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APRIL 2006

A New Era

01. When Does Your Mail Bag Launch?
02. Is TFP For Me?
03. I Know What You Know
04. Scam Fighting
05. Models Who Diss Agencies Deserve What They Get
06. Portfolio Networking Blues

It’s been really hectic and a little crazy around here, so we’ll just jump into Tampa Bay Modeling’s very first Mail Bag. It’s April, it’s Spring, and I am professional independent Model Monica Stevens. Since I’m not in the mood to go into some mushy, drawn out introduction about how this is my first mail bag in almost two years and this is my first gig on Tampa Bay Modeling, let me do what I do best. Let’s get to this months mail and kick off the start of something that will not only be very cool but will be something fun that models can look forward to on the first of every month. Which reminds me: every monthly mail bag I will choose an E-Mail of the month that will set the tone and the theme of that Mail Bag. The spotlight E-Mail will kick off the Mail Bag. Anyway, on with the start of something that I love to do. Where is that spotlight letter?
~ Model Monica Stevens, Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor

E-MAIL OF THE MONTH: When Does Your Mail Bag Section Launch?

Hi there. I was reading over your (very, very) cool and hip modeling site and was wondering if you were going to launch your mail bag section in April like it says in your news section. I noticed some things are not up like they were promised in your news section and I am eager to read the model scam section in particular, as I am a model (and not a new one, either) who has been scammed recently and I could have really used the information a few weeks ago. I’m not really complaining (well, maybe a little), but I really like your site and the Tampa Bay modeling community needs all of your really cool announced ideas yesterday. I check the site every day, like many models probably do, looking for your good ideas to materialize into something useful, but ideas do nothing for us if they remain on the drawing board and are not available for us to learn from. Oh, and we need those tools, too. If they work, this site is going to shake up the market! I already know of one model scam who need to be held accountable for what they are doing to models and I really don’t have much information on what to do. Independent Modeling used to have this information but I’m having trouble finding it. What happened to Independent Modeling? I heard that they got in trouble and had to take down all of the cool things. Oh, and good move on giving Monica Stevens a job on your site. She is a bad ass. I love that girl, her knowledge of the modeling profession, and her razor sharp wit. She doesn’t take crap from anyone! I really enjoyed reading her old mail bag on Independent Modeling over the years. Did she get fired from Independent Modeling after they got in trouble and dropped their mail bag section? Those last mail bags of hers were incredibly sassy and very funny to read. I miss them.
Please let your readers know that even us experienced professional models can get scammed if they are cut off from the information and the tools that they need. Those who are responsible for removing what WAS up have done a horrible disservice to models, and that’s why I am really looking forward to your improved “Next Generation” tools and information. We want it, we need it, and it will help models everywhere. Well, once you make it available, that is.
- Jennifer

