Question for Photographers and Models - Direct messaging hindrance or a help?

I'm glad you asked - and suspect you did so because you have a doubt how well received it might be; which is a good instinct.

I'm always chuffed if a model messages me directly because he or she likes my portfolio and wants to work with me. Doesn't happen that often.

Getting generic, impersonal emails from models hoping to drum up business is another matter, and I would generally report it as spam. I don't want to find this kind of stuff in my inbox when I sign in and even though it's a small trickle today it could be a flood tomorrow.

That's my personal view. Of course if you feel you might be offering something I'd be specifically interested in you could take a chance and write a personal message. You might have spotted one of my castings or think you could be a good fit for one of my projects in which case I'd be pleased to talk. Bottom line (for me) is only direct message if it's a personal approach.

I prefer to receive direct messages but I find I get quite a few from models saying that they are in my area ‘next week’ whereas that’s too short notice for me. As I only tend to book one or two shoots a month I need a bit more notice than that.

travismcfly said

Personally I'm happy to be contacted to be made aware of a tour near to me or whatever.

I'm also fine with the fact it makes sense for the model to probably copy and paste a mass message with general info about the tour/location/rates etc. Only slightly bothered me if someone has tried to make it more personal by saying they really love my work when they clearly hadn't looked at my profile at all (had that a small number of times when I was new on here and had no pictures from model shoots on at all). But even then it was infrequent enough to be no big deal.

Thank you that is very helpful x

CalmNudes said

If it ends up in my inbox then a casting which says 

"I'm going to be in place on date and I'm looking to shoot style on these terms" lets me decide if I'm interested. A model who is shooting 150+ miles away and adds every large town within 75 miles so it gets in the inboxes of people further away just annoys and I might even the report casting. In between there are lots of badly written castings, and if I have to switch from mail to PP to find out when / where / what / how much I'm probably just going to spike the email with the casting in.    

Targeted mails -"Hi - I saw the work you did with some-other-model I think we could do something similar, my rates are X and I'll be somewhere near you in a few weeks" actually have quite a good success rate getting shoots with me.  "Hi Hun, love your work, wanna shoot ?" not so much. But it seems daft to be on a site like PP which exists for models and photographers to get in contact and complain that someone contacted you unless the work being discussed is way outside what you do. 

 

That makes sense, I do put varying areas in my castings as I'm driving on my tours and can easily travel between areas on my free days but your points are all valid and helpful so thank you for taking the time to comment :)

âË┼†̃ said

I had a message once from a model, asking if I wanted to shoot, they would be in the area, rates, levels, etc, my reply was short, to the point,   "No."

The model was not happy and replied saying as much, due to PP's messaging rules I replied (to keep the reply rate good :( )

That's fair enough, if you don't want to shoot then a simple No is suffice you shouldn't have to explain yourself to anyone and thank you for taking the time to comment :)

Photowallah said

I'm glad you asked - and suspect you did so because you have a doubt how well received it might be; which is a good instinct.

I'm always chuffed if a model messages me directly because he or she likes my portfolio and wants to work with me. Doesn't happen that often.

Getting generic, impersonal emails from models hoping to drum up business is another matter, and I would generally report it as spam. I don't want to find this kind of stuff in my inbox when I sign in and even though it's a small trickle today it could be a flood tomorrow.

That's my personal view. Of course if you feel you might be offering something I'd be specifically interested in you could take a chance and write a personal message. You might have spotted one of my castings or think you could be a good fit for one of my projects in which case I'd be pleased to talk. Bottom line (for me) is only direct message if it's a personal approach.

That's good to know I feel if you are reaching out to a photographer as a model at least take the time to view their port and work and make it personal.

CefniPhotography said

I prefer to receive direct messages but I find I get quite a few from models saying that they are in my area ‘next week’ whereas that’s too short notice for me. As I only tend to book one or two shoots a month I need a bit more notice than that.

Thats good to know, Thanks for commenting :)

I always answer to all direct messages and clearly state if I am interested at all,
if time/funds/levels/themes match or not.

In your case your tattoos would rule out booking you for my free work,
so it would be up to the question if there was a paid gig asking for a tattoed
model during the time of your tour.

I probably hadn't looked for you in the first place because of the tattoos, so
a direct message would at least save the chance for a slot in a paid gig if that
coincided.

So yes, direct messages seem useful, and I will never be bothered.
Simple offer/simple question, honest and friendly answer guaranteed.

Never mind receiving direct messages about tours etc as long as they have enough details for me to make a decision without a game of ping pong messaging. Sometimes they result in a shoot, sometimes they don't, but this is a networking site so make use of the system I say. 

