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Ready to Quit MM
I started my page to get some shots for a class I was taking. I did get some location shoots and some studio shots. Every time I contact a model about doing a shoot, they don't answer. The other option has been to agree to a time and place for a shoot; and not show up or cancel the day of the shoot. I'm fed up and ready to cancel my page. Dec 12 11 10:10 am Link If ya can't take the heat... Get the heck outta the kitchen! Buh-bye. Dec 12 11 10:16 am Link bye Dec 12 11 10:18 am Link 1st Stop Photo wrote: Have you tried offering money? Dec 12 11 10:21 am Link 1st Stop Photo wrote: Perhaps re-assess your procedures and how you do business? You are the only common denominator. Dec 12 11 10:22 am Link Model Mayhem, is like a business it takes time to establish credibility. flakes happen to everyone, as your portfolio grows and gets better, more people will respond and show up. Do you quit everything so easily? Kevin Russo -Photographer www.KR-Photos.Com Dec 12 11 10:23 am Link  Moderator Warning!If you're going to come into this thread and not contribute something, you'll be in the brig. No reason to be mean to the newbies. Dec 12 11 10:23 am Link 1st Stop Photo wrote: Ok bye or you could tuff it out nothing in life is easy Dec 12 11 10:26 am Link You have several models in your portfolio already. Ask yourself how you got to work with them. See if you can apply the same to other models. The % of models that will work with a newbee are about 5%. If you want to succeed you must keep trying. You need to have a lot of fishing lines in that ocean of models. Keep learning photography, posing for the models and editing, etc. Dec 12 11 10:30 am Link failure is part of success. the ratio of response is 3%. out of 100 'contacts', you may get 3 responses that will follow thru to 'business'. if you send out one inquiry, then wait, then send another, then wait, then send one more....you get the picture--you will not be doing much photography. send 20 at a time. look at the models profile and screen it. when did the model start on MM? how long have they been here? when was their last activity? how many and what kinds of shots do they have in their portfolio? what does their portfolio say--neg and pos? make a list of potential models? send out shoot requests several times a week? monitor your MM msg at least once a day and respond quickly to any msg you get back. be polite and professional. seek out NEW models that need head shots and basic fashion? post shoot ideas in your messages? post casting calls? use the browse feature to locate all models in your zipcode withing a certain mileage--25 miles? working with models is work work work--not automatic at all. best wishes. if you quit, please don't blame MM or models. I also recommend that you might try other types of photography for a while? then go back to models with a new determination. edited Dec 12 11 10:34 am Link DG at studio47 wrote: Very solid advise here, bro. Dec 12 11 10:41 am Link DoubleDare Studios wrote: definitely--we start doing photography for a reason--it appeals to us. its a creative outlet, it can be a source of income, but it is always work. everyone gets burned out, economy bad, etc. just relax and take a break--shoot some stuff for fun. Dec 12 11 10:44 am Link That's kind of the way it goes around here. A lot of people brag, but we've ALL dealt with flakes, no-shows and the run-around. While you are developing your skills, consider hiring an established, pay-for-hire model. There are some damn good ones here who will help you develop your skill set (which will lead to more interest in your work.) Dec 12 11 10:46 am Link Try Craig's List. I've had much more success finding models on CL than on MM. Dec 12 11 10:47 am Link -You are getting some great advise here. -One other thing I would offer up is to re-evaluate your "about me" and perhaps target the wording a little bit, offering a better perspective of what you want to accomplish in your work and perhaps what you can offer your clients and/or models. Best of Luck. Dec 12 11 10:50 am Link I think DG at studio47 gave you some great advice. Being very new myself I have had my share of no responses, dropped conversations and no shows. I just say oh well and move on. I have yet to book a studio and lose out totally. Remember to always book two models. So when one doesn't show usually the other one does. As many others have suggested a good percentage of models on here are not true profession models. However that being said it is a good place to practice and learn your craft and get some truly great photos along the way. I would also suggest attending workshops. It's a great way to meet other photogs and models, build relationships and improve your overall knowledge and quality of your port, which in turn, will get you more sessions and less no shows. Best of luck Shawn Dec 12 11 10:54 am Link Back in the day I did door-to-door sales. You don't know what rejection is until you've had that pleasure! But it was a numbers game. Every "No" meant that you were one step closer to a "Yes" and the more you pressed on and learned, the more often you heard "Yes". Dec 12 11 10:54 am Link 
Photographer Posts: 4288 Amundsen-Scott - permanent station of the US, Unclaimed Sector, Antarctica Nephrite_Imagines wrote: I will agree with this 100% Dec 12 11 10:55 am Link Nephrite_Imagines wrote: CL? Serious or sarcastic? Curious, I have wondered how successful CL was. Dec 12 11 10:59 am Link OP, I've had no shows and no calls and I sometimes pay. This is just fun for me though but if, I counted on MM models to actually show I'd be in trouble. As someone pointed out its a numbers game. Do a general casting for models in your area. Grab that make-artist who left you a Tag. If money is tight offer a extra things like a inexpensive dress or product. One of my friends owns a store and gives me a huge discount. Most of all don't blame MM or the models nor should you make or take what others do personally or quit. Dec 12 11 11:01 am Link i had trouble at first and wound up paying models to come see me. rome wasn't built in a day and it's not necessarily easy to get models. keep trying to raise your game (at least in this area there are some amazing photographers who will do it on trade), consider paying some models/muas to help your portfolio and broaden your search to include OMP and CL and home depot and your friends. if you can get a concept or cool location together maybe try a casting call. or respond to casting calls put out by models and offer to shoot what they want. i know students who have been very successful shooting models so it can be done. also consider zivity. and attending local meet&greets and shootouts/workshops. but