Hi Jennifer,
Wow. Now that’s the letter that we needed to kick this thing off. As you can tell by now, Tampa Bay Modeling’s Mail Bag section launches now, right on schedule. The other things that you are waiting for, such as the new model scam section and model scam-fighting tools, will be available this month (Check our NEWS SECTION for daily information).
Keeping this short and to-the-point, I’ll now answer some of your other questions (I am still setting up my desk here at my home in Hyde Park and have more letters to get to- I’ll have to keep things as short as possible most of the time).
Independent Modeling was not forced to remove anything, and I didn’t get fired. In 2005, there was an editorial transition and the site was rebuilt from scratch. They no longer saw the need for stating the obvious and some of the content was no longer appropriate for where the site was going. It was formatted as the ultimate modeling resource site, combined with the other independent sites, and focused on career tools and promoting professional models. If you think about it, you’ll understand that it’s kind of hard to use a site to promote anyone when you have entire sections devoted to slamming model scams and generally pissing people off, especially when the controversial content is very redundant and stating the obvious. For the record, I still contribute to Independent Modeling on a freelance basis, and I still hang out with the staff.
Since there was no longer a need for a mail bag on Independent Modeling (I’m not really a fan of what they have now, as it is not as entertaining to read and is instead updated daily as a FAQ-type database that works better for their new format), the models over here at Tampa Bay Modeling wanted one on their site. They were regular readers of mine and liked the mail bags. So, I booked a regular job on their staff as the new editor for their mail bag. Since Tampa Bay Modeling does not directly promote models and it is set up to attack ideas instead of certain people in the industry, it’s not overly stating the obvious and fills an important need. Many of the great things on the old Independent Modeling site have been licensed for use here, and the models are working overtime to improve the information and tools before bringing them online. It’ll be well worth the wait. In regards to the model scam section, they’ve already gone through the first draft and had to start over. It seems that there was too much information being crammed into the sections and it was determined that average readers would get lost in all of the text. They are fine-tuning the organization by using informative summaries that lead to expanded information and tools, and that is much better.
For the record, you can find some of that old information and tools (and my old mail bags) by using search engines like Google (Click on “CACHED” instead of the direct link. Hold down (SHIFT) when you do it to open a new browser window) and useful sites like Archive.org. Take the URL’s found in the search engines (old Independent Modeling content is found under “geomedia.addr.com” and not independentmodeling.com) and paste it into Archive.org. You’ll be able to check out archived versions of any web site on there by year and date. My mail bags ran between 2002 and 2004. Archive.org is really cool for investigative work, as it is the Internet’s best version of a time machine that I know of. I use it to find information that has been removed. Want to see what your favorite web site looked like in 1997? Check it out!
Speaking of old mail bags, some of the best E-Mails from the Independent Modeling bags may find their way here. This month, I didn’t have access to those files (and didn’t have time to look them up on Archive.org, either- It has been busy here and I am still getting organized), so stay tuned.
I’m also glad that you liked my earlier work and think highly of me. I’m back, and you can expect even better things here. I’ve learned a lot since I last did a Mail Bag.
~ Model Monica Stevens, Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor

Is TFP For Me?

What do you have against TFP’s and professionals collaborating together to build their portfolios? I noticed that TFP/TFCD is on your scam section, too. TFP is not a model scam!
-Sandy

