neoracer wrote:
Instagram dead? Where do y'all find new

How about Model Mayhem?

BeachTog757 wrote:
IMO, it's not Instagram, Model Mayhem, Twitter or any of those.  The entire photography and modeling industry is/has changed and not for the better.  Back when I first started photographing models I would send out messages and wind up with two or three shoots a week and that went on you several years.  Now for reason women and especially young women are just not as interested in modeling as they once were.  Someone once told me that when the TV show ANTM wrapped up women were just not as interested in modeling anymore.  Also, women have to put up with a lot more these days.  GWC photographers, sex traffickers, pimps, outright creeps who try to take advantage, and more.  Also, with sites like OF, Tumbler, and Tinder a woman can be her own boss and make some money as well whereas back in the day a woman had to work for years and at times take a lot of crap to make money in modeling and now they can make money with an IPhone and a web cam.  Things have definitely changed and I am not sure they are for the better but this is the world we live in sadly.  :-(

Mark Salo wrote:
How about Model Mayhem?

It's dead. It has been dead for many years now actually. Back when I first joined, and for several years after, I used to see 10-20 casting calls PER WEEK from models looking for photographers to do TFP shoots with them here in vegas. Now, I'd be shocked if there were that many per year. Every model with an entire portfolio of 3 iphone photos now thinks they should be getting paid $150/hour and less people join this site in a year than used to join in a week not long ago.

Shot By Adam wrote:
Every model with an entire portfolio of 3 iphone photos now thinks they should be getting paid $150/hour and less people join this site in a year than used to join in a week not long ago.

... and lately many of the new models that you've descibed above seem to be 'catfish'.  They get an MM account, contact or reply... and then vanish, never to log in again.  I'm certain many of them are catfish but I don't have the absolute proof that MM requires to remove a profile.

I've made some suggestions behind the scenes and in public forum to fix the problems. I later found out that some of the suggestions are successfully used on other websites, but MM doesn't seem to be interested in fixing the holes in the boat and sometimes even reverts itself in hopes of 'fixing' the problem (ie: for awhile NO SELFIES were permitted in a models portfolio, and it seemed we had more serious people applying and getting approved).

It's really a sad state of affairs when it's easier to hire a model on a random site like FB or IG than it is to hire a model on a site specifically designed for the purpose (ie:MM).  MM has become nothing more than the home page for IG.  People click on a profile, see their IG link and go to find as many photos as the person wants to display and they're able to contact each other without jumping through hoops like what happens on MM.

Studio NSFW wrote:
There used to be a site called “Model Mayhem” -  “Professional Models meet Model Photographers”.  I don’t know if it is still around or not, though, I haven’t been on it in a long time.

i was gona say, it's the actual model mayhem, not this one

Deric Photography wrote:
I shoot engagement photos to get paid and use this money to buy new gear and hire models to shoot the images in my portfolio here.

I have had two instagram accounts suspended but never had good luck with IG because the flake (and unexplained ghosting) factor was so much higher than on MM...something I attribute to the fact that many "models" on IG aren't actually supporting themselves through paid modeling . This site still has a lot more models, especially travelling models, who will show up because it's their income.

That being said, 3-4 years ago I could book 3 models per day for a 3-day weekend and would have 1 no-show out of the whole weekend. Now, I'm getting ghosted in my messages a lot more, even though nude shooting rates have gone up 50% in the same timeframe; it's taking a lot more work just to find a model, which makes the whole process not much fun for me! I've really lost my steam since 2020 and most of it is due to the difficulty scheduling models, whether here or on IG.

Yep, you pretty much need to do weddings if you want paying jobs. Even for non-wedding jobs like family portraits, sports team photos, business photos, in all of those cases, the go-to photographer is going to be them one who did the wedding. If you want to make money shooting IG, Patreon, or OF content you need to offer an all-inclusive channel management package

neoracer wrote:
First account was hacked at 8K, second account deleted for posting a hand bra pic. Third account is going nowhere, can't find new models and no one wants to work with someone with virtually no followers. Seems girls get more than enough attention with selfies now any ways so why collab with a photographer? LOL is this where we are now...

Hi,

I cancelled my IG account, (both the modeling one and the photography.) Highest follower count on the model one was under 7k but, down to 2500 or so when I cancelled it. I wasn't using it. However, I'm geographically isolated for shooting.

Jen

John Jebbia  wrote:
A very well known model told me recently that she makes more money in a week on onlyfans than she ever made doing photoshoots. And she doesn't have to put up with grumpy old jackwads who try to sneak shots, get gropey, or try pushing her beyond her limits. Plus she gets to control what sort of content gets put out there.

But, that may change soon depending how bad the coming recession is. I've noticed in my area the models are starting to trickle back. Even here on MM.

Hello!!

Day one of my trickle back.
Jen

Studio NSFW wrote:
There used to be a site called “Model Mayhem” -  “Professional Models meet Model Photographers”.  I don’t know if it is still around or not, though, I haven’t been on it in a long time.

LOL! It's a slow, painful death. Now everyone has a camera phone, and they keep getting better and better and with AI, only those models that can see the artistic value in using a model still shoots with a photographer. Now everyone is a photographer and newbies don't understand how the process of having a photo is conceived, they expect instant delivery like on their phone.....

Jen B wrote: