The Problem with Blogs . . . .

. . . . is that you have to continue to write and update them!!  Been a while since I posted but I had a good laugh this morning and wanted to share.

Some may know or have seen that I have been trying to shoot a LOT of fashion lately for practice to be able to put together a separate portfolio to take to agencies.  Well today, after going thru a ton of email that I received I found an old message. It had the requested information, photos, etc and phone number.  When I want to work with someone, it requires that timely phone calls are made and accepted.  This response was from Jane (a fake name I am using here to protect the stupid) and had the phone number, so I called it and explained who I was and why I was calling and I hear "Click".  We've had bad storms here so, OK, phone problems?......I'll call again.  Second time went right to voice mail so I waited and tried again. It rang the obligatory 3-4 times, went to voice mail and I left a polite message that we were disconnected, and left my number.

5 minutes later, my phone rings and I answer to hear no one there until I asked for the 2nd time "can you hear me?"  Well it was Jane and she said "STOP CALLING ME, I'M NOT INTERESTED!"  Taken by a flashing moment in my mind thinking, SHE was originally contacting ME, I responded "You first contacted me with your number.. have a good day."

Listen here people!! . . . Don't answer a casting call with all the correct, requested information if you are going to go off the deep end like this.  I just got a good laugh and moved on. There are plenty of good professional folks out there but too bad you have to wade through the piles of people whose elevators do not go to the top floor.

I have heard from many models about the creeps out there and I know there are some less than credible people out there in all areas of this industry (just like any other industry).  So a word of advise, if you want to succeed - learn to effectively communicate in all forms of today's communication technology.


Nuff said.... Have a great day!  Someone I know well always says "Attitudes are free - why not take the best one?"

People Skills Required

More cameras, lenses, gadgets, & huge studios won’t make a model relaxed -

your professional energetic and fun attitude will.

I have the pleasure of renting my studio to a photographer who’s business is mostly photo journalistic editorial weddings. His background is world-wide journalistic news work and he brings that style to weddings – HIGH end weddings; weddings of the rich who fly the entire wedding party, family and guest to exotic islands. In the “off season” he brings his talents to Ford and Factor agencies in Chicago.

This professional has real people skills. As I write this he is working with a new 16 year old model sent to him from Factor Women (formerly Elite). His assistant, the makeup artist, and hair stylist are helping.  His energy is contagious and he’s hopping around demonstrating some moves…and I learned from him to tell the model to forget about “posing” but “just move”.  His chatter is positive and constant.  The air is full of the following phrases:

·         Nice nice nice

·         Beautiful look there

·         Oh that’s good!

·         Sell me that jacket!!!

·         Excellent!

·         Attitude! Just slouch into position!

·         Oh I like that a lot!

·         Enjoy – you are living the GAP life – sell me those jeans!

·         Awesome - perfect

·         Kick back that foot, no your left foot, no no your other left!

·         I like what you just did with your hair, pulling on it a little…

And the list goes on. The exact phrases really don’t matter as long as they remain upbeat, say what you want, and learn to be able to belch out several phrases that crescendo to an end without stumbling! ENERGY!  My point here is that he is connecting and feeding energy to the model.  I see a lot of photographers that struggle with this and the atmosphere is dull and unexciting.  Guess what?  It shows in the gestures from the model.  Your chatter needs to be not over done, but fun and professional.  There cannot be any inappropriate comments or innuendos.

How do you as a photographer learn this??  First off, I don’t believe anyone can multi-task, I just don’t.  Therefore when you shoot, you should be thinking about one topic – communication with the model and getting the shots you both want.  You must have an unconsciously competent technical knowledge of your gear and lighting. If you don’t and you are worried about and fixing things as the shoot goes, it’s a major road block of communication between everyone involved.  Get the set ready before the shoot and if you want to make changes in lighting and set, make the changes to ones that have been tried and tested and successful.  

Try this approach and over time you’ll see a big difference.

