I was browsing over at ModelMayhem, and I submitted my zip code, and searched for models within 5 miles. I live in a very small village, so I was surprised to find 1 male, and 4 female models within(I would guess) 5 minutes from my house. All of them actually looked like models, and not somebody that had a "dillusional" view of themselves. My question is how legit is MM, and what do I do once I join, wait for someone to contact me, or do I start contacting them. When I was on the "go-see" list of the big modeling agency in the mid-west, I would always wait for the model to contact me. This set-up is quite different, so please tell me how you people handle it. Thanks.

Jon.

it' s a really good website, those models there are really friendly, some even pose for free. I know alot of photographers on there who started out w/ that site before,
good luck J

Think of it as MySpace for folks involved in the world of modeling (or are wannabes). There are no rules. If you see someone you're interested in working with, drop them a line. It's not an agency or organized directory: waiting for people to get in touch with you won't get you very far. And just a note: the MM community tends to take the "Mayhem" part of the name seriously, so don't get too hung up on protocol.

Thanks Gene and Simon. Like I said, I live in a very small village, yet found 5 people who I would actually like to photograph. As I expanded outward to a range of 25 miles, I did find quite a few who have no chance in hell to be a model with a legit agency. When I checked photographers, for every one that I thought was really good, there was at least a dozen who were real hacks. There were a few MUA that were really good too.

Jon.

A couple years ago in college, before I picked up a camera, I briefly considered modeling and put up a profile on MM. I did a number of shoots with several photographers... 2-3 were great, one seemed to be only slightly above GWC level with a fetish for college guys, and one was certifiably insane. It's like any other group.... winners and losers interspersed across the board. Your job is determine the signal to noise ratio and filter out the garbage.

A substantial amount of the work that goes back and forth on MM is TFP or TFCD. Great for both the budding fashion photog and budding model. Just lurk for a bit to get a feel for the discourse there and then jump right in, offering TFP shoots. You'll get plenty of responses, even in a small town. As you say, there are 5 potentials right in your zip code.

One thing I would caution you to be aware of is that the "models" there (and some photogs as well) are notorious for being total flakes. Don't invest a serious time/money commitment into a shoot until you've done at least 2-3 shoots with the particular model in question to get a feel for them. Heck, I did it once as well.... I was feeling a little under the weather and slept right through a scheduled shoot, even though I'm generally very punctual and organized.

Jonathan, thanks. One of the girls within 5 miles of me is already on the "new talent" list with the major agency intown. She said in her bio that she was a senior in high school, and after looking at her pictures, I swear I see this girl everyday when I go to pick up my son at school. She also has the same last name as one of our friends, although I know all of his kids,-maybe a niece? The other funny thing is one of her model "friends" on the MM "friends" section of her page has the same last name(very uncommon name) as another one of my friends-maybe another relative. Hopefully these other connections will prevent the "flakiness" from occurring.

Jon.

I have had very good luck with MM. We have gotten many models, MUA and hair stylists from there. We still do some TFP when we want to try something new and MM is just perfect. Don't be affraid to contact the people they won't bite. If you do shoot, make sure that you get them to sign a model release first thing and you will be set. Here is a link to my MM profile, it has been successful getting models in the past.

http://www.modelmayhem.com/member.php?id=98878

Phil

I use MM for models and mua whenever the need arises.

i've used it for about 2.5 years and it's been pretty good but remember ymmv -- i've gotten some good contacts with boths models and mua's but i've also had some people totally waste my time, but the good for me has out weighed the bad....here's my profile:

http://www.modelmayhem.com/member.php?id=32585

I use it quite a bit and have had no flakes at all.
Reading the forums, however, shows that there can be a high flake rate. Usually this seems to correspond to what you, as a photographer, have to offer. If the photog has rather generic shots that don't drive a lot of model 'desire' then they tend to get flaked on more.
So its also about being selective about the models you solicit... make sure they mesh with your style.

I agree with the flake warnings. I've been using MM for a number of years. I've organized a few group shoots from it and they've gone well.

When organizing any size shoot I ALWAYS overbook my models, and it works every time - but be prepared (with the MUA, hair and concepts) just incase you get a full house.

Along with mcphotog (Donnie Moreland) I also use the alternate (free) website Shootnotes in an attempt to help with the flake issues. In the future we'll be able to rank and search tallent to see who has vouched for them.

Most of my shots in my port are from MM tallent .http://www.modelmayhem.com/member.php?id=102615

I agree with the flake warnings. I've been using MM for a number of years. I've organized a few group shoots from it and they've gone well.

When organizing any size shoot I ALWAYS overbook my models, and it works every time - but be prepared (with the MUA, hair and concepts) just incase you get a full house.

Along with mcphotog (Donnie Moreland) I also use the alternate (free) website Shootnotes in an attempt to help with the flake issues. In the future we'll be able to rank and search tallent to see who has vouched for them.

Most of my shots in my port are from MM tallent .http://www.modelmayhem.com/member.php?id=102615

Well, I was finally approved. My MM # is 593166. I've never seen so many girls that want to take their clothes off

Well, I was finally approved. My MM # is 593166. I've never seen so many girls that want to take their clothes off

MM is a great place, you can definitely find some diamonds in the mess of everything. They have forums over there, sometimes there is some useful info over there, most of the time its just fun to read.

I use it a lot and I shoot all TFCD and find lots of models interested in doing this to build portfolios.

Not a bad place at all.

How long does it usually take for a profile to be approved?

Edit: Nevermind, according to some posts on the MM forum, looks like it can take weeks.

Weeks, really? Wow. When I signed up, probably a couple years ago now, it took maybe 2 days. I think the site's really grown at a ridiculous rate and the volunteer moderators are having trouble keeping up.

I generally stay away from the forums, except some of the tech and technique areas - the makeup artist areas can especially be useful. But everything else tends to be pretty unruly, lots of lords of small fiefdoms with too much time on their hands.

Still a great way to find models, though. I'm in London for a client next week and had a couple of free days, so I'm shooting three MM models while there and had offers from a number of makeup artists as well.

It took me about 9 days to be approved. It is a fun site. There are a few excellent photographers there who are very helpful, but like Simon said, there are quite a few photographers, and models who seem very delusional when it comes to there abilities.

Jon.

JDeV wrote:
It took me about 9 days to be approved. It is a fun site. There are a few excellent photographers there who are very helpful, but like Simon said, there are quite a few photographers, and models who seem very delusional when it comes to there abilities.

Jon.




I've been waiting over 3 weeks to get "approved" and was told it was due to the 5400 users in que waiting with me....

Finally got approved and received a few "tags" from models. What is MM etiquette regarding tags? Is it standard procedure to "return" a tag? Or just accept it as a friendly hello? Thanks,

And if you're done lurking through the mayhem the other site is omp
http://www.onemodelplace.com/

swampcat wrote:
And if you're done lurking through the mayhem the other site is omp
http://www.onemodelplace.com/



Mayhem is much better and FREE!

OMP is absolutely awful. I'm letting my membership lapse this year. The flake ratio is three or four times higher than MM, the site doesn't require members upload any images to activate their membership, there's minimal screening of members and activities and is generally the domain of wannabes. OMP has a larger member base, and might be worth taking a look at if you're in a smaller market and don't see any local MMers, but otherwise I'd just skip it.