John M Hoyt
Posts: 284
Greenville, South Carolina, US
I've been working with as many people as possible to sharpen my skills and I've been reading on the forums about models leaving you high and dry.
I considered myself lucky, until today.
I had arranged to meet a guy at my office at 11am, which is home to a make shift studio. But, since it is a place of business, I have to spend 30 minutes getting it prepped for shoots.
Well, 11 came and went. And at 12:15, I gave up and went about my day. While driving, I had even thought up exactly what I was going to say to this guy, and how I might handle future shoots too.
Then I get an email from the guy that reads, "sorry I couldn't make it, my dad died today, can we reschedule?"
John M Hoyt wrote: You mean, "my uncle died, again"?
Exactly, or they say they have a family member in the hospital, or got into an accident. I've been in EMS for 18 years, and can easily check up on things like that...
Yup! It happens....
The last one I had, caused me to have to tell an editor that I didn't have the shoot they needed! Her loss, I'll shoot another one here in a couple of weeks, and be back on track. Keep yer head up, maybe you'll see 'em comin' next time!
Two things I've had to get use to; the ol' "No response is a response." And what you just experienced. Since I can't control either, I live with them both. Good luck.
John M Hoyt wrote: I've been working with as many people as possible to sharpen my skills and I've been reading on the forums about models leaving you high and dry.
I considered myself lucky, until today.
I had arranged to meet a guy at my office at 11am, which is home to a make shift studio. But, since it is a place of business, I have to spend 30 minutes getting it prepped for shoots.
Well, 11 came and went. And at 12:15, I gave up and went about my day. While driving, I had even thought up exactly what I was going to say to this guy, and how I might handle future shoots too.
Then I get an email from the guy that reads, "sorry I couldn't make it, my dad died today, can we reschedule?"
Okay, I feel like an assclown douche nozzle now.
I can't think of a better excuse, poor guy.
It is actually possible, and you'd feel like total crap if you called him a liar and it was.
I had a model fail to show up for a shoot, one day after we set it up.
Got a message two weeks later. "Sorry, while I was driving to the shoot, I flipped my car and woke up the next day in the hospital. Got out a couple days later, and I've been putting my life back together." And it was public, where anyone who knew her could call her on it if she was lying.
typically when shooting with new models, i'll schedule at least two models back to back, so if one of them doesn't show up, i haven't set up and broken down all my stuff for no reason.
dave phoenix wrote: typically when shooting with new models, i'll schedule at least two models back to back, so if one of them doesn't show up, i haven't set up and broken down all my stuff for no reason.
dave phoenix wrote: typically when shooting with new llamas, i'll schedule at least two llamas back to back, so if one of them doesn't show up, i haven't set up and broken down all my stuff for no reason.
AG_Boston wrote: What do you do when they both show up?
photograph both of them individually, usually. what i mean by back to back, is i'll have one llama scheduled for 1pm and one for 3 or 4pm.
that way if 1pm girl doesn't show up, that's alright because i've got a 3pm... and i can call 3pm and tell her if she wants to start early, to come on over.
sometimes i'll do some shots with both llamas in the same frame, if the first one wants to stay late and/or the second one shows up early, but not usually.
It may coincidental, it may be true, but that's for you to decide, as for flakes they will come and come again............or should I phrase the they will NOT come.
John M Hoyt wrote: I've been working with as many people as possible to sharpen my skills and I've been reading on the forums about models leaving you high and dry.
I considered myself lucky, until today.
I had arranged to meet a guy at my office at 11am, which is home to a make shift studio. But, since it is a place of business, I have to spend 30 minutes getting it prepped for shoots.
Well, 11 came and went. And at 12:15, I gave up and went about my day. While driving, I had even thought up exactly what I was going to say to this guy, and how I might handle future shoots too.
Then I get an email from the guy that reads, "sorry I couldn't make it, my dad died today, can we reschedule?"
Okay, I feel like an assclown douche nozzle now.
I can't think of a better excuse, poor guy.
his dad dies, and he calls you,the very day of his fathers passing,and says "can we reschedule", one of two things, here the model is lying or this is an attention post ?
Jay Farrell
Posts: 12,522
Nashville, Tennessee, US
John M Hoyt wrote: I've been working with as many people as possible to sharpen my skills and I've been reading on the forums about models leaving you high and dry.
I considered myself lucky, until today.
I had arranged to meet a guy at my office at 11am, which is home to a make shift studio. But, since it is a place of business, I have to spend 30 minutes getting it prepped for shoots.
Well, 11 came and went. And at 12:15, I gave up and went about my day. While driving, I had even thought up exactly what I was going to say to this guy, and how I might handle future shoots too.
Then I get an email from the guy that reads, "sorry I couldn't make it, my dad died today, can we reschedule?"
Okay, I feel like an assclown douche nozzle now.
I can't think of a better excuse, poor guy.
The day my dad died, for real....the last thought in my mind was rescheduling a photoshoot.
I had four in a row flake on me. I thought that nobody could top that and when I told two other photographers they laughed. Both had 6 flakes in a row. As frustrating as it is, it's just part of the show. I don't think twice about it anymore.
