Mia Turquoise Image wrote:
Just curious as to why most portfolios of model who clearly are updating their instagram are choosing not to add at least one new photo to their Model Mayhem portfolio. 

Question to photographers/:  Does it help to see pictures of models 10 years ago, if they do not look like that today?

I often ask models to send a recent picture.
It's super difficult to not have current looks to make a determination on.

Mia Turquoise Image wrote:
Just curious as to why most portfolios of model who clearly are updating their instagram are choosing not to add at least one new photo to their Model Mayhem portfolio. 

Question to photographers/:  Does it help to see pictures of models 10 years ago, if they do not look like that today?

Is it really a good idea to start complaining and bashing model's habits as your first post?  As suggested, ask for an up to date selfie. 
But go ahead, rehash a issue that has been done to death. Show 'em what a pain you are to work with.

MoRina wrote:
Because it's a waste of time. In order to upload new pictures a model has to delete old pictures. On Instagram you can just keep uploading new pictures and everybody sees all your good stuff on a timeline. Also on model mayhem you have to resize pictures to get them to upload. Then they are all marked mature by default and you have to go back in and edit that for the "safe for work" images. Then you look at your portfolio and you realize you have to rearrange it because of the way landscape and portrait images look grouped together.that process isn't simple either. And images here aren't searchable with tags. Pointless.
Just look for a model's Instagram or website link on her model mayhem page so you can see recent pics. Hopefully you can easily see if they're still working and shooting.

ALL THAT. ^^^

Plus they are focusing on this useless app that censors everything. It forces you to go to the web to access a portfolio (that forces you to 'find' the 'worksafe mode') that barely shows kneecaps practically because of "app store rules"... then someone using the app might not ever see your message if you reply from the web.

MoRina wrote:
Because it's a waste of time. In order to upload new pictures a model has to delete old pictures. On Instagram you can just keep uploading new pictures and everybody sees all your good stuff on a timeline. Also on model mayhem you have to resize pictures to get them to upload. Then they are all marked mature by default and you have to go back in and edit that for the "safe for work" images. Then you look at your portfolio and you realize you have to rearrange it because of the way landscape and portrait images look grouped together.that process isn't simple either. And images here aren't searchable with tags. Pointless.
Just look for a model's Instagram or website link on her model mayhem page so you can see recent pics. Hopefully you can easily see if they're still working and shooting.

You are correct on all counts. I post on Instagram 5 to 6 times a day stories or posts or reels. Model Mayhem does make it more difficult.

Mark Salo wrote:
Of course photographers want to see up to date images. If models would update their portfolios, this site might not be so dead.

Models seem to expect that we will wander all over the internet to IG, FB, etc.

Also it helps when models and photographers credit their images under the pictures.

Goes both ways since many photographers have their own websites etc.

MM has been dead, and the interface really isn't that excellent to quickly post something new or rotate new pics as pretty much any other instrument out there is nowadays.

Why struggle with the obsolete when clearly, you do wander to IG and FB to find fresh meat.

Tony Lawrence wrote:
If you are a serious model and or one asking for payment its critical that you display current photos of yourself.  Well, Tony you have old photos here.  True but I'm not a model.  My current weight and appearance aren't important.   Because I'm not a model.  Having newer photos is especially important if your look has changed Sure, IG is great to post on and has no photo limits but its still a good idea to keep your portfolio up to date here.

I don't pay for this place anymore so I cannot physically upload any current work. I have mostly looked exactly the same for the past 10 or so years - thanks genetics. I do link a picture of my current body on my profile and I have zero problems sending current pictures to photographers via email. There are other options.

Jazmine Maureen wrote:
I see now you must "upgrade" in order to add new photos so I think that adds to it

You're probably right but I thought the free acct allowed 15 photos. So if you have 15 photos, to update you'd need to delete some or upgrade to a payed subscription to have more than 15 photos.
John

John Silva Photography wrote:

You're probably right but I thought the free acct allowed 15 photos. So if you have 15 photos, to update you'd need to delete some or upgrade to a payed subscription to have more than 15 photos.
John

I tried deleting one picture, but still could not upload a new image.

