meetings. maybe suggest a shoot idea and see if they're up for a shoot? i haven't much luck with cold calling models myself, unless they posted in travel or a casting. and sometimes a few benjamins can help your chances. Nov 20 14 10:15 am Link Thanks for the replies. I have gone the rout of being more detailed and wanted to try the less detailed. The searches are focused and only look for models who have logged in within the last 30 days. I guess I need to be much more deliberate. Sometimes I just want to shoot for the hell of it though Nov 20 14 10:21 am Link Thank you very much for this, and your compliment. Koryn wrote: Nov 20 14 10:26 am Link models tag me with "let's shoot" (or i hit them up out of the travel section). i message them i'm interested and then we pick out a mutually acceptable genre (sometimes that's as simple as just sorting out their nudity limits) and shoot. assuming they show up the whole thing is pretty straightforward. i've only ever met in advance with a few models to discuss a shoot (and that was at their request). the one time i did propose a shoot-planning meeting with a model she declined on account of being too busy. usually the first time i meet them is when they walk through the door. for me TF needs to be low on the overhead so i try to keep it simple and i avoid the ones that want to make it too complicated. Anton Arlund wrote: Nov 20 14 10:45 am Link Anton Arlund wrote: My first reaction to this question was comes off as not saying much. More detail would help and if you think I fit a project tell me about it. After looking at your port and comments, personality comes through and doing something "for the hell of it" might be workable. Still leaves the question open what "it" is. Nov 20 14 10:47 am Link Members are also blowing off replies to their casting calls, which probably has a negative effect for everybody. If a member posts a casting call the least they can do is respond to all the replies they get. This habit of ignoring responses signifies a lack of professionalism and members who do it are probably not serious about accomplishing anything with Model Mayhem. And that only causes the more interested members to drop out and look for other ways to do what they need to do. Nov 20 14 10:50 am Link Koryn wrote: This will improve your response rate............... Nov 20 14 10:53 am Link Have you tried posting a casting notice? Nov 20 14 11:38 am Link Perhaps you are being too brief. Perhaps you should discuss, an idea where you think the model would fit into a project. Nov 20 14 12:37 pm Link I think this thread sets a new record for a question specifically directed to models that is in fact answered mainly by male photographers. Just keeping track. Nov 20 14 12:50 pm Link It might be the subject line, seems like a copy+paste message I'd work with you in a heart beat though. No doubt about that Nov 20 14 01:08 pm Link I think it's rude for people not to respond to personal messages. On the other hand, if a first time (cold call) personal message doesn't look personal, then it likely gets interpreted as spam. I always answer PM's (other than one's that are obvious spam). Nov 20 14 01:08 pm Link How long would you wait after a message is read with no reply before moving on ? Nov 20 14 01:22 pm Link My experience and that of other photographers too is that models don't like to meet up to discuss ideas for a shoot. It's a waste of time for them and they think you just want to have a date with them. Another thing that might scare some models off is that you have nudes in your portfolio. If you want to do headshots but they see nudes, they might not work with you. An agency model expressed this to me recently. If she saw nudes in my portfolio she wouldn't have worked with me. I'd be more direct with your messages and state that you like their look for such and such idea. Ask them to let you know if they're interested. After writing to them, just reach out to someone else for your idea. Keep on moving. Nov 20 14 01:23 pm Link Anton Arlund wrote: Lose all the +18 imagery in your book... Nov 20 14 01:40 pm Link I think your port stands on its own, but if I received a message like the example you posted, I wouldn't think you were looking for a date or anything inappropriate - I just don't have the time to meet up to discuss ideas for a trade shoot and then also schedule a time to shoot. Though I'd likely respond and tell you that I'd love to work with you but would rather just schedule a time to shoot vs to meet and to shoot haha. I don't think you need a novel or anything, but just a few more sentences that at least include shooting availability as thats not on your profile. Nov 20 14 01:44 pm Link Koryn wrote: Like your info. Nov 20 14 01:46 pm Link It's funny that nudes scare off models Nov 20 14 02:10 pm Link 1.) You don't mention whether you're looking for trade/offering pay, or any other details. When I get busy, short/vague messages like that are the ones that don't get responded to. 2.) This shot could be turning a lot of models away: https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/pic/36322028 (18+) It's actually a decent shot for what it is, but some models might think twice about working with you if they believe you may post explicit content