OMP-any advice for me?
 

So I created an OMP account last night and woke up to like 7 different photographers in the LA area that want to shoot with me. I'm usually pretty picky who I shoot with, it's always someone I know or my friends can vouch for..
Any advice you guys can give me to weed out the fakers and the creeps from the serious photographers?
A lot of them want to "shoot me for their portfolio" and I'm thinking Are you going to pay my rate just so you can put some pics of me in your portfolio?!
and some are like "artistic nude" photogs, not XXX, which I CAN do, but it's not really WHAT I do, ya know.

what could go wrong?

yeah sleep with them all. the ones that call you back are serious.

LOL..any real advice?

Go with your first statement, and if your friends don't know them, research the photographer. Interview them. Ask them for referrals -- with direct contacts.

Or get yourself an agent. Yea, you're giving up 10%, but with that comes some peace of mind.

Some.

:2 cents:

beggars can't be choosers

My advice, fuck OMP, use Model Mayhem.

who the f said I was a beggar? LOL!

Well I would assume the same thing would happen to me at Model Mayhem soo...

Yes, but its much easier to check references on them etc since its a community.

Look at their portfolios and credits as a photographer. Learn what makes a good photograph better than a bad one and you will find out what makes one photographer better than another.

Absolutely. Good photographers now they can enhance their portfolio by working with good models. A model that knows how to do his/her job can make the photog look better, just like a good photog can make your portfolio more appealing.

Sinclair

Ask for model's references.

talk to the photogs on the phone. its the best way to size up a person. & use a prepaid phone to protect your personal info.

ill take the pictures for free! lets set it up

google "photogs name + stalker" and if their are results give him a call you should be good to go.

Thanx for the advice! I have been lucky enough to work with a couple really great photographers and those are the pics that I always go back to when looking for promo stuff, you are def right about that!
So if their pics kinda suck, they prob aren't worth shooting with?

good idea;) I think I'm a pretty good judge of character so I will most def do this! *67 fo sho ;)

Yeah, portfolio - they can do that.

fix your bot

I've had some girls tell me about the "I'll shoot you for my portfolio" shit and it's usually a waste of time.

Especially around here - the "seasoned" or "known" photogs charge out the ass for them to take your pictures, and the ones that will do tfp are not worth talking to.

Might as well hit some people up in your area about shooting the content you are comfortable shooting, maybe work wtih some people who are new to the industry, just starting out, or are getting back into it?

Whatever you do, be careful. There are some weirdos out there.

My guess is those are also the photos that are getting you the most work and exposure as well. If there pics kinda suck and as a model you kinda dont suck its probably not going to produce anything worthwhile.

wurd. *I* don't need any pics for my portfolio, I have thousands of pics LOL! and I have plenty of photographer friends I can and do hit up when I need content shot. I was just putting a line out there to see if I could get any paid shoots from real photogs, but out of all of the messages I've received, only one seemed like a "real" photographer, and on his profile it says "I DO NOT PAY MODELS!" LOL!

If you're ever in Scottsdale hit me up I'll shoot you *and* pay you. Just bring me a diet coke and I'll be happy.

sounds like me.. cept I'm not a photographer and it would be a diet coke with fresh lime.

Aali..... first and foremost stay true to your genre and your purpose. If you're looking to do new stuff really soul-search and come up with a plan for where you want to end up with it. Just like there are tons of models, there are tons of photographers. Some can help you, many will just use you. Draw from your friends and contacts in the industry when researching....

and **Don't Settle**

I'd just go with Eddie Coates and Donny Long, real classy nice guys.

I got weird looks for about 3 months when I was buying 2 (20 ct) cases of diet coke a week at circle k, now they just understand LOL.

I like the fresh lime too but as long as it's cold I'm good.

LOL!!! best response yet.
When Eddie found out I was shooting with AMA Joe he sent me a bunch of really nasty emails and I Was like WTF?! Leave me alone! IDGAF! I now put those 2 guys in the same category too ;)

you want to shoot me sometime?:) I had no idea!! hehe

Good advice - I t was good seeing you in AZ - how was the race?