Lil more about "Playing House"

I hope those only guilty of playing house THINKING they are much more than that, get what I am saying. There is nothing wrong with playing house if you understand you are doing it for fun and as a hobby and not expecting much more out of it. What is unfortunate are those that really think they are top notch and don't understand their true status in the business.

For instance, I had a woman answer a casting call for agency quality, 5'8"+, dress size 2 fashion models. She said she was 5'3" and 165 lbs. and didn't skip a beat in saying "I would work well for their "plus size" division." (Need I explain that?!)

It happens in many industries/business - for instance, let's say you played a musical instrument in school and high school.  You were average in ability, had fun, built confidence, met new friends, stayed busy and didn't have time to get into trouble because of your activity.  Unfortunately there were always those average high school musicians that thought they should catapult immediately onto Carnegie Hall's stage.  They were playing house.

So those of you knowing where you truly stand in the business and partake because of your your own grounded reasons, I applaud you.  

Are you still "playing house"?

It finally hit me. This industry is filled with those "playing house" and those that have grown up and are in the real world, or industry.

So many enter this business as a model because "my parents and Grandma have always told me how beautiful I am." or you think it's an easy gig because you are good looking.  You are still "playing house".

"Playing house" is shooting with average-at-best photographers, doing lots of shoots, thinking that modeling is all about YOU looking good.  Sorry, but that is not what modeling is.

I think a pretty good definition of a model is someone that can sell a product or service, in print, video or audio.  You draw attention to whatever it is you are selling by your looks and gesture but you have the ability to transfer the attention off of you and to the product/service.

When you quit playing house, you'll be able to move upward.

"Instant" Model - "NO TFP!"

I recently put up a casting call looking for some models (male and female) to shoot some fashion in the studio to benefit our portfolios.  This is commonly done with each party trading their time and skills and not being paid - images are the "paycheck".  Both photographers and models will do this to step outside the box and learn.

So a 26 year old model replied. Basically here were her "requirements" (which I call ignorant demands):

- I am looking for a great professional photographer to jump start my modeling career.
- travel to me, in Orland Park.
- if I have to travel to you, make sure you are within 20 minutes of Orland Park.
- I will waive my rates and you can pay me with images.
- Send me a link to your website so I can verify that you are a real professional.
- I must have a CD of ALL images immediately after the shoot.
- I will not sign a release.
- I must have at least 4 edited photos per look and location within 7 days of the shoot.

Oh brother!  Even new people in the business will look at these demands and scratch their heads.  This individual has no clue as to the business and how to try to start to become a model on any level.  Too bad the internet and some modeling pages have been an enabler to these newbie's.  Sure, open up a modeling page on a free site or social network, have a few pictures taken by GWC's (Guys With Camera), post your rates and sit back and wait for the $150,000 modeling contract. Yeah, that's how it works isn't it?

Manager or Agent?

I've been a model manager since 2004 and want to clarify the difference between the two.

If you are serious about becoming a model, get into an agency.  You should not have to pay anything to join, if they want you.  You may have to pay for professional photo shoots, comp cards, hard copy portfolio etc. "Monthly web maintenance fees" charged by an agency is not illegal and they are looking to recover some expense.  However, there is one agency that I know of that charges approx. $25 per month to represent you.  I called them and asked what they charge as commission when they find a model a job, their response was they don't take a commission... 100% goes to the model.  Well, I did the math - adding up all of their locations across the county and guestimating how many models/actors they had, the total income came up to an unbelievable number.  I doubt that they have much drive to really get the talent jobs when there is no incentive to do so.  Another situation with this particular agency was they sent up pretend companies and job fairs to have the agents send talent to so the talent felt they were getting go-sees to attend.  I know this because I worked with a model that actually had worked with them, and she was the one that set up these "companies".


Find an agency, but do your homework.  Go to the "Open Calls". Go to the open calls repeatedly - they will start to recognize your drive and persistence.

