Hey everyone, I just want to make mention of a few things regarding my first hand dealings with Dean...
As many of you may know, I am the one who deals with the photography end as well as major content purchases (among other things) for our site Twistys.com. I deal with many talented photographers *more than 40* and with 1,591 models in our Twistys database and 600,000+ images, it is inevitable that we are shooting many of the same models as our competitors in any given week or month.
With that said, I'd like to make a few comments specific to Dean and the shoots he has done / is doing for Twistys.com.
With regards to Dean's integrity; I don't know what he says to our competitors (about Twistys) but I do know what he says (and doesn't say) when he is shooting for us. I can say with confidence that Dean has never once mentioned any specifics about models or shoots regarding competitors, to me. I ask Dean for specific things to shoot and he nails it. He doesn't throw in extras or 'special' shots I do not ask for. Sometimes this makes me wonder if he could be doing more for Twistys... however, I have to commend Dean for keeping each client separate. I know he is doing different types of shots from time to time for competitors because I see it. When I ask Dean "Hey you didn't get (this type of shot)" his reply is "You didn't ask me for that specifically. Sorry Beth, send me a sample of what you want and I'll do my best to get it next time." This proves to me that Dean is not throwing around our competitor's signature shots just because he becomes good at delivering what they are asking for.
Another thing, Dean has never once offered up a model he shot for someone else, to me. In fact, on many occassions I have asked Dean to book a specific model I met at a show or found on another site/modeling agency site or found on a single model site... but Dean refused more than once. Why? His answer was simple (and I quote) "Well Beth, I don't feel comfortable calling _____ because I just shot her for one of your competitors last week. However, if you have or find her info, contact her. Have her get in touch with me and I'll see if I can book her for next month. I am sure you understand why I won't contact her now, I don't want (competitor name) thinking I am trying to offer up their girls to Twistys. I'm sorry." Now naturally, this made me a little red in the face. First, I didn't know he shot these girls for someone else and I really didn't care. Secondly, I had to go and dig up her info and go through the back and forth, and make the date happen. But again, I have to respect how Dean handles business while workng for so many people in the same niche. I have to respect his decision NOT to call her because he shot her for another site, last week. This is one of the reasons why I continue to work with Dean, not because he delivers consistenly good content but also because he is honest and he doesn't bullshit me. He never 'dogs' any of our competitors either so I assume he is not doing it to Twistys. This is the sign of a good business person.
With all this said, I have Dean doing some extra things for Twistys that I know he's not doing for other sites. Given the competitive nature of our industry and the fact that Dean works for so many paysites, I am pleased with the way Dean handles himself and feel comfortable working with him. I know he's not out to use our 'secrets' to benefit our competitors and I believe he is not using other sites' secrets to specifically benefit Twistys.