May I ask how serious you are about your career? If you’re a model, do you intend to model free of charge? If so, let’s see how long you are able to work in your career. If so, what is the point of becoming a model in the first place?
We don’t have anything against TFP’s. I agree TFP’s are often not scams. Some professionals may elect to do it, but most do not. Most professionals that I know are too busy earning a living in their careers and don’t have time for charity work. The problem with TFP offers is that often, while most are not model scams, some lead into model scams. If it sounds too good to be true, it often is. Nine times out of ten, you really do get what you pay for, and models really need to question the motivation of others who offer them free services, who don’t make money working as a professional, and who elect to work with nothing but amateurs. Why are they offering to shoot models at no charge? What is their motivation? How do they earn a living? If they don’t earn money working as a professional photographer, is there anything that they can truly offer a model that will benefit their career? Do they even know what they are doing, or are they some guy with a camera looking to meet pretty girls (coming soon: A Tampa Bay Modeling original story series about “Chester GWC - Model Photographer”. I am not kidding about this upcoming black comedy serial)? Many photographers offer TFP simply because they don’t have anything else going on in their career. Food for thought: How many TFP offers do you see for male models? How many TFP offers do you see for CLOTHED models? How many TFP photographers have genuine professional models who earn a living through a modeling career in their book? I don’t see a lot of male models, tastefully clothed models, or professional models in TFP work, that’s for sure. Model portfolio photography should be about obtaining professional pictures for a portfolio and should not be used as bait or as a prelude for asking some girl out. Think that I want to be buddies with all the photographers that I work with? Please. I’m selective about who I am friends with, and so is everyone else.
I’m not a fan of TFP’s, and I am speaking from experience. Many years ago, when I was a brand new model with no clue about the industry or what I was doing, I did TFP to build my model portfolio (some idiots on a portfolio networking site suggested this ill-advised course of action). Keep in mind that this was back in the day before cheap digital cameras where photographers had to invest money and professional training into camera gear, film, and film development. The cost of entry into the photography field did keep it limited mostly to those who were serious and made figuring out who the professionals were a lot easier, but the few legitimate photographers in the market seldom offered any freebies. Many liked my looks, though, and I managed to book a few TFP sessions. Although I was lucky and no one took advantage of me, I can say that was far more trouble than it was worth and sometimes indirectly cost me more money that I would have paid had I booked a professional portfolio photography session from an established professional photographer. If I could do it again, I would have saved a lot of legwork, time, and headaches and would have simply paid and invested a few hundred dollars into pictures from a professional photographer who could actually do something for my career. Once I learned my lesson, I finally invested some money into a real modeling portfolio and my career began to work for me because I gave it what it needed.
In my opinion, TFP’s are nothing more than shortcuts that cheap models and photographers use to avoid paying for what they need. We all know that taking shortcuts often costs more in the long-run in any career. You only cheat yourself by taking shortcuts! If a model or photographer cannot scrape up a little money to pay for what they need and invest in their career, their priorities are not conductive to surviving in a competitive industry such as the modeling industry and they are not being very smart. Speaking as a model, I don’t respect professional photographers who work for free. Professional models are not inclined to work with or contact photographers who they do not respect, either, and we value our time too much to waste it, too. Why is it that TFP photographers are always whining about models who don’t follow through on their “bookings”? While I do not condone anyone setting up something and then flaking out, we all need to realize the primary law of human behavior: people will always do what they feel is in their best interest. Actions always outweigh words. If a model decides to blow off a TFP shoot, do you think that they respect the photographer to begin with? I don’t think so. Some photographers may think that they are undercutting photographers who charge for their services by offering free photography services. What often happens (and recent investigations have proven this to be correct) is that the photographer digs themselves into a hole and acquires a reputation of being a TFP shooter or doing substandard work, even if they actually do good work! When they finally wake up and start charging for their work, it is a lot harder to climb out of that hole. I know a photographer who used to do TFP many years ago. While some models worked with him, none of them respected him or his talented work. He was perceived to be a schmuck who could not be taken seriously. A true friend of his (a girl who was not a model and had nothing to gain by taking advantage of him) sat him down one day and told him the truth: That models were taking advantage of him for services that common sense indicated should cost SOMETHING at the very least. The photographer woke up and started charging for his work. It took a couple of years to shake off his reputation of being a free shooter and work that was harder than it should have been. He is now a major player, commands a high level of respect, and makes a respectable amount of money in the modeling industry while doing what he has always loved to do, and models treat him very well.
This TFP controversy can be solved easily. TFP photographers can quit being chumps and stop underselling themselves. They will earn the respect and the pay that they deserve, as well as work with genuine professional models.
There are some professional photographers who make a living by charging for their services and are concerned about the market being corrupted by guys with cameras and aspiring photographers shooting “models” for free. I wouldn’t worry about it. From what I’ve seen, perceived value keeps everything in check. Most professional models who are serious about their careers do not go the TFP route, and if TFP photography were really a threat, TFP photographers would be swamped with work. This is not proving to be the case at all, and the market should balance itself the way it should by creating separate markets of the haves and have-nots.
Did you know that most people outside of the modeling industry automatically assume that model portfolios are an investment that cost money? Take some time and think about this. People who think that TFP’s are the way it is done learn this misconception from others, and often it plays on the greed of people who think that they are entitled to something for nothing. Any business professional that you ask outside of the “modeling” industry would laugh at they suggestion that they could become a professional in any career without making a reasonable investment into services from professionals who make a living doing what they claim to do.
As for me, I don’t trust or respect any professional who works for free. It’s not a profession if it isn’t a real career (career=income and respect). It raises too many questions for me to take them seriously, and this is how it should be. Models who want to insult a photographer should contact them and ask them to give them free portfolio pictures. I guarantee you will piss off any working professional photographer with an inquiry. If the photographer chuckles and wants to do TFP anyway, the model should ask themselves if it is worth it and really wonder about the motivation. I’d have to wonder about their self-respect, and would wonder if there is something wrong with their work. Most models would walk away, and I don’t blame them.
~ Model Monica Stevens, Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor

I Know What You Know.

You are not fooling anyone. Tampa Bay Modeling is the same as Independent Modeling. It is set up the same way that they used to be set up like. I will be watching you. If you say the wrong thing or attack anyone, you may end up getting your butt sued off.
-Nicolas

