Digital Czar wrote:
Models, no matter if beginner or a true pearl, want work. In some cases they want to trade for images for their book. Same can be said for photographers.

However it's particularly galling that people sign up to be a model here, and we know it's in the hundreds of thousands, then don't even have the barest scrap of professionalism to leave  a good image of themselves by answering emails directed to them.

Oh well...goes with the territory I suppose.

no response often is a response

Michael McGowan wrote:
I had to help a model friend keep up with her mail here when she was incapacitated. She wanted to make sure people knew she would get back with them when she could, but she didn't know when. (Yeah, people don't read profiles, either.)

Anyway, I was aghast at some of the insanity that passed for communication on MM. With the amount of mail and the "quality" of it, I'm surprised some models answer anything.

Want to get their attention? Put "Paid gig" in the subject line. Otherwise, you're likely to be lumped into all the other spam some of these models get.

Thanks for your insight. I often put "Availability and rates?" in the subject. Maybe if I put "Paid Gig" I might get more responses.

Garry k wrote:

no response often is a response

Yes, but still not professional if you want to be one. Even the Pro's I know, know how to refuse something gracefully, which is part of being a Pro.

Paige Morgan wrote:
I do answer everyone.....and you'd be quite surprised how often a polite "no thank you" will lead to someone calling me every name they can think of and generally hopping on their Huffy Bike.


I can understand why many people don't answer every message they get.


Casting wise? I only want to hear back if I booked the job. Polite as answering everyone may be, I don't need to sort through another piece of mail or a phone call just to hear someone else got the gig.

When folks are asked a direct question, that is if they'd like to participate in doing a job...and here they get notified by email that they have a message, there really is no excuse.

ontherocks wrote:
i don't think the model mayhem rules say anything about being obligated to respond to inquiries. so they aren't breaking any rules so far as i know.

also, as one model pointed out it's immature photographers who get butthurt by a rejection that are causing them to not want to respond. if photographers want to get responses they should clean up their own act first.

for my part i'm fine with no response. that only bothered me for the first week i was here and then i got over it. i spend my time on the ones who want to shoot with me not the ones who don't.

I'm super polite and respond to everyone, and am generally thick skinned....and the small population of butthurt still occasionally manages to be bitter and nasty enough to annoy me from time to time.


For a more sensitive or less patient sort, I can see why they'd prefer to take the silence/no potential conflict road.

Digital Czar wrote:

When folks are asked a direct question, that is if they'd like to participate in doing a job...and here they get notified by email that they have a message, there really is no excuse.

Yeah, I try to respond to all messages, but there's a few things... I'm a professional model. This is my livelihood. Sometimes that means I'm booked 5 days straight. I'm not always able to respond on MM because I'm off doing professional agency work, so taking my time to respond to shoots I'm not interested in often gets left for later.

Also, as Paige said, sometimes I respond with a no thank you, and get mass messages back about how I'm ugly, look like a man, not a "real" model, fat, anorexic, etc, etc.... Honestly, sometimes I'm just not up for that.

Anywho, ranting in the model forum isn't going to help you. Sorry.

Garry k wrote:

no response often is a response

kehayhurst images wrote:

The worst quote on this site.

A bologna sandwich isn't a bologna sandwich.

Paige Morgan wrote:
I'm super polite and respond to everyone, and am generally thick skinned....and the small population of butthurt still occasionally manages to be bitter and nasty enough to annoy me from time to time.

Digital Czar wrote:
Models, no matter if beginner or a true pearl, want work. In some cases they want to trade for images for their book. Same can be said for photographers.

However it's particularly galling that people sign up to be a model here, and we know it's in the hundreds of thousands, then don't even have the barest scrap of professionalism to leave  a good image of themselves by answering emails directed to them.

Oh well...goes with the territory I suppose.

1)  Yes, adjust your expectations.

2)  No one is obligated to respond to every e-mail they get.

3)  No response is all the answer you need.

Brick Wilson wrote:
I understand if you send someone a message, no response is a tacit denial. But what if they're contacting you? I put up a casting call last week and got a half-dozen responses. 3 of them went like this:

Model: Hi! I like your project and want to shoot with you!
Me: OK, when are you available?
Model: [no response, disappears forever]

It was an impulse - or the model is not very organized.

By her non-response she has given you the information you need to know that pursuing working with her would be a waste of your time.  That's a win....

Digital Czar wrote:
Models, no matter if beginner or a true pearl, want work. In some cases they want to trade for images for their book. Same can be said for photographers.

However it's particularly galling that people sign up to be a model here, and we know it's in the hundreds of thousands, then don't even have the barest scrap of professionalism to leave  a good image of themselves by answering emails directed to them.

Oh well...goes with the territory I suppose.

Lately, I have found about 20%-25% of the ports were created by bored kids (maybe schools are out and they decide to amuse themselves, think MTV's "Catfish"), another 5-10% of ports were created by men who has no life (thus by creating a "fake" pretty profile they got the attention they are craving) and about 50% are girls who created a port just to show their boyfriends/BFF they are a "model" but has no intention to attend any shoots. So that left about less than 10% of models who want to work and you have to do a lot of work to weed out the "losers".
I paid all my models with cash and some models are making a good living out of modeling. I know a few traveling models they are making upwards of US$60 K and some semi-famous make upwards of US$80K with magazines publications and their own websites. That's a good chunk of change consider there are 15 million of people still out of work today in the United States.

Digital Czar wrote:

Yes, but still not professional if you want to be one. Even the Pro's I know, know how to refuse something gracefully, which is part of being a Pro.

+1
Totally agree. I've had a photographer answer my friend request, but not my message requesting to work with him.