Liv Sage wrote:
... I can send them a link to my IG. I can't send a link from this site unless they also have an account...

You can easily change that by going to your settings ( https://www.modelmayhem.com/mystuff#/settings ) and changing the Profile Privacy to Public by clicking the 'edit' button on the right side of the screen in that row.

As for the rest of your reply, it seems that's pretty much the way most other MM members are dealing with things. MM has simply become Instagram's landing page.  It's been brought up MANY times before by MANY people including myself and even came up with a bunch of easy fixes that would eliminate those problems which I wrote about behind the scenes and then publicly, but nothing seems to be changing.

Liv Sage wrote:
I update IG more regularly and not here because I get hired there much more often.

How do they find you?  Do they come to your Instagram page from another site?  How do I know if one is a model when looking at their Instagram page?  Do they work TF? ... paid only?

Liv Sage wrote:
Even if I'm working for local art groups, I can send them a link to my IG.

Here (on MM), you don't need to send links.  Folks looking for models of your type at your location can easily find you with a search or with refined browsing.

How does someone find a model of your type and location on Instagram?  Are models measurement's listed on Instagram for wardrobe stylists?

Liv Sage wrote:
I can't send a link from this site unless they also have an account - and most of them do not.

Not sure what is different on Instagram.  Others have to have an Instagram account to receive your Instagram DMs.

In fact, you are probably not aware, but one can't even look at an Instgram page for more than a few seconds before getting blocked, unless one is logged into Instagram.  I am not a member of Instagram, and I have to use an Instagram-viewer website to view Instagram pages.  It's a hassle.

In contrast, anyone can directly view an MM profile without having an MM account, unless a profile is set to private.  Additionally, an MM member can view nudes -- not sure if that is possible even for Instagram members on Instagram.

Like Instagram, you can  send links in DMs on MM.  You can also put links on your profile and send a link to your MM profile via email, text, other sites/forums (such as Instagram), etc.

By the way, your MM profile is set to "private," so one has to be logged into MM to see your profile.

Liv Sage wrote:
I also use my website and link it here.

That's good.

Liv Sage wrote:
No point uploading photos regularly if I can simply link the other sites, and that's where Im getting paid gigs anyway.

A lot depends on how much competition there is for a casting.  If other models of the same type/talent have recent photos on their MM profiles, I am less likely to go to another site to see updated work from a model with no up-to-date photos on MM.  Again, it's a hassle to have to go through an Instagram viewer site.

It couldn't hurt too much to update one's MM photos every so often.  Suffer a little MM difficulty so that you don't create a hassle for prospective clients.

The Other Place wrote:
How do they find you?  Do they come to your Instagram page from another site?  How do I know if one is a model when looking at their Instagram page?  Do they work TF? ... paid only?

This is the mystery to me.  No one has ever been able to explain to me how exactly one actually finds models or photographers on IG.  Can't search by location, etc.  I do not want to spend time networking.  I want to find models I want to photograph who want to pose for me and then I want to photograph them.  I do not want to network with the whole wide world.  I think the main appeal of IG is that it is a great way to get attention even if it is not a great way to get gigs.  Plus, people seem to live on their phones.  Who (other than a few ancients like me) uses a desktop computer with a big bright screen to look at pictures?  If you can't hook up through a phone, forget it.  All the suggestions that MM become more social are on the wrong track because it will never compete with IG or FB or whatever.  But wouldn't it be nice to have a place where models and photographers could easily find one another?  MM was, and in theory still could be, that place.

Ivan123 wrote:
All the suggestions that MM become more social are on the wrong track because it will never compete with IG or FB or whatever.

Yes.  Furthermore, anyone casting a photo session is likely not interested in having to go through Instagram posts on your trip to Bora Bora nor do they want to see your thrift store purchases.

Ivan123 wrote:
But wouldn't it be nice to have a place where models and photographers could easily find one another?

What a concept!  ... and not just photographers and models, but also include MUA's, hair people, designer's and wardrobe stylists, etc.  ... and, yes, even retouchers!

Ivan123 wrote:
MM was, and in theory still could be, that place.

MM is far from perfect, but it still is the best forum for collaborating on photography projects.  Not sure why/how models think Instagram works better in that regard.

G Reese wrote:
Is it really a good idea to start complaining and bashing model's habits as your first post?  As suggested, ask for an up to date selfie. 
But go ahead, rehash a issue that has been done to death. Show 'em what a pain you are to work with.

I don't interpret OP's post as a complaint -- it seems to be an honest question.

Brooklyn Bridge Images wrote:
Miss Sarah nailed the answer in 1st reply.
People dont bother with this place anymore.

No doubt, telling us that is the reason why you and @Model Sarah are on this site.

The Other Place wrote:
No doubt, telling us that is the reason why you and @Model Sarah are on this site.

I got SUPER tired of the censorship on IG and the fact that even when I did everything right to censor on there, I simultaneously did everything wrong. I was late to the IG game for a reason. (Before Covid) this place worked for me for 17 years - yes I have been here that long. It just did. I never understood how/why IG worked for pro models and (any) photographers - especially those of us that travel unless you had a massive following. You don't need that on here. It is purely networking. But again, popularity/attention wins at the end of the day I suppose. *shrugs*

I mean for fucks sake, even famous people like Barron Claiborne and Terry Richardson were on here at some point to find models which is how I worked with both of them!

The Other Place wrote:
How do they find you?  Do they come to your Instagram page from another site?  How do I know if one is a model when looking at their Instagram page?  Do they work TF? ... paid only?

I have no idea how they find me. But in any case, though it might be more difficult to find me on IG, more people are hiring me there. So the 'how' here matters far less to me than the result - that I'm getting hired. Might be easier to be found on MM, but if people aren't hiring you, then who cares quite frankly. I get hired on IG, so I'll care more about it.

The Other Place wrote:
Here (on MM), you don't need to send links.  Folks looking for models of your type at your location can easily find you with a search or with refined browsing.

I may not need to send links. But the art groups I model for don't even know what Model Mayhem is. They know what instagram is. If the art groups start using MM, then I'll utilize it more often as a way of working with artists. If they also don't use instagram, then I'll send them a link to my website before I send an MM link. I never send MM links unless expressly asked for one.

The Other Place wrote:
How does someone find a model of your type and location on Instagram?  Are models measurement's listed on Instagram for wardrobe stylists?

I don't know how they find me all the time. I'm guessing they've often photographed another model I know or they follow photographers who work with me. And I post travel notices there and can tag locations. I have a website that is linked on all my social media pages with very clear measurements and current look descriptions.

The Other Place wrote:
Not sure what is different on Instagram.  Others have to have an Instagram account to receive your Instagram DMs.

More people have instagram than MM. By far.

The Other Place wrote:
By contrast, anyone can directly view an MM profile without having an MM account, unless a profile is set to private.  Additionally, an MM member can view nudes -- not sure if that is possible even for Instagram members on Instagram.

I have my website, with nudes, linked in my instagram bio. Anyone who sees my profile can go to directly to my website, see all of my current  work, measurements, booking info, and send an email through my contact page. I have my MM account set to private because I actually don't want it showing up in google searches for me. I want my website to be the main way people book me.

The Other Place wrote:
A lot depends on how much competition there is for a casting.  If other models of the same type/talent have recent photos on their MM profiles, I am less likely to go to another site to see updated work from a model with no up-to-date photos on MM.  Again, it's a hassle to have to go through an Instagram viewer site.

I rarely bother with castings here. I mostly use this site to occasionally get photographers to my website for bookings - or I will answer messages here. I don't tend to use the website for much beyond that - though prior to 2020 I used it a lot more (and had a larger portfolio here because of that).

The Other Place wrote:
It couldn't hurt too much to update one's MM photos every so often.  Suffer a little MM difficulty so that you don't create a hassle for prospective clients.

It might not hurt. And if I was regularly using the site to get bookings, I'd bother a bit more with it. But at this point, with how dead it is, I'm not seeing why I should upload images here regularly. It's a landing page for my other pages. If the website picks up and I start seeing more activity here, I'll bother.