i think the main thing is to just get really, really good to the point where models start seeking you out. cruise around mayhem to see what's possible. Dec 12 11 11:03 am Link Offer them some money you need to invest somewhere. Dec 12 11 11:09 am Link *Do what I did and start using all your (girl)friends or friends and offer to take their pic and build your port...the better your pics get, the more models will be interested in having you take their pic...it took me a Good ~year~ to build my port...now, everytime I place a casting call for TF...I get a ton of responses and don't need to use my girlfriends anymore..!!...Don't give up so easy, nothing in life is simple..!! Dec 12 11 11:12 am Link Take your time finding the right models that match your shooting themes. Some models will jump in if you tell them your ideas or your amazing projects than telling them "Wanna shoot". Dec 12 11 11:21 am Link Yep... start by paying your models, then you'll find TF, and one day you'll get the surprise pf having a model contact you for TF  But you got to start somewhere. Dec 12 11 11:22 am Link 1st Stop Photo wrote: It’s a question of what you are you offering and to whom you are making the offer. Dec 12 11 11:24 am Link 1st Stop Photo wrote: So you're mad that no one wants to work with you? Or you're mad that no one takes you seriously and you feel you deserve respect and aren't getting it? Dec 12 11 11:28 am Link You could also check out a workshop in your area. Many of the models in my portfolio are from a workshop I attended. It can also help your networking. Dec 12 11 11:30 am Link JoJo wrote: This is some solid advice here. Also (without getting into any type of critique), you might want to change your experience level from experienced. Prospective models might be comparing that to the images in your portfolio, and it may make them think twice. Dec 12 11 11:32 am Link Patience Grasshoppa! I was on Mayhem over a year and a half before I actually had a model come through with an arrangement. In the meantime, I got a model from craigslist (amongst yet another ton of flakes) and handed out biz cards to women I wanted to shoot, which has always been more reliable than either craigs or mayhem. I'm a real charmer I guess. I can't pin down what or why, but beginning a couple of months ago, I have more models than I can keep up with and many are contacting me to shoot. I'm nowhere near where I want to be photographically, but I'd like to think maybe their seeing something in my work. Once again, be patient, and if you have spare cash, post a casting call. But don't spend money unless you get some value out of it, even if it's a great face to make your port look better. Dec 12 11 11:32 am Link When I was a kid we had an old barn down the road (I lived on the edge of town in Montgomery, Ala.). We had an ongoing contest to see who could throw a mud ball at the barn wall and get it to stick. Saturday mornings you'd find a group of us down there totally dedicated to converting that old wooden wall to adobe. We would mix up the mud… add rocks... add clay... add sand... We were always looking for the perfect formula. I practiced as often as possible and finally got the formula right. Then it was just a game of odds. If I stayed with it for a short period of time, I'd just get a few mud balls to stick to the wall. But the more I threw and the longer I kept at it, the more the mud on the wall was mine. When we moved I got one last look at the wall. A lot of the mud had dried and fallen off but there was still a lot there. The time I spent taught me many things... I'm one da** good mud ball chucker.  So what do you need? Better formula? More practice? More tenacity?! Don't quit... You too can become the best mud ball chucker in town. Good luck, I wish you the Very Best! Dec 12 11 11:41 am Link I don't see anything wrong with your work? I've seen much, much worse from "experienced" photographers. I do, however, see errors in your bio. I can comment if you would like? Dec 12 11 11:42 am Link If you decide to offer $$ to models, don't make your decision just based on a pretty face. At this point in time, base it on someone who is a proficient/talented poser. Know that doesn't always mean someone who has a great port, learn to read between the lines whether it's the model or photographer who has contributed the most to that. I've seen models who have done over 100 shoots, but aren't worth a plug nickel in terms of what would benefit you the most. In summation....chose wisely. Dec 12 11 11:47 am Link 1st Stop Photo wrote: Sorry, but few people will care if you leave or not. Dec 12 11 11:47 am Link Stefano Brunesci wrote: Even if you offer good money, they still don't show up! Go figure. Dec 12 11 11:49 am Link and then one day you'll find a paid model that is willing to do trade with you. or maybe a model will inquire about your rates. so there is light at the end of the tunnel. Eralar wrote: Dec 12 11 11:50 am Link i've had 100% success with the full-time traveling models who wander through (they are typically in the $75-$125/hour range). sometimes even just offering to pay gas money can help with local models (they can tell their escort that the gas will be covered). money is no guarantee but at least for me it has definitely helped. Rick Athearn wrote: Dec 12 11 11:51 am Link 129 Imaging wrote: Absolutely serious. People responding on CL actually want to work. Dec 12 11 11:54 am Link this is why i like meeting models at meet&greets, shoutouts, workshops. it seems to be easier to get them once they know you. also the OP could consider strip clubs. in fact i handed a card out last night to a dancer. just stay away from the dances. those girls are pros and will clean out your bank account faster than the friction dance can make you ... OmnyRa wrote: Dec 12 11 11:57 am Link I think it depends on what models you're asking and how your own port looks. If you're not that experienced and you're sending requests to experienced models, the experienced models may pass on your request because they don't want your photos in their port. Also it depends on what kind of shoot you want to do. I know if I get a request from a very inexperienced photographer who wants to do an artistic nude, I will politely decline as I still need to maintain an image in my port that you don't necessarily have the skills to pull of just yet. Try asking other models that don't have as much experience and you might have more luck getting shoots. Also it depends on how comfortable a model may be with your request...a photog with more experience, a website with past & present photos & good feedback on either sites, along with a type of look/feel to the photos the model is attracted to will get more shoots. Dec 12 11 11:58 am Link |