See you at ND next Saturday :)

Everly Rose said

CalmNudes said

If it ends up in my inbox then a casting which says 

"I'm going to be in place on date and I'm looking to shoot style on these terms" lets me decide if I'm interested. A model who is shooting 150+ miles away and adds every large town within 75 miles so it gets in the inboxes of people further away just annoys and I might even the report casting. In between there are lots of badly written castings, and if I have to switch from mail to PP to find out when / where / what / how much I'm probably just going to spike the email with the casting in.    

Targeted mails -"Hi - I saw the work you did with some-other-model I think we could do something similar, my rates are X and I'll be somewhere near you in a few weeks" actually have quite a good success rate getting shoots with me.  "Hi Hun, love your work, wanna shoot ?" not so much. But it seems daft to be on a site like PP which exists for models and photographers to get in contact and complain that someone contacted you unless the work being discussed is way outside what you do. 

 

That makes sense, I do put varying areas in my castings as I'm driving on my tours and can easily travel between areas on my free days but your points are all valid and helpful so thank you for taking the time to comment :)

A casting where the model says "I'm driving from Dover to Exeter and I can stop at any of [long list of places] on the way" is great , I can say 'How about here ' - actually the most recent I've posted happened like that. 

What grates, is a shoot in a fixed place when the model adds somewhere 60 or 70 miles away, and that gets sent to me, and 50 or 60 miles beyond that. 

"I can shoot in Bristol" is fine. "If you are in in Bristol, how about coming to Swansea"  grrr. The places listed should be places where the shoot can happen. 

I don't think the direct message should be used as a standard sales place. If I get a direct messaging with standard sales and no benefit for me other than the model sees me as a way to make money it's a no. Usually it is just a standard I want to make money of you thing.

Some people think that's alright because that's what they think the site is for, not me. I think people have largely forgotten what the site can be beyond money.

Edited by Wondrous

I always go direct to models I want to work with and never look at castings.  So I’m happy if models - particularly if I’ve worked with them before or they are on my WLTWW - contact me.  Even if I get spammed it’s no real skin off my nose and maybe just maybe might produce a model out of left field that I’ve never even considered.

CefniPhotography said

I prefer to receive direct messages but I find I get quite a few from models saying that they are in my area ‘next week’ whereas that’s too short notice for me. As I only tend to book one or two shoots a month I need a bit more notice than that.

+1

Everly Rose said

amgine said

It's no problem for me. You might get a short but polite "no" message but you never know. I shot a model recently who was on tour and would never have realised as it was just (by a couple of miles) outside my usual search criteria - I was quite 😊

that's nice to hear and the sort of feedback I was interested in so thank you :)

Everly Rose said

amgine said

It's no problem for me. You might get a short but polite "no" message but you never know. I shot a model recently who was on tour and would never have realised as it was just (by a couple of miles) outside my usual search criteria - I was quite 😊

that's nice to hear and the sort of feedback I was interested in so thank you

If your down my way definitely let me know.

CalmNudes said

Everly Rose said

CalmNudes said

If it ends up in my inbox then a casting which says 

"I'm going to be in place on date and I'm looking to shoot style on these terms" lets me decide if I'm interested. A model who is shooting 150+ miles away and adds every large town within 75 miles so it gets in the inboxes of people further away just annoys and I might even the report casting. In between there are lots of badly written castings, and if I have to switch from mail to PP to find out when / where / what / how much I'm probably just going to spike the email with the casting in.    

Targeted mails -"Hi - I saw the work you did with some-other-model I think we could do something similar, my rates are X and I'll be somewhere near you in a few weeks" actually have quite a good success rate getting shoots with me.  "Hi Hun, love your work, wanna shoot ?" not so much. But it seems daft to be on a site like PP which exists for models and photographers to get in contact and complain that someone contacted you unless the work being discussed is way outside what you do. 

 

That makes sense, I do put varying areas in my castings as I'm driving on my tours and can easily travel between areas on my free days but your points are all valid and helpful so thank you for taking the time to comment :)

A casting where the model says "I'm driving from Dover to Exeter and I can stop at any of [long list of places] on the way" is great , I can say 'How about here ' - actually the most recent I've posted happened like that. 

What grates, is a shoot in a fixed place when the model adds somewhere 60 or 70 miles away, and that gets sent to me, and 50 or 60 miles beyond that. 

"I can shoot in Bristol" is fine. "If you are in in Bristol, how about coming to Swansea"  grrr. The places listed should be places where the shoot can happen. 

Ah I see yes, I've actually just done a casting where I am driving between 2 points and have listed places I can stop or deviate to along the way