A true manager will be the one that works behind the scenes. Advising you on which opportunities to pursue and reviewing the information and jobs that your agency offers.  In the beginning, your manager will do a lot of advising to get you going on the right path, and you need to have some "blind faith" in what he/she tells you about the industry.  A model should have a manager especially if they are new to the business, but then after a period of time, the manager won't be as active if the model has nothing going on for them to manage.  A manager IS NOT responsible to find work for a model, however, a manager probably knows a lot of people in the industry, and may be called by clients to recommend talent, so a manager possible can offer employment, but don't expect it.

Why some photographers do not like managers:  Sad but true, there are a lot of unscrupulous photographers out there. They don't like managers because a manager will un-do some of the false information they tell talent.  Some photographers will really stretch the truth to the model to get what ever it is they trying to have the model do. Unfortunately, the reputation of some photographers is that they are very unprofessional with lewd comments and are after more than just good images.  A lot of these "photographers" (and I use the term loosely) don't allow chaperons at a shoot because of the same reason.  Always have other people around with you at a shoot.

Use your head and normally your gut feeling and first reaction is probably true.

Questions? Topics?

As I post, the topics may be out of sequence and seem random. Well that's because they are. Once again, this is my way of putting this all on paper so I can attract a Ghostwriter.

SO....... if you have any questions or topics you want my views on, comment here or email me at mark@creativeimagesmm.com

Need to know business?

I think so.

It’s the ‘ol right side of the brain (creative) vs. the left side (analytical) contest.  Can a creative photog/model/MUA etc. market themselves?  Sadly, I have seen the answer to that question is that most of the time, they cannot.  Ah ha! That’s where agents and managers appear – to help guide the “artist” to succeed.  (More on agents and managers later – that could be an entire book itself!)

My life has been a constant battle of my right and left sides of my brain trying to beat the other.  All the way through college and beyond, I was a musician. Yep, one of those band geeks learning to play trumpet in 3^rd grade.  It caught on, I loved it and performed to the best of my abilities.  College came along and I went to VanderCook College of Music for my Bachelor’s of Music Education degree.  I think I excelled – Sophmore year I landed lead trumpet in the Jazz Band and continued to play gigs around Chicago, then taught High School for 5 years…

Left side took over when I needed more money to start a family and buy a home.  I got into sales and at around age 26 and became Rookie of the 1^st Quarter at Toshiba.  I continued for the next 20 plus years in major accounts gaining customers such as Coca Cola in the Midwest as well as Rush Hospital.

During my sales career, I continued photography and eventually open my own Photography and Management company (Creative Images & Model Management) and helped many models with business.  I write this blog today in order NOT to pat myself on my back, but to give some credence to my blog entries regarding the business side.

More later…

Levels of competancy

Over the years, in whatever we do, we all go through the learning process of the following:

Unconsciously incompetent:  This is where we don't even know what we don't know.

Consciously incompetent:  Once the "journey" begins, we start to realize the vast amount of information we don't have a grasp on yet.

Consciously competent:  At this level, we can now do the tasks if we think about the process, what we have to do and how to do it.

Unconsciously competent: This is the best level to be at and is the most rewarding.  We can do the job/tasks and excel to the top without thinking about it - you are just correctly reacting and winning.  One danger here, this is a level that we can become and remain stagnate.

On that 4th level, in order to grow, you need to step outside of your comfort zone, even when you are successful.  When doing so, you may become unconsciously incompetent again, which may be scary to some.

I'll relate more of this in later blogs when it comes to photographers (and models) regarding the industry.  Why do SO many "models" start out, do shoots and really never take it anywhere else?  There are several answers.... stay tuned.

Bullet points about the industry - do's and dont's

Tasty bits of information about this unique industry and the photographers, models, stylists, make-up artists, hair stylists,

and everyone else that grace it…

-       Mark Niemi

(Not in any particular order)

·         Respect time.   Be “in time, because “on-time” is late. Cancellations are a no-no but if you must cancel, give all parties plenty of advanced notice and don’t come up with excuses (I’ve heard them all!) -  tell the truth. Call if you are running late, even if it’s 5 minutes late.

·         Have fun!   If not it will show in your images.