they're not comfortable with. Your work is good. Try changing up your message a little, include a touch more detail, and consider deleting the shot I mentioned. Best of luck. Nov 20 14 02:11 pm Link It's NOT you. This is normal on MM. Your port is full of nudes, and that might intimidate some models, but if that's what you shoot, then might as well be honest. NOTHING you do to change your presentation will dramatically affect the response rate. I totally agree, on a personal level, to giving more info. However my experience here tells me most MM models have about a 2-3 sentence attention span. For all the models who say, 'give me more info', there will >1 who says, 'TLDR'. Of course, you could test different approaches. I do agree that most models want details about a shoot. NOT you example - I went to house sit in Seattle last year, was there 2 weeks with nothing to do but feed dogs 2 x daily. Went to MM Seattle Casting calls, sent notes to ~23 models, Who had posted Casting Calls, mostly for starting/building a port. I only sent notes to models who Needed good basic shots; told them they could pick when and where in the Seattle area and we could shoot whatever they wanted. I think 7 replied, and no shoot. It's not you. Nov 20 14 02:55 pm Link Its not you...its them  As Mr Abbitt Stated " 2. Many people fill out model profiles, but either had no real interest in modeling or lose that interest quickly." You may think about opening a 2nd profile and moving all your nudes, PG13 work there. Non nude models will not work with a photographer that has nudes in profile sometimes. As others have said its nothing to do with the quality of you work which is excellent. Its the MM work ethic which is the problem Nov 20 14 03:21 pm Link Jay Dezelic wrote: Agreed. Nov 20 14 04:20 pm Link Thanks again for responses. I only am contacting models who say they shoot nudes. I am saying lets meet is because most of the nude model profiles I have found (this is close to my area BTW) have said they like to meet first before shooting. I kind of agree with all the freaks out there. I like to meet up for coffee and get to know the person and let them get to know me and talk about ideas rather than hashing it out in an email I guess that is the way people communicate these days. Why do we ever bother talking anymore? Nov 20 14 04:26 pm Link Anton Arlund wrote: If a model is interested and wants to meet, let her initiate the meeting. It's not something that I would propose on first contact. Nov 20 14 05:22 pm Link 
Model Posts: 6639 MacMurdo - permanent station of the US, Sector claimed by New Zealand, Antarctica People are weird these days. Good communication is so rare. Manners are out the window. ...so many profiles here and seemingly so few who actually want to shoot. If you emailed me wanting to meet up and talk about shooting, I would email you back and tell you that I rarely have the inclination to do so; however, when I get a well-worded, polite first message that gives me the basics of when, what and how soon and I see a portfolio like yours, I'm ready to set up a shoot. Forget the coffee! Why talk about it when you can just shoot? Nov 20 14 06:27 pm Link Anton Arlund wrote: Active models who shoot a lot will be in one state one day, then another state another day. Sometimes, they are working totally out of their home regions for weeks at a time. Meeting for coffee often requires commuting hundreds of miles back to a photographers' location, footing the bill for gas cost, for a one or two hour conversation, then having to head back into another state for a different shoot the following day. Nov 20 14 08:42 pm Link To Anton Arlund -- What you're experiencing is rather common. Don't take the lack of responses by models personally. You're not doing anything wrong. My only suggestion is to be persistent and treat those models that end up showing to shoot with you as gems to be cherished. Nov 20 14 08:51 pm Link Can't really add a lot more to what has already been said. But I'd also respond sooner to a bit more elaborate message. Presenting an idea, or multiple ideas certainly helps. And maybe add a few sentences that show that you really read/looked at their profile/port. If I receive a message that looks like something someone sent to all 1000 models in the area, I don't feel very needed/wanted as a model.. (Even if the intention is right and you contacted only two models you picked out, I can't see that in the message..) Nov 21 14 04:01 pm Link GRMACK wrote: Agree Nov 22 14 02:07 am Link In my world, I think it's unpolite not to answer a personal and serious inquiry, whatever reason. I do not consider "no reply" to be a very professional way to respond to an inquiry. I presume it's very easy for anyone to simply send a messages like : " Thank you very much for your inquiry, but I'm not interested/not interested at this moment". In my opinion Model Mayhem should have gotten a automatic system that excludes all the inactive profiles. Let's say if the model, or photographer for that matters, haven't been logged on in about a month or maybe two, their account should have been suspended. The account could be reactivated by logging in. In that way you don't have to waste time on all the "sleepers" Nov 22 14 05:00 am Link |