Fotografica Gregor wrote:
And it does not really matter to me whether she gets back to me or not.  I have plenty of models to shoot with....

Drew Smith Photography wrote:
OP - other people's professionalism or lack thereof should not affect your professionalism.

If you take a look around at the successful (for any given value of 'successful') models and photographers on this site then you will notice that that the overwhelming majority of them have very similar characteristics and they don't start 'rant' threads in the forums.

There's a reason for that.

Have I told you lately...that I

ontherocks wrote:
i think you've hit the nail on the head. the guys who get butthurt are desperate and/or fixated on a particular model (which probably means they're crushing on her). whereas really it's a numbers game on here, at least for many of us. and it's supposed to be about photography, not dating. the OP should cast his net wide and see what swims in.

Oh, how I would really like to respond to this.  But, the last time I said what was really on my mind here, I got 'brigged' for a couple of days. 

So, I'll just say "Have a lovely day"

ontherocks wrote:
i think you've hit the nail on the head. the guys who get butthurt are desperate and/or fixated on a particular model (which probably means they're crushing on her). whereas really it's a numbers game on here, at least for many of us. and it's supposed to be about photography, not dating. the OP should cast his net wide and see what swims in.

All of the ranting here about models not giving photographers a satisfying amount of attention does smack of a bit of desperation.... 

If a photographer's message to a model carries with it a tinge of this I can certainly understand the silence

And I would only offer the observation that if you have something models really want,  you will not lack for responses.   I'm just a middlin' photographer with the occasional publication - not a rock star by far - and I'm booked 6 weeks out constantly....  and most of the time my bookings are initiated by models....

Garry k wrote:

no response often is a response

It's true that not voting is a vote, but I don't think the same holds true for model. If a model or a photographer makes a serious offer in good faith than I think it is good manner and yes professional of them to respond one way or another to that offer.

Something as simple as " I'm sorry but I am not interested in working with you at this time". That is all it really takes.

True I come from a time when people answered the phone on the first ring , acted professionally, I know that the current generation does not want to be bothered with common courtesy .  So I guess it's not so common after all

CRIMSON REIGN wrote:

+1
Totally agree. I've had a photographer answer my friend request, but not my message requesting to work with him.

I agree and move on. I shoot 4 shoots a week for the last 2 years so I really could care less other than it IS BAD MANNERS.

I just go further and block a model who doesn't respond...not to be mean ... It's so I won't bother them again if I am looking for a model for a certain project.

ontherocks wrote:
i don't think the model mayhem rules say anything about being obligated to respond to inquiries. so they aren't breaking any rules so far as i know.

also, as one model pointed out it's immature photographers who get butthurt by a rejection that are causing them to not want to respond. if photographers want to get responses they should clean up their own act first.

for my part i'm fine with no response. that only bothered me for the first week i was here and then i got over it. i spend my time on the ones who want to shoot with me not the ones who don't.

It's all about marketing yourself. By not responding, you are burning bridges with photographers. A simple answer takes but a few seconds and will leave a good impression.

That photographer who was not top shelf yesterday might put so much efforts in his trades that you will bite your lips when, in 6 months, he does not invite you to shoots due to a bad first impression you left him.

Yes, build yourself a thick hide and block all those morons who cannot take a no for an answer... in fact, you are making yourself a favor by responding to everyone. Then, you know by their responses who you definitely don't want to work with in the future.

Eralar wrote:
It's all about marketing yourself. By not responding, you are burning bridges with photographers. A simple answer takes but a few seconds and will leave a good impression.

That photographer who was not top shelf yesterday might put so much efforts in his trades that you will bite your lips when, in 6 months, he does not invite you to shoots due to a bad first impression you left him.

Yes, build yourself a thick hide and block all those morons who cannot take a no for an answer... in fact, you are making yourself a favor by responding to everyone. Then, you know by their responses who you definitely don't want to work with in the future.

I don't think that most llamas who do not answer photographer contacts in which they have no interest need to worry -  quite a few of the very top llamas take the same approach -

ultimately there is more demand here for llamas than there is for any specific photographers - by orders of magnitude....   no individual llama is going to suffer some sort of business consequence for ignoring you or I

I've had it happen that llamas have not returned my contact for whatever reason and then later on "discovered" that they would like to work with me.  I have never held it against them - it's not personal....    I have had fun on occasion bringing up the fact to llamas who have since become regulars or friend that they once "snubbed" me though - usually i wait for some sort of vulnerable moment

Also - I think it rather interesting that you almost never see a llama post ranting about photographers who don't return contacts....  but you see photographers whining about this every couple of days....

If I were a llama i would be putting all of the whiners on my "do not shoot with" list...  just as I do with llamas who whine about photographers for one reason or another -   life's too short and this ain't dating - no reason to take any of it personally.....

Eralar wrote:
It's all about marketing yourself. By not responding, you are burning bridges with photographers. A simple answer takes but a few seconds and will leave a good impression.

That goes both ways.

The OP doesn't have any models credited in his port and most of his photos are from many years ago. From the looks of his post, he's contacting models for trade. IMO, it's no wonder that he's not getting many responses.

Elizabeta Rosandic wrote:
-When someone very obviously did not take the time to read my profile. It really isn't that hard. If a photographer can't be bothered to read it then he/she really isn't the kind of person  I'd like to work with.

-One-liners. I.e. "we should shoot". Nothing else. No details. Nope.

-Starting a message with "Hey beautiful". I have a name. Be a professional and use it, please and thank you.

These.

Also, I've sent messages that never got replies, it isn't a big deal and you just move on. Models aren't the only ones who don't respond sometimes, complaining about it here isn't going to help you.