channing L M Photo wrote:
exactly....and that's a problem if you're actually trying to be a model professionally

Which presumes they actually want to model professionally (thus imply they want to "get somewhere w/n the industry") & aren't doing this as a means for a creative outlet.

channing L M Photo wrote:
exactly....and that's a problem if you're actually trying to be a model professionally

I'd bet you money most aren't trying to be professional... Just click next...

channing L M Photo wrote:
Those of you who use model mayhem know what i’m talking about. Those people that reply to a casting with one word “interested” as opposed to answering basic questions required for any photo shoot. It seems like a waste of time for me to have to then reply and ask these questions, and then wait a day and a half at times, and maybe longer for a response, to then have to respond again to confirm a date to shoot…….IT’S JUST TO MUCH.

I among others in this industry don’t believe in the idea of the “stupid” or “dumbfounded” model who just sits and looks pretty and has to have someone to wipe their ass when done on the toilet. To be honest; to be a good model is freaking hard work. people like to say that modeling is different from acting, and i’m here to correct that. It isn’t very different; we’re asking you to do the same thing, which is to act out a role that doesn’t necessarily match you’re own personality. The simple difference is that acting, in most situations, requires interaction and the capturing of this role in a time based medium, where as photography requires all of that to be in one frame. it is still acting in most senses of the word.

I mean look a modeling shows on TV; look at Americas Next Top Model for goodness sake. There is a clear divide in the show between the models while on a shoot and the models while at home….and the part they really don’t show is that those women are smart as hell. you think they’re just sitting and being beautiful. No they’re studying all of the top model magazines in the country…in the world. you ask them for a certain look, the good ones can tell you what that look entails, and what each body movement tells their viewers. Modeling isn’t just siting there and being some stupid object….and until people entering the fashion/editorial industry know that….until models on model mayhem really know that…and until model mayhem promotes that as their statute of liberation…..that is professionalism….Model Mayhem will always be looked down upon as utterly amateur .

It’s great that your interested in what ever casting call that you reply to, but honestly we already know that. This is one of the reasons why model mayhem has the cheap, amateur reputation in the industry now, because people don’t think about simple things, such as submitting to a casting.

When you go to a live casting, you don’t just go in looking any type of way and say “i’m interested”…….everyone knows that the casting director might put you out. Look at your model mayhem profile…study your images and in comparison study images printed in fashion spreads. think about what about those images look good…….look at how the models are posing, think about the character they are playing.

So Lets get real with the mess, i’m not using model mayhem because I want to be an amateur, i’m using it because I want to expand my portfolio, my name as a photographer, and most importantly my professional skills. And the only way to do that is to hold yourself to a professional standard. A casting call on model mayhem is equivalent to a casting or an interview in real life. Your response is your practice in the game of professionalism.

These are basic questions to answer right off the back when submitting to a casting call

do you have particular dates and times you’re available to shoot
do you have clothes you’re able to bring
do you need example images of what i’m looking for

The simple question to ask yourself, so as to not make a fool of yourself is “what will they want to know from me” because if your responding at all…we already know that you’re interested, what we really want to know is how can you be of help

I'm pretty verbose, and I'm amazed that you find something like that to be worth so much energy.

AJScalzitti wrote:
They are interested and usually I am not.  Sorry but if I request some msg. me in a casting and they don't I tend to ignore it.  If they can't follow that simple instruction I doubt they can take direction on set.

Exactly.

Photosam wrote:
Replying to the "I'm interested" posts is annoying.  9 times out of 10 it does not result in a booking.  But I still write a message anyway since that 10% chance could result in something good.

There are other ways to show that you want the gig.
I give the human factor, but it's still showing 'interest'.

lol

Bengali wrote:
I am surely not condoning that behavior, but perhaps they are letting you know they are interested so you can view thier port. If you say you're looking for a certain model type and they are notifying you to SEE what they have to offer. Once you've done that you can make the further assessment on if you need to contact them further. I would expect a better more inclusive Q&A session would likely follow.
I agree it is annoying to not have them ask the followup Q's right off the bat. It would definitely save time.

If they can't or don't read the casting call, posting anything like Interested is a waste of time.  I've seen people ask for a private message or email in their calls and someone still reply with Interested, as if...

GCobb Photography wrote:

If they can't or don't read the casting call, posting anything like Interested is a waste of time.  I've seen people ask for a private message or email in their calls and someone still reply with Interested, as if...

So the issue is not the one-word retort (which can be lame)...
It's not following instruction or even reading the casting.

Ken Marcus Studios wrote:
Interesting . . .

Photosam wrote:

Art of the nude wrote:
I'm amazed that you find something like that to be worth so much energy.

Yeah.

If you don't like something, why not ignore it? Lol.

