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model/photographer communication
some models are awful communicators. Well, they are mostly prompt (after the initial reply atleast) but sometimes they are very very slow. I'm talking about a weeks time to half-answer some of my questions. From my limited experience, the poor communicators are the flakers. I sometimes ask "are you still interested?" and then they respond promptly but then when I ask logistical questions they are very slow again (I'm talking about a weeks time, roughly). I've had two models flake on me in the past and both of them were like this. From your experience, is it better to just drop these models? Two of the models that I'm talking to right now are like this. I already asked "are you interested" and they responded promptly that they are, but they still haven't answered the basic logistical questions. I don't want to give a second reminding and so I am going to drop them. Am I being unfair? How do you handle these situations. Do you have a certain policy? Jun 26 13 09:51 am Link Michael Sergio Barnes wrote: Haven't they already dropped themselves at this point? Michael Sergio Barnes wrote: I'm not sure what "drop" means to you. If it means to cease communication, haven't they already done that? Michael Sergio Barnes wrote: Not IMO. If I ask someone a question and they don't answer me, sometimes I'll ask again, sometimes I won't. It is usually a function of how unique they are. Never do I wonder about fairness, almost daily I wonder about uniqueness. Michael Sergio Barnes wrote: If I have to post multiple messages to get a simple answer it feels like I'm banging my head against a wall. My policy is to bang my head against a wall as infrequently as possible. Jun 26 13 10:10 am Link generally i find that if a shoot is going to happen there isn't a lot of fuss about it. we decide on a theme (or themes) relative to their wardrobe (usually they ask me for some ideas), a location and schedule a date/time. if the model really wants to do the shoot they will communicate. when someone starts lagging on communication it could mean they're just really busy or it could mean they're just not that enthusiastic about it or that they've gotten a more interesting offer in the meantime. Jun 26 13 12:48 pm Link Michael Sergio Barnes wrote: Not just yes, but hell yes. Screw the dilettantes. Jun 26 13 01:00 pm Link Request their phone number and tell them that you prefer to set up you shoots by phone rather than playing message tag. That way you get all the answers right away. If they would rather waste time with email messages you might want to consider whether you really want to use them or not. Jun 26 13 02:06 pm Link In some cases the model just might be very busy and doesn't have the time to reply. More then likely they aren't very interested and you are wasting time. Best bet is to just move on. If by chance they are truly interested, they'll message you back. No sense in waiting around for that. Jun 26 13 02:40 pm Link Its the only place in my experience where more effort doesn't give results. Two attempts at coms with no answer or decent progress toward setting up a shoot means third effort a waste of time 99%of time. Just put them on a do not disturb list and save your energy for the courteous and like minded artists. Lucky there are lots of them too. Jun 27 13 04:58 am Link "...the poor communicators are the flakers." This is true in general. Yet everything that is true in general has exceptions. I once worked with a model that communicated poorly prior to the shoot. Since I was very busy at that time, I communicated poorly (i.e. slow) as well, so I figured it would be fair to give her some credit and give the communication some extra effort. We had a great shoot, with very satisfactory results for both of us and we will soon have another one (once she responds to my email, that is, lol). The point is, you can't tell in advance why the model communicates slowly. Is she not serious about modelling or just busy? that implies it is also hard to predict whether she is worth putting effort in. I realize I raise more questions rather than providing answers. I'm afraid the simple answer just doesn't exist (or isn't right). (same holds the other way around ofcourse) Jun 27 13 05:09 am Link Id say if the model (models) your referring to were truly interested they would show more enthusiasm than to just let the conversation sit and become stale so to speak. Im a mom of 2 and cant always answer a message when I receive it but will be honest and just say that. For example im in communication with a photographer right now who originally messaged me about two weeks ago. I told him simply that altho I am very interested (especially as this is an offer for paid work) Ive got a lot goin on and I refuse to commit to anything im not absolutely certain I can follow thru in so with that being said I will keep in contact if he wishes and as soon as I know for sure that we can get together without any hesitation on my part to lock in a time date etc I would be happy to then figure out what will work for both of us. I dont mean to ramble...my point is this...its not that hard to say hey thanx for the interest in working together and either A-im available on such n such days lets work it out. B- Im quite busy at this time and cant give a definite on when ill be available but if ud like I can contact u in the near future when i am or C- thanks but no thanx! If a model cant give one of the three responses within a reasonable timeframe of your reaching out to her (or him) then i wouldnt waste too much time or effort in approaching that person again. Just my thoughts and pov from the other side of the equation! Jun 27 13 07:27 am Link thanks for the suggestions and advice. From my limited experience after my first attempt of probing a response they go "sorry I've been really really busy" or something like that...with some models I get a vibe that they aren't really that interested and that is OK with me if they are upfront about it. I just don't understand how some models seem to express enthusiasm and then not show up. This has only happened to me twice and the communication with those models was so-so. Jun 27 13 02:09 pm Link wish Photographers would stop complaining about this! Read other post concerning this before making your own or gripe on your profile about it. This happens get over it and move on find better llamas that are reliable. Jun 27 13 02:14 pm Link Michael Sergio Barnes wrote: When I tell someone I've been really, really busy what I'm saying is higher priority activities have used up all my free time. If I were a model saying that, I can think of these possibilities: Jun 27 13 02:36 pm Link For me if we can't schedule in three or four emails, I'm out! Next. This isn't rocket science! Jun 27 13 02:42 pm Link Colorado Model Amber wrote: I didn't mean to gripe or complain...I'm not complaining specifically on no shows but on understanding communication and see how other people handle it....and if this trend is a correlation. Jun 27 13 02:49 pm Link Jun 27 13 05:34 pm Link |
