A few weeks back I wanted to shoot a triple portrait – I put up a casting call on Model Mayhem and within a few days I had two girls who looked great together. My third model (Sasha) was recommended to me by a friend. I was in constant contact with all the girls, coordinating schedules and figuring out a day that everyone was free (which was no small task since I also had to take into consideration the schedule of my MUA). Now, it’s about 36 hours before the shoot and I contact all the girls (via email or text) to get a final confirmation. Sasha is the only one to respond. I started to panic – I mean, the whole point of the shoot was to create an image with three people in it. I frantically start emailing models I’ve worked with previously to see if anyone was available short notice, to no avail. Finally, the next day I heard from Bethany (who lives in San Diego), who agreed to drive up to LA. I felt a bit better but I still only had two confirmed models. At this point all I could do was have faith that at least one of the other models would show up.
The next day Veronica and I arrive at the location at 10am (which was the call time for the first model). An hour goes by until Sasha shows up at her scheduled call time (Bethany didn’t have a scheduled time as she was driving from San Diego). Now here is where I rant a little….I HAVE ZERO TOLERANCE FOR FLAKES. Models, if you contact me wanting to shoot and you go through the whole process of scheduling a time with me, why flake out? If you wake up the morning of a shoot and decide “I’m just not feeling it” at least be mature enough to call or text or email me and give me whatever lame excuse you thought of while you were laying in bed. If I believe your excuse, there is always the (very) slim chance that I’ll consider working with you again. If you choose to flat out flake on a commitment, you have ensured that you and I will never work together. Not only that, but if your name comes up in conversation with regards to a colleague’s shoot (be it a photographer, make up artist, hair stylist, wardrobe stylist) you can be sure that I’ll let them know you’ve flaked out previously – and not because I’m malicious but because I wouldn’t want them to get screwed over by a non-reliable model. OK, END RANT.
At the end of the day, I tried out a simple lighting setup I had been thinking about, I took some awesome photos of Sasha and Bethany (both of whom had amazing wardrobe) and we accomplished the triple portrait, albeit taking some liberties with the idea of what constitutes a person…