JLC Images wrote:
I just assume they want me to look at their profile to see if I am interested in them.

They assumed their time was worth more then yours...

AJScalzitti wrote:
They are interested and usually I am not.  Sorry but if I request some msg. me in a casting and they don't I tend to ignore it.  If they can't follow that simple instruction I doubt they can take direction on set.

Precisely, but that also eliminates 90% of the resources on M.M..

Ken Marcus Studios wrote:
Interesting . . .

Exactly my thought,

Jules NYC wrote:
So the issue is not the one-word retort (which can be lame)...
It's not following instruction or even reading the casting.

Follow-thru is a key component in any endeavor as I am sure you realize. If this was 3-5 years ago, I'd say it was almost exclusively a case of self-entitlement where the 20-30-somethings are concerned but, these days, I see the same behavior in a variety of environments that range from social-business development and, people well over the age of 40. Basically, everyone thinks their shit doesn't stink and that they are irreplacable...they are wrong.

Autonomy II wrote:
Follow-thru is a key component in any endeavor as I am sure you realize. If this was 3-5 years ago, I'd say it was almost exclusively a case of self-entitlement where the 20-30-somethings are concerned but, these days, I see the same behavior in a variety of environments that range from social-business development and, people well over the age of 40. Basically, everyone thinks their shit doesn't stink and that they are irreplacable...they are wrong.

I agree.

I just talk to any prospective client like I would if I was applying for a 9-5.
I worked in HR for a bit in the French building (ironically across from Facebook lol) and well, these recruiters never bother to read your well-drafted 'cover letter'.

How annoying!

I follow directions and I book a lot of work on my own.
Just common courtesy.

If there are no directions, 'Interested' may irk me, more likely not if no instructions I am asking for (in this hypothetical).

Why?  I know they are, if I am, we talk about the shoot.

I honestly don't see the issue.

Jules NYC wrote:

I agree.

I just talk to any prospective client like I would if I was applying for a 9-5.
I worked in HR for a bit in the French building (ironically across from Facebook lol) and well, these recruiters never bother to read your well-drafted 'cover letter'.

I don't presume to speak for anyone else but, I believe what some of the other Photographers are referencing is the lack of coherent communication, in a timely and consistant manner where many people are concerned (MM and elsewhere). There is a "vibe" asssociated with shooting someone as well as the completion of a project, composition or half-baked idea that is easily disturbed, frustrated and possibly soured as a result of poor or inconsistant communication with talent or other resources involved in such things. This goes hand in hand with the issues of time, deadlines, schedules and all the things we all put up with and juggle in ordr to do what we do. You can tell me my work sucks but you will not be allowed to frustrate me or waste my time, it's as simple as that for me.

How annoying!

I follow directions and I book a lot of work on my own.
Just common courtesy.

If there are no directions, 'Interested' may irk me, more likely not if no instructions I am asking for (in this hypothetical).

Why?  I know they are, if I am, we talk about the shoot.

I honestly don't see the issue.

Jules NYC wrote:

I agree.

I just talk to any prospective client like I would if I was applying for a 9-5.
I worked in HR for a bit in the French building (ironically across from Facebook lol) and well, these recruiters never bother to read your well-drafted 'cover letter'.

How annoying!

I follow directions and I book a lot of work on my own.
Just common courtesy.

If there are no directions, 'Interested' may irk me, more likely not if no instructions I am asking for (in this hypothetical).

Why?  I know they are, if I am, we talk about the shoot.

I honestly don't see the issue.

My perspectibve is: you can tell me my work sucks, you can tell me you are not interested but you cannot waste my time.

Autonomy II wrote:
My perspectibve is: you can tell me my work sucks, you can tell me you are not interested but you cannot waste my time.

You know what is truly wasting time?
Not llamas replying with 'Interested' and a photographer getting annoyed with it.

Driving two hours to meet with a recruiter that never bothered to read your resume after explaining how busy you are (meaning me)...

the recruiter being an absolute Cunt with a capital 'C' and completely wasting MY time.

Jules NYC wrote:

You know what is truly wasting time?
Not models replying with 'Interested' and a photographer getting annoyed with it.

Driving two hours to meet with a recruiter that never bothered to read your resume after explaining how busy you are (meaning me)...

the recruiter being an absolute Cunt with a capital 'C' and completely wasting MY time.

Anything that proves to be nonproductive and does not contribute to the fruitionof my effort IS a waste of my time...like my monkeying around on this thing, lol.

P I X I E wrote:
Interested.

JLC Images wrote:
I just assume they want me to look at their profile to see if I am interested in them.