·         Huge egos.   Got an attitude? Check it at the door. If you are VERY good at what you do, be humble.

·         No Escorts.   After shooting people for more than 25 years, I really cannot come up with a good reason an escort should not be allowed to attend with a model. This could be a red flag, and a reason for caution. However, an escort should remain quiet and out of the way unless asked to help by holding a reflector etc.

·         Be humble.  It goes a long way. Give credit to everyone involved in a great shot.

·         Don’t over use Photoshop.  Photographers that do, are not helping the model if they are looking for real commercial work. It’s not a good idea to use those for casting calls either. However, I totally respect Photoshop artists and wizards. 

·         Pay your dues.  You are not a model just because you found a guy with a camera and opened up a Model Mayhem (or similar) page.  You have not earned the right to shoot a few times then publish what your “rates” are.

·         Invest in your career.  Models will buy designer purses for $400 but won’t invest in their career and join highly professional portals such as OneModelPlace.com.  Also both models and photographers alike may have to pay the other to improve your skills by working with someone that is more advanced than you are.

·         Three components of a photo.  1.) Lighting (the photographer’s duty) 2.) Composition (again the photographer’s job) and 3.) The most important: Gesture. This is the model’s job.  Be an actor and put yourself in the mood of the moment and don’t fall back on that “deer in headlights” look.

·         A great shot is a group effort.  Bravo to the Models that bring ideas to the table and help plan a shoot.  Having a concept in mind is a great thing to discuss with the Photographer, MUA and others involved.

·         Be versatile.  This goes for Models and Photographers – until you make it big in a specific genre, show that you have a lot of versatility.

·         Quality vs Quantity. In your portfolio or on-line galleries, show only your best work that you think others will think is quality too. Limit the number of images you post that are similar. If you shoot in a hat and scarf, and received 80 images of that look, pick the best ONE to use.  A client wants to quickly get a good look at your many styles and not have to wade through 10-15 images of basically the same look.

·         Don’t latch onto only one industry partner.  Models, please shoot with many photographers. Having only one or two photographers that you are comfortable with makes you unmarketable. A client probably won’t hire you if they don’t see that you can work with lots of photographers of all kinds.

·         Tear sheets.  The absolute best portfolio is one that is filled solely with “tear sheets”.

·         The hand on head with elbow out.   Not many models can pull this off and why would you want to?? What percentage of advertisements poses a model in this manner?  Not many at all.

·         Don’t repeat yourself.    If you have a modeling page on OMP or MM, when you set it up it allows you to select the styles of work you want to do.  If you don’t want to shoot nudes or any other specific style, note that where the sites allow you to make the selections and then don’t spell it out again in capital letters in your description.  Photographers, if a model does not check off the category that says she/he will do nudes, don’t message them asking so.

·         Photographers that shoot nothing but glamour, lingerie and nudes.   Models, I would think you want some of this in your portfolio, however, you are probably better off shooting with  versatile photographers that can give you many quality styles.

·         Image Contests.   If you enter your image into any kind of contest – picture of the day, model of the week, or any other hundreds of other “contests” don’t fish for votes.  If your image is of real quality, you don’t need to beg all your friends in your email address book for votes.

·         Communication.  Remember that thing called a phone? Use it!  Email and texting is a great way for quick communications, but shouldn’t be used for setting up details.

·         Know the law.   Everyone involved should understand and comply with USC Section 2257 and understand any releases used.  Don’t get caught “with your pants down” in the future.

·         Model’s, YOU are the boss.   Discuss and understand the content/concept of the shoot prior to it.  Don’t allow anyone to pressure you into any shots that you are not totally comfortable with.

·         TFP/TFCD/TF*   Make sure all parties involved in the shoot understand approx. how many images will be distributed after the shoot and in what time frame they should be expected.  My policy is that everyone will get at least a few images, retouched, within 24 hours, if not sooner.

·         Who can alter images?  Generally, the photographer will be the only one that will alter/retouch images.  Model’s and others – don’t mess with the images unless you get permission first.