John M Hoyt
Posts: 284
Greenville, South Carolina, US
Okay, now the rest of the story...
Same guy contacts me the end of the week that his dad died and asks if we can shoot in the afternoon... I gave him a time window that I would be avail.
He doesn't make it a second time, emailing me saying he couldn't get a ride.
So I decided the guy is a fucktard and I'm not going to mess with him again....
Until THIS week. He contacts me and says he can for sure be there. I'm a sucker, and he has an interesting look that would probably be great in my port (he's black, is stacked, young, nice complexion, etc), so I told him when to be there....
When he was 30 minutes late, he texts me and says he is on the way. Then he calls me, and says he is on the road, and describes buildings near me, asking which is mine. I tell him.
He never shows, never calls, never emails.
WTF? Okay, I'm better now. Just had to share....
Will I give him another chance? I say no, but I think you are sensing a pattern.
John M Hoyt
Posts: 284
Greenville, South Carolina, US
Marc Rosebeck wrote: his dad dies, and he calls you,the very day of his fathers passing,and says "can we reschedule", one of two things, here the model is lying or this is an attention post ?
Dunno if he was lying or not... Attention post? Aren't they all?
If you're assuming that's he's being dishonest, then you were lucky you didn't work with a dishonest person anyway. I would consider this a dodged bullet.
John M Hoyt wrote: Okay, now the rest of the story...
Same guy contacts me the end of the week that his dad died and asks if we can shoot in the afternoon... I gave him a time window that I would be avail.
He doesn't make it a second time, emailing me saying he couldn't get a ride.
So I decided the guy is a fucktard and I'm not going to mess with him again....
Until THIS week. He contacts me and says he can for sure be there. I'm a sucker, and he has an interesting look that would probably be great in my port (he's black, is stacked, young, nice complexion, etc), so I told him when to be there....
When he was 30 minutes late, he texts me and says he is on the way. Then he calls me, and says he is on the road, and describes buildings near me, asking which is mine. I tell him.
He never shows, never calls, never emails.
WTF? Okay, I'm better now. Just had to share....
Will I give him another chance? I say no, but I think you are sensing a pattern.
:-)
I had a girl do almost the exact same thing a few years back and then got mad at me because I sent her a message asking what had happened!
John M Hoyt
Posts: 284
Greenville, South Carolina, US
AMBERCOOL wrote: If you're assuming that's he's being dishonest, then you were lucky you didn't work with a dishonest person anyway. I would consider this a dodged bullet.
Yeah well, I'm mostly bummed that I didn't get to do a shoot. For a while, I was doing one or two a week and I was really seeing some improvement in my final product. No shoot in almost two weeks now. Afraid if I don't use it, I'll lose it. Heh
Oh, that and the fact that my "studio" is really my office suite and I have to spend 15 minutes or more getting it prepped for no reason. Three times now with this guy.
The last time, I decided I would not set everything up until he got there, and make him wait, but when he called me and said he was on my street, I busted my arse to get it set up, doh!
Exactly, or they say they have a family member in the hospital, or got into an accident. I've been in EMS for 18 years, and can easily check up on things like that...
So funny. I just had this crap happen today. Been shooting for a few years, model flakes are not new to me...but I was really looking forward to this one. First the wardrobe and hair/mua team flaked on me with no email, no call...I thought, okay, I've handled all this myself before, I can still rock this shoot. It's a TF shoot, people don't take shit seriously when there isn't money on the wood.
Get an email this morning (day of the shoot), one model says she's sick. I've worked with her before, she's not a flake, so I take that at face value. Sucks, but it happens. Other model that was supposed to show up didn't. No call, no email. The only one who showed was the body painter! We chatted for about an hour, then she left.
I'm not that forgiving, when someone flakes on me with no email, no call, no explanation, I'm not gonna chase them around and ask what happened, I just assume that something more important came up. And if they never let me know what happened, obviously they really didn't want to work with me in the first place.
Let's say she contacts me and wants to do another shoot regardless of her excuse, whatsay the rest of you, do you normally give a model in that situation another chance?
This happen recently like 4 weeks ago. A model cancelled just hours before the shoot. She told me she had a friend at the hospital and could not make it to the shoot. She didn't mention reschedule and do to the situation I thought it was inappropriate to do so. A week later I contacted her to see how her friend was doing and a possible reschedule. I know she read the personal messages but did not answer which I know then the possibility of it all being a lie was all too great. It was the same pattern from a year ago when another model used the same lie of she had a friend in the hospital.
Swanson Studios wrote: I had a model whose father died twice in four months.... when i asked her about it had absolutely nothing to say.
He died once, came back as a zombie, and got decapitated?
Yesterday, an agency model, booked by her agent, flaked 90 minutes before call time due to "food poisoning".
Models must have very frail immune systems; they get sick more than any other group!
On a serious note, if certain models keep repeating this behavior, and there are no negative repercussions, there is no reason for them to change their behavior.
Her loss, I'll shoot another one here in a couple of weeks, and be back on track. Keep yer head up, maybe you'll see 'em comin' next time!
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