Bingo. ^^^^^^

To the OP: Some models have the same mindset as you, and they don't want to waste *their* time either.  You're trying to save yourself time by placing a casting (so you don't have to sort through model ports and send pm's to each one individually), I don't think it's unreasonable that a model (who is probably responding to multiple castings a day) would also try and save time by not sending you all her info up front until she knows you're at least interested in her as a candidate for the job.

channing L M Photo wrote:
So Lets get real with the mess, i’m not using model mayhem because I want to be an amateur, i’m using it because I want to expand my portfolio, my name as a photographer, and most importantly my professional skills.

If you want to be a "professional" photographer (or anything for that matter) you may want to learn to deal with the reality that people usually do not respond exactly as you want them to.  Also, starting asinine rants in the forums is not a good way to get your name out there.

channing L M Photo wrote:
Those of you who use model mayhem know what i’m talking about. Those people that reply to a casting with one word “interested” as opposed to answering basic questions required for any photo shoot. It seems like a waste of time for me to have to then reply and ask these questions, and then wait a day and a half at times, and maybe longer for a response, to then have to respond again to confirm a date to shoot…….IT’S JUST TO MUCH.

I'm a dick, I'll move on if someone isn't replying in the time frame I want them to. Although I don't close the door on them completely or at all, but if it's urgent or important I may not have the time to wait on someone.

Also who knows what they are doing, they may only respond to emails a few times a day or not check their emails from here at all for a while. Not a big deal, nothing worth getting worked up about, just move on and find someone else.

I among others in this industry don’t believe in the idea of the “stupid” or “dumbfounded” model who just sits and looks pretty and has to have someone to wipe their ass when done on the toilet. To be honest; to be a good model is freaking hard work. people like to say that modeling is different from acting, and i’m here to correct that. It isn’t very different; we’re asking you to do the same thing, which is to act out a role that doesn’t necessarily match you’re own personality. The simple difference is that acting, in most situations, requires interaction and the capturing of this role in a time based medium, where as photography requires all of that to be in one frame. it is still acting in most senses of the word.

Yes, yes, it is, you're wrong, wrong again, maybe, not really, kind of.

Shooting stills is gravy, nothing is moving, lights don't have to cover an area, you're not working with fps, focus is easier, no movement of the camera, totally two different ballgames.

I mean look a modeling shows on TV; look at Americas Next Top Model for goodness sake. There is a clear divide in the show between the models while on a shoot and the models while at home….and the part they really don’t show is that those women are smart as hell. you think they’re just sitting and being beautiful. No they’re studying all of the top model magazines in the country…in the world. you ask them for a certain look, the good ones can tell you what that look entails, and what each body movement tells their viewers. Modeling isn’t just siting there and being some stupid object….and until people entering the fashion/editorial industry know that….until models on model mayhem really know that…and until model mayhem promotes that as their statute of liberation…..that is professionalism….Model Mayhem will always be looked down upon as utterly amateur .

Polite golf clap for mentioning antp in a rant.

It’s great that your interested in what ever casting call that you reply to, but honestly we already know that. This is one of the reasons why model mayhem has the cheap, amateur reputation in the industry now, because people don’t think about simple things, such as submitting to a casting.

Well, some models are part of the reason, the forums another, and the photographers on here are a reason as well.

When you go to a live casting, you don’t just go in looking any type of way and say “i’m interested”…….everyone knows that the casting director might put you out. Look at your model mayhem profile…study your images and in comparison study images printed in fashion spreads. think about what about those images look good…….look at how the models are posing, think about the character they are playing.

The castings I've been a part of the model really didn't say much at all. I also wouldn't suggest new models look at anything on MM to get examples of real world poses or stuff...

So Lets get real with the mess, i’m not using model mayhem because I want to be an amateur, i’m using it because I want to expand my portfolio, my name as a photographer, and most importantly my professional skills. And the only way to do that is to hold yourself to a professional standard. A casting call on model mayhem is equivalent to a casting or an interview in real life. Your response is your practice in the game of professionalism.

You're taking things way too seriously. Plus wouldn't a professional put ego aside and work with someone they want to work with, even if they just said "interested"?

These are basic questions to answer right off the back when submitting to a casting call

do you have particular dates and times you’re available to shoot
do you have clothes you’re able to bring
do you need example images of what i’m looking for

Huh? I'd assume all basic questions would be asked IN the casting call?

The simple question to ask yourself, so as to not make a fool of yourself is “what will they want to know from me” because if your responding at all…we already know that you’re interested, what we really want to know is how can you be of help

Oh? Can I learn about you?

I'm a Photographer and Cinematographer. I've studied three years of photography while attending El Camino College. I'm currently Studying Photography, Cinematography, and animation at Otis College Of Art and Design. I will be graduating with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in 2013.

So you're just out of school? Then you come on here telling everyone how things work and how to reply to things?


Neat!



Andrew Thomas Evans
www.andrewthomasevans.com www.mplsfashion.com