·         Media.  It’s a great idea to have a USB thumb drive with you at a shoot. They come in very handy sometimes and an 8 gig drive can be purchased for as low as $15 these days.

·         Smile or no smile?  Whatever market you are in, go to the websites of major agencies and look at the model portfolios to see what styles are most prominent.  After all, if the commercial world is buying these looks, you should pattern yourself after it, unless you want to remain a hobbyist model/photographer.  Being a hobbyist is perfectly fine, but if you really aspire to be in print commercially, study the market and get help from those who know the market.

·         Get a website!  This shows you are serious and an email address from a domain name other than gmail, yahoo, aol etc. is much more professional looking.

·         Hard copy portfolio.  Keep it updated and understand how many, what kind and what order the images should be inserted.  At a casting call/go-see, you have less than 10 seconds to impress with your personality and portfolio.

·         Be patient.  Becoming a success as a model, photographer, MUA, stylist etc. takes time, effort and hard work. Get yourself out there in as many ways possible to get noticed.  Getting lucky is “where preparation meets opportunity.”

·         Agency Open Calls.  Most of the time, agencies that hold Open Calls prefer you to dress casually.  No baggy clothes or have skin tight fitting clothes either.  Wear clothes that allow your figure to be seen – jeans and a tank top is good. Women get your hair off of your face and wear very natural make-up if any.  Clients and agencies want to see the “natural you” so they can see what they have to work with.

·         “Mug shots”.  An agency or client likes to see mug shots. A clean headshot is a must and a full body front shot, ¾ length front shot, profile and full length back shot. No posing, no distracting backgrounds.

·         Social networking websites.  Sites like onemodelplace.com, istudio.com, modelmayhem.com, facebook.com (to name a few) are great tools to promote yourself. Be careful that you don’t give out too much information. Remain safe at all times. 

·         Google phone number.  Google now offers you “Google Phone”. Go on-line and apply for a totally new number, in any area code and select from available numbers. This number is forwarded to any phone of your choice and the caller will never know your real number, until you call back and it’s displayed on Caller ID. It also offers features like voice mail, voice messages texted to your phone, voice messages emailed to you, etc. and it’s all FREE!

·         Travel.  If you travel alone and accommodations are provided, it’s just good sense to stay at a reputable hotel/motel.  If the room has been pre-paid and the client hands you a “key” for your room, go to the front desk and request a different room. Rarely is a hotel totally full and even though they may not want to give you a different room, insist on it.  Don’t stay on a ground floor and don’t stay at a motel where your room has only outside entrances. You want to be as secure as possible. Don’t accept accommodations that could possibly put you in harm’s way.  It’s best not to travel alone.

About me: I graduated college with a music education degree and taught HS band for 5 years. I went into business to business sales in 1985 and successfully sold business equipment for 22 years to major accounts.  My photography started in HS as an elective class. I was amateur/hobbyist for years then since approx. 2001 I went semi-pro and pro in 2004 when I opened up Creative Images & Model Management. With the turn of the economy recently, I am back in sales during the day and am still very active weeknights and weekends with photography. My goal always has been to help others become better and to understand what kind of road is ahead of them in this industry. I’ve worked with many major corporations and some of the models I have guided have become extremely successful in their careers, mostly due to their drive and a little help from me.

You may contact me at 630-730-9451, mark@creativeimagesmm.com, onemodelplace.com (member #8742),

 modelmayhem.com (member #377892), facebook.com/markniemi.

I'm finally understanding the photography/model industry

I've debated on when and where to write comments.  I've been a photographer for many years and have met hundreds if not thousands in the business - models, photographers, makeup artists, stylists, web masters etc.  There is a real distorted vision tht most people have that are IN the business as well as an unnecessary bad perception of the business from people that are NOT in the business.

I am starting to formulate my vision based on years of dealing with this all.  Most of it's positive although the bad belly side of the biz is somewhat disgusting.

This will be a start to a book. This will help me think it out in the beginning stages of relating experiences to others.

Stay tuned..