What kind of content are you looking to shoot?

Aalyah, my wife was a witness in a murder case from OMP, Definitely do your background check on these guys. They are mostly perverts that want to exchange Photos for your book and their portfolio so they can get free pleasure.

They are not all bad, but do your homework and never go to a shoot alone if you have never worked with them before.

I used to use OMP when I shot, it;s pretty easy to weed out the fakes, i'm guessing your not interested in artsy crap for their portfolios, I would just put in your bio looking for paid assignments and you'll also get a good idea of the photographer from their work. if their work sucks, you probably don;t want to work with them.

I'm not in Scottsdale, nor am I a photographer. But I'd shoot you *and* buy you a diet coke. With or without lime. :winkwink:

This is kind of an odd approach but what the hell...

This requires some prior knowledge but... In the past I have hired a variety of developers across many languages and sometimes languages popup which are so specific that I may not know how to immediately glean if someone is competent. What I did was contact some industry professionals, who knew more than I, to get some templated questions and answers. That way I can talk to someone on the phone during an interview and drop these questions out that seem like I'm very knowledgeable. If someone on the phone balks at a question, I just need to be able to realize that they are back peddling... I'll have a roundabout answer to base my conclusion off of to tell if they really do at least know _something_ that's more indepth...

This won't weed out the photographers who really know what they're doing but it should at least help weed out some of the trash :)

Long answer and I know it's in a completely different setting but I think there's at least something valuable in there you may be able to use to your advantage.

Best of luck!

You've been in this game long enough to spot the obvious creeps off OMP, if you can't get a manager

My girl gets jobs off of OMP. I weed out 99% of the creeps just by calling or emailing the photogs and asking for specific directions to the shoot so I can make sure to get her to the shoot on time. The creeps loose interest in "working with her" really fast. :1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh You have a BF yes?

It was great to see you also. The race was a blast. Thanks for inviting me. There's a few pics up on my FB.

um yeah..I think I'm going to delete my OMP account. If I'm looking for paid gigs in the industry I'm working for, I'll just come to GFY or ask around.. I've gotten so many bullshit emails that are clogging my inbox already it's retarded. Here's the last email I wasted my time on:

hi, thanx for checking out my profile! I'm new to OMP but not new to the industry, I've been doing this for 6 years now:) So what kind of shoot would this be and where would it be located? Do you have any model referrals that can vouch for you? I usually charge $750 for a day of shooting. Please let me know:)

I am in Los Angeles and yes - I do have a couple of model references. What would $750 cover?

Well what kind of shoot did you have in mind?

What are your limits as far as explicit erotica?

Well most of my work is solo with some g/g. I do a lot of masturbation scenes, stuff like that. I don't do b/g, fisting or peeing. You can check out my site www.aaliyahlove.com to see what I usually do. I will only work with photographers that are professional and not creepy/pervy:) But I was wondering what YOU had in mind.

I only work within a model's preferences, which is why I asked. If you would have a look at my porftolio below, you would see that this is so.

Nice portfolio! You have some great shots in there.. If you could be a little more specific and tell me what kind of shoot you had in mind for me, I will let you know if it's something I'm willing to do or not. If you see my site, you would see I basically do most solo stuff.. I can't list it all for you, and I already listed what I'm NOT going to do. I can't seem to get an idea of what you want from me because you won't tell me, so we can't possibly set up a shoot.

I need to know exactly what the $750 entails. What are you willing to do and not do?

forget it.

I wouldn't want to work with someone who has a bullshit diva attitude like you anyway - I'll spend my money on girls who are beautiful on the INSIDE as well as outwardly, not on "damaged goods" such as yourself.

You're a fucking pig and you just lost a potential client. Fuck off.

Please stop emailing me.

OMP is a scam, they took my credit card info and charged it without my permission, then they could never be contacted so I could get them to refund me. I had to cancel my credit card because the guy that runs the site is a thief. Don't take my word for it, just google his website.