We are different sites. I used to be on Independent Modeling’s staff, but now work here at Tampa Bay Modeling, although I am still a freelance contributor to that site. When I was over at Independent Modeling, we did assist the models at Tampa Bay Modeling with starting their site, and both sites do use the same web development company. I can assure you, however, that both sites are different and are staffed by different models and industry professionals.
As far as your tactless legal threats, we are not concerned. We will be fighting ideas, scam patterns, and industry misconceptions. We will not be firing allegations at anyone. The burden of proof that we are talking about anyone will make a legal case very difficult. Even if someone could prove that we were referring to them, could they prove that what we are saying is not true, especially when they cannot possibly know what witnesses we retain or what evidence we have? Those who take legal action against us for helping the industry may find such evidence out in the open, along with specifics. We are sure that no one would want that.
Watch us all that you’d like. If you don’t like what you are reading, ask yourself why you don’t like it. The solution is really very simple. If you are doing something wrong, recognize it and stop. Learn how to do what you dream of doing legitimately. Learn the professional skills that you need to work in this industry. Don’t sell yourself short, and know what you are worth. Stop lying and using deception to trick people. More importantly, stop lying to yourself. Not only will changing your ways help to make an industry a better place, but you will earn a living while feeling better about yourself. Imagine how great it will be to stop being insecure about your profession and to actually be able to respect yourself and the rights of others? That could be you in the mirror smiling back.
~ Model Monica Stevens, Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor

Scam Fighting?

Not again. There are already too many model scam fighting sites on the Internet and idiots spewing conspiracy theories and all sorts of vile venom. Please tell me that this potentially useful model resource isn’t going down that tired path. Why don’t you help people instead of slamming them? Why are you calling your site a raptor, too? Is it some jacked up way of trying to intimidate people? It’s not working!
Stick to being positive or no one will take you seriously.
-James

James, we are going to stay positive. Well, for the most part.
We’re no supporters of model scam sites that seem to be set up to make libelous accusations against anyone. As a model, I find those sites cluttered and useless, especially when many of those accusations are difficult to substantiate with credible facts. As a professional, I find such sites depressing. At least balance out the negativity with some positive information.
We are not going to be like that. We will post positive information and professional tools designed to cut through modeling industry misconceptions, expose the behavior patterns of model scams, and attack ideas with better ones. We are not set up to attack people in the modeling industry. Yes, we may expose problems, but unlike those other scam-busting sites we will also offer solutions to those same problems.
It’s not the model scams that really have to worry. I would say that model and talent agencies should worry. What we teach models to do on this site really works, and enables the freelance model to book work without an agency if they choose to.
By the way, a Raptor is a bird of prey, and because our site is set up to fight misconceptions and aggressively introduce superior alternatives to the old, tired way of doing things in the modeling industry, the visualization of an Eagle or a Hawk circling high over a field of old rats and other vermin is quite inspiring and fits.
It doesn’t matter if some do not take us seriously. Those professionals who actually matter will. We take our modeling careers very seriously, and that’s exactly why we choose to think for ourselves while other models are blindly led by agencies who may not have their best interests in mind. By thinking for ourselves we enhance our opportunities to book work and actually have a huge advantage over other models.
~ Model Monica Stevens, Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor

Models Who Diss Agencies Deserve What They Get

These models thinking that they can book work without an agency and photographers telling models that they can book model jobs without an agency are the ones that are screwing up the industry. The people who want to do things on their own don’t really know what they are doing, and are in over their heads. People who reject professional advice and arrogantly do as they please are the ones who fall for model scams, too. Models who try to go around the professional way that the modeling industry is set up deserve what they get, and only have themselves to blame when they don’t work in the industry.
I am an agency booker in Tampa Bay, and I thought that you models would like to know what we think. We think that models who try to book work on their own are jokes. They provide much humor for us in the agencies. We work hard booking the professional models who play by the rules while filing away the freelance models into a file cabinet for humor fodder. Ever hear of a Christmas file? That’s where agencies put snapshots of amateur models who aren’t worth representing go. We pull the files for a quick laugh, and that’s also where we file the troublemakers who try to make a hard job more difficult. Agencies are not inclined to work with people who try to scam their way around the rules and the way the industry works.
By the way, who are you models? I looked on your staff section and don’t recognize your names and cannot find any pictures of you. It would help if we knew who to weed out. On second thought, you probably don’t have pictures up for a reason.
Give up. You cannot win.
-Jay

