PrimePix wrote:
Its not you its MM ....

or not.

I don't know how it could be MM, since MM does not do shoots.

It could be that there is quite large percentage of "posers" on MM, but ultimately that is the parties involved.

It is not like MM does any due diligence or somehow vets people here, it is our job (not theirs) to determine who are reliable and who are not.

Money talks though.  How many people would go to their 9-6 jobs and work for free, satisfied with the accomplishment and quality of the work they produce?

When being a model is one's occupation, it isn't very realistic to expect them to work for a feeling of satisfaction, unless someone knows how to put that into a bank and pay one's bills with it.

Patrick Walberg wrote:
You and I come from a very similar background then!  I was a teenager trying to be a lead actor, the rock star ...etc .but was always a walk on in high school.  So by the time I got to junior college theater, I was working behind the scenes and that meant shootinig the promo pictures.  You know of course why we have "understudies" and any smart director will discuss alternative scenes with an actor should get sick or missing in action.

Thanks Patrick, that was a helpful read!
And thank you to everyone else for the helpful advice as well!

J Armstrong Photography wrote:
I've been a member of MM for a while now and have scheduled about 6 shoots with different models since March.
Every single time I have been stood up. Half of the models originally contacted me to shoot!

I have scheduled a few shoots outside of using MM and, the model showed up and turned out fine. What is it about this site that makes these models unreliable?

Is this just me?

It's some of the people on the site, not the site itself.

The site does attract a fair amount of uncommitted people, and because it's the largest site I know of, there's bound to be a higher percentage of flakes.

HOTTIE SHOTS wrote:
I have found that the flake rate is 50%-66%. 

So if I want to shoot a model I set 3 and usually one shows.  I have found this flake rate applies across the internet based model network, including other sites and Facebook. 

I wanted 12 models for a video shoot and I scheduled and confirmed 38 the day before.......15 showed up.  I have even found that the same flake rate applies when I have had paying opportunities.

So don't get discouraged, just realize this is the way it is and start setting 3 for every 1 you need.

I would say that no call no show rate on this site is more like 60% to 70% when you offer to do a TFP shoot with someone. Likewise it more like 30% to 45% when you offering paid work. That said I agree that you shouldn't get discouraged. Likewise you should just make a note of the ones who honor their commitments and who don't and try to work within that small little pool of real professionals if you can.

HOTTIE SHOTS wrote:
I have found that the flake rate is 50%-66%. 

So if I want to shoot a model I set 3 and usually one shows.  I have found this flake rate applies across the internet based model network, including other sites and Facebook. 

I wanted 12 models for a video shoot and I scheduled and confirmed 38 the day before.......15 showed up.  I have even found that the same flake rate applies when I have had paying opportunities.

So don't get discouraged, just realize this is the way it is and start setting 3 for every 1 you need.

I've noticed this too, although it could be a few different factors.

In 2006ish it was really easy to get people to pose from CL, just random people, and then it was easy to find others on MM. That seemed to slow down a while, and may just be that the public is bored or the "market" is more saturated and those who wanted to do this or want to do this are either already done and gone or here doing it.

Now it could just be me and I'm looking for or doing different things than I was, but things do seem a lot different - and for the better I think.

On the flip side, getting paid work seems easier than ever and its a lot less of a hassle. I would say on average it takes a few weeks to do a paid gig from first contact to the shoot, where as MM and tests (for me mind you) take a lot longer or if ever. Also, even though I'm getting paid, clients are usually a LOT less picky about things and don't tend to grill me or demand a FBI background check or stuff. So, in that respect its easier to focus on clients than tests.

But it is what it is and we are getting to a point where money talks and if its important then get the money out.




Andrew Thomas Evans
www.andrewthomasevans.com

Abbitt Photography wrote:
It's not just you.   

I now require a couple confirmations - one 2 days prior to the shoot, another an hour or so before the shoot.  Obviously, this does not leave enough time to find someone else, but at least it means I'm not spending an hour to set up my studio and then wondering how long to wait for a model that won't show.

Professional models hired from a reputable agency are of course very unlikely to no-show, but that's not a practical option for many shoots.

I always figured that this sort of thing was just a reasonable thing to do: I send out a confirmation e-mail a couple of weeks before the shoot, asking for an exchange of cell-phone numbers if we haven't already done so. Then I send another confirmation the day or two before the shoot, often sent as a text message rather than an e-mail. (At Fetishcon, this will be my "This is my room number" message, for shoots in my hotel room.) Often there will be a call or text message exchange the hour before the shoot, as well.

J Armstrong Photography wrote:
I have scheduled a few shoots outside of using MM and, the model showed up and turned out fine. What is it about this site that makes these models unreliable?

Honestly? The internal email system leaves A LOT to be desired.

The email notifications (new messages, picture comments, tags, etc) sometimes will make it to my regular email inbox, most of the time they don't. The aggravating thing is that, by George, is that I get email notifications of each & every new one of those stupid EDU articles.

I've even had "new" messages pop up in my MM inbox literally months after they were written. A lot of good it does in generating my work then.

The mobile system they have is just as aggravating. Sometimes new messages will be bolded in that it hasn't been read by me. Yet if its an unread message in one of my folders (like one I've created to keep track of scheduled shoots), its not bolded.

I love MM & this site still has a lot of potential yet doesn't come close to living up to it. If you are able to communicate with someone off-site (whether it be FB, text, phone call, regular email), I'd say do it in a heartbeat.