And I actually wish it wasn't so dead here! It used to be a really great way to find lots of people to work with. I don't think it needs to compete with IG as a sort of social media tool, but a few updates every so often would be nice. The location search is a huge part of why it is useful, so focusing on that would be good. But when barely anyone seems active on here and the vast majority of bookings come from elsewhere, it makes more sense to focus my efforts on those sites as opposed to this one. I'd actually prefer this site be busier. But it's not. That's why a lot of models don't bother much with it anymore.

A lot of us also have quite a client list. I don't necessarily have to use IG depending on the city - I can just text or call people to get bookings as I've been working with them for years. Even IG cant compete with that.

Ivan123 wrote:
I have fooled around with IG, I even googled "How to find photo models on IG" and basically the answer is you have to scroll through literally thousands of photos and send endless DMs and hope.  It sounds like many, many hours to make a single connection.

I think what a lot of photographers do is follow models they already know/like. Then they follow models and photographers that follow that model/that model follows. They also follow other photographers in their area - so they'll see who those photographers are photographing. Some of the models they are photographing are bound to be locals. Some are traveling models - most put up travel notices when going to a particular city.

When you're on IG, you'll also be suggested profiles. Some you'll like, some you won't. Sometimes you get recommended too many profiles (I now follow far too many yarn and quilt IG pages for this reason lol). But in any case, they will begin suggesting profiles to you based off of the ones you're following. This also helps.

Searching for location isn't likely to yield great results because, like you said, there are going to thousands of useless results. Search by hashtag - #washingtondcmodel, #dmvmodel, #richmondmodel (adjacent cities are good to look at too), #baltimoremodel, etc.
Not all models use hashtags - I don't - but many, especially newer models, seem to use them as they're just starting out.
Also, following various art groups in the area can be good. Not all models who pose for art classes will pose for photography, so it's good to be aware of this. But occasionally they will.

Also, if you share photos with models and post regularly and tag the models, they will often share the images. If not to their feed, then in their stories. You do a lot of nude work, but I think a lot of the more contorted images, detail shots, and back photos would be fine by IG's censorship standards. If models are sharing the work, this will often cause models who follow them and work in the same area to reach out to you.

Twitter is also an option as it's more lenient with nudity. Models tend to not be quite as active, but you can easily post a link to your twitter in an IG bio so models can access that and see the rest of your work. A lot of the models now are barely using MM, so while it's good to keep a page here, it's also worth using the websites they're using.

I understand the frustrations a lot of photographers here might have with models not caring much for updating here, but those same girls are often now a decade younger than me. They do not care if "oldheads" (I'm using it endearingly) are mad about what websites they use. If photographers want to photograph these young women, well...they might want to learn how to use IG lol. I didn't make the rules, I simply abide by them (sometimes).
I think you understand this, but I've noticed quite a few photographers here seem content to rail on about these young women and how they won't update here. I can promise these guys that they may not like what I'm saying (I don't much like the situation either), but if they want to photograph young women (and clearly they do), best get with the times! I'm sorry. I'm the bearer of terrible news. But the 22 year olds, I assure everyone, do not care a whit that MM has "better search functionality." Sometimes, we do the things we must do, that we very much dislike, in order to attain the desired outcome - photographing young women in this case.

Weapon Outfitters wrote:
The era of the professional traveling model booking gigs via MM is kinda... on the way out.

Not in my area. It was slow during Covid but the Travel/availability notices for my area are always at least 1 full page and often two pages.

Even though I am unable to shoot any longer, I still get messages from models who are traveling through my area on a Tour. and also from Models who know other Models I used to host.

IG and FB may have more up to date images, but neither has a place for a model to list her Stats and what Genres she is looking to shoot.

G Reese wrote:

Is it really a good idea to start complaining and bashing model's habits as your first post?  As suggested, ask for an up to date selfie. 
But go ahead, rehash a issue that has been done to death. Show 'em what a pain you are to work with.

Thats a pretty harsh and uncalled for response

Photographer12years wrote:

Thats a pretty harsh and uncalled for response

No, that's the common consensus around here.

Thick skin is recommended when dabbling in the business of rejection.

Mia Turquoise Image wrote:
Just curious as to why most portfolios of model who clearly are updating their instagram are choosing not to add