Jay? I don’t know of any bookers named Jay in any Tampa Bay model and talent agency, either.
I do, however, fully expect bookers who now find themselves competing with models for the same jobs to get pissed off and write letters like yours. Get snaked out of any model print jobs lately? Did any art directors tell you that they won’t be booking your agency controlled models because they already found professional models on their own?
Who cares what you think. You no longer call all the shots in the industry, and are now struggling to compete against the very models who used to depend upon them for jobs. The controls and manipulation tactics of the old modeling industry no longer apply. It’s called capitalism, baby, and businesses no longer have to depend upon agencies to get top professional models, either. We find each other without the conflicts of a middleman and save those agency fees in the process. Everyone wins but the agencies who cannot adapt and compete. Can’t manipulate models that you have no leverage on, can you? Many bookers in the shadier agencies find the nightclubs and their beds lonelier these days, too, and that’s sure to make anyone bitter. Well, that is, except for the models who are no longer taken advantage of. By the way, that’s not me or any of the models here. We are all good with playing both the old and the new industries. Model and talent agencies actually adore us, and our favorite bookers give most of the go-sees to us because they know that we book them. We also get work on our own, too, but are tactful about it. It doesn’t make much sense to call up our agencies and rub our freelance bookings in the faces of our bookers, does it? Likewise, we don’t send bookings to bookers so they can “protect” us from possible scams. We know what we are doing and refuse to do the bookers work for them. Would bookers respect us as professionals if we did their work for them and they realized that we were out here looking for work on our own and then were too dumb to figure out if a job was legitimate or not? Of course not! That would backfire, too.
You don’t know who we are. Too bad. Get over it. We make your agency money sometimes, and we will save you from yourself and your short-sighted ways by not being stupid enough to tell you who we are. Now, if you can excuse me, I will call you tomorrow and you can book me into another modeling job. That is, unless I haven’t already booked it on my own. Have a nice day, kind sir, and thank you for all that hard work that you are now forced to do as you work for the models.
Agencies today are working conflicts-of-interest. A friend of mine made a brilliant point lately, and I’ll say it here. While, on paper, it makes sense to have agency bookers working for the model and selling them to prospective model jobs, what’s the point if those same bookers are also selling our competition? It doesn’t take a genius to realize that models ultimately compete against other models represented by the same model and talent agency, and that’s a blatant conflict of interest for any professional model. I would love to have salespeople selling what I can do, but if they are also selling my competition, than that is a problem. Fortunately, I don’t kiss ass and am a professional model who bookers tend to respect from the moment that they first meet me. That’s gives me an advantage in agency politics, and the conflict of interest doesn’t hurt me as much as it could. To me, model and talent agencies are only one of many tools for me to obtain leads for go-see’s, and I don’t depend on them as a major source of the jobs that I book in my modeling career.
Feel free to write again, Jay. I look forward to what you might have to say. I’ll knock your booker-ass to the pavement every time you try to start a debate that you cannot, and will not, win. Show respect to the professional models who make you money when they don’t scoop your job leads.
~ Model Monica Stevens, Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor

Portfolio Networking Blues

Hi there! I’m Samantha, and I am a new model looking for TFP to build my modeling portfolio and modeling web sites to join. Can you help me by recommending photographers and web sites?
-Samantha

Hi there, Samantha.
I have an answer for you. It’s no.
Do yourself a favor and invest money in the portfolio pictures that you need for your career. You will save a lot of headaches and time. Would you trust a doctor or a restaurant of they offered you anything for free? Of course not! You would justifiably wonder what the catch was. Even if there was no catch, can you honestly say that you would respect what they gave you even if it was good? Stop, think, and realize that there are no shortcuts that will not ultimately cost you more in the long-run. You cannot cheat your way into anything that is worthwhile.
As for portfolio networking sites, don’t bother. They are filled with TFP photographers, pornographers, con artists, and aspiring models looking for a free ride into a competitive modeling industry. You only get out of something what you put into it, and there are so few genuine professionals on such sites that it isn’t worth the bother to try to weed them out. Look for a professional photographer or photography company with a professional web site. Those are the same photographers who charge reasonable rates for photography services, and they can actually HELP you with your modeling career. For suggested fair rates, see RATES.

Well, that’s it for this mail bag. It is really, really good to be back, especially since it is on a modeling site that is optimized to assist the Tampa Bay market! Check out next months topic below, but feel free to write about anything that is relevant to modeling and the modeling industry.
~ Model Monica Stevens, Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor

HOT TOPIC FOR MAY 2006
Are model and talent agencies heading for extinction?
E-Mail us and let us know what YOU think!

E-MAIL: TampaBayModeling@Yahoo.Com

C/O Monica Stevens, Mail Bag Editor

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