photogs and content shooters in here..
 

Last week i had a no show model and i am sick and tired of it..yes i guess it happens from time to time. but i want to eliminate as much as possible and want to ask the good folks on this board if they have experience with having contracts issued and have the models sign before hand where it will cost them say $2000 to no-show. Does this minimize the no-show, anyone ever had luck collecting no-show fees ? How about agency models, is there a problem to get the signature from the models from an agency ? My objective is not to make money on collection no-show fees but rather to minimize no shows..

No shows are a frustrating part of the biz , the best you can do is become more sensitive to signs when talking to the model this can cut it down but it will never go away.

happens quite often - I am afraid there is nothing to do with this

I always have a female assistant helping me ($100.00, cheap). Part of her job is to walk the model step-by-step to the shoot.

This starts with phone calls a few days before, reminders ... no tanning beds, nails done to our specs. Night before call covers shaving, etc. Morning of shoot, reminders about no socks, panty and bra lines, sit on a soft beach towel to avoid seat lines on back of legs, etc. Also offering to meet model to prevent air-heads from getting lost .... bla, bla, bla.

This all really only takes 10-20 minutes total but tends to avoid last minute cop-outs, grooming nightmares and b/f problems. Makes the model participate before the shoot ... :2 cents:

I hard sell them... and make them sign a contract.

what are your terms and did you ever request they refund you according to the terms ?

Have a back up model. When doing custom shoots I use only girls who's agents are on the ball and don't let their girls flake.

that cintract would be unenforceable. Your best defense is good pre shoot screening. Stay in touch in with the model and make her contact you 24 hrs before the shoot or it dont happen.....

haha I had to go meet a model yesterday that we've shot like 8 times, but she missed the exit somehow and got lost. So I made her sit where she was then follow me once I got there.

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

We've had pleny of experiences with no show's... it's a little less when dealing with agencies because the agent will ride their ass to get to shoots in a timely fashion, and usually if an agency girl doesn't show, the agent usually waives fees on future hires.

The biggest thing to help curb it, is constant phone contact prior to a shoot.

Unfortunately, no-shows and flakes are a part of the biz and you just have to plan for it and accept it.

Making models sign contracts before a shoot is a waste of time as well... unless you want to try and drag them all into civil court over it... and by that point, it's just not worth it.

Are you paying these girls? If so, are you paying them well? Are they experienced models, or random Myspace girls playing "model"? If its an experienced model being paid well, you will VERY rarely get flakes.

Try shooting in the Midwest, Indiana to be exact.. Hard as hell to get the girls here to show or return calls and emails. If they do show they're usually an hour or so late..:mad:

Yes I pay and i think well..i prefer to shoot models not from agencies as those girls are already "overshot"..atleast for the amateur market, by the time they get signed up with an agency, most models are already 20 shoots or more into their "career". I always talk to the model the evening before to stay in touch and confirm all, often i call again in the (not so early) morning to make sure they are out of bed getting ready.
I was hoping a contract would help the problems but from these replies it does not sound likely..

It's part of the biz. Mainstream is just as bad.

Don't care who they are or what they are doing, people are flakes by nature. Models just seem to be a little more so.

Posing for porn is a big decision. No one should be forced into it.

This is a far out notion, but it works for me.

I only hire people who actually want to do the work.

If you have to talk a girl into it in ANY way, she's a possible no show. I've gone as far as to send girls home because they weren't comfortable, because I personally don't like it when I have to tell them 6 months later when they have a new boyfriend that their photos are already published all over the internet & no I can't take them down.

I don't have this problem any more now that I deal with pro models from agencies but I used to have this problem all the time when I hired amateur models. I solved it when I gave them 3 choices.

1. Pay a $100 deposit and get double that back when they showed up. Yes it costs me an extra $100 but it's worth it to know she'll show up.
2. Agree to be held liable for all film crew and location costs if she doesn't show up. This would be a bugger to enforce but at least she thinks twice about not showing up.
3. Leave something of value as colateral which she will sacrifice if she doesn't show up. Usually a watch, ear rings, ID, etc.

Giving them 3 choices they'll at least find one option agreeable. Most pick the third option. The ones that balk at this are the ones that will flake out anyway so might as well weed them out now.

I am with you on that 100%, I am not the type to be spamming 18 yo on myspace to get them to model. I only contact models who have their profiles up on the adult job boards or those who contact me based on my advertisements.
For most shoots, there is no time to do in person pre-interviewing, a phone call usually suffice. So I cant hold their watch hostage...
It sounds like I need to do little better pre-shoot filtering and based on that, get a notion of the possibility of a no-show and if high chance, double book a model to make sure one shows up..

who flakes the most ? the girls or the boys ?

just wondering ?

It happens like 5 times a month to me,u need to have flexibile buyers and to have replace model always on stand-bye:)

Never the boys.. they are even very understanding when you gotta call them to inform they will not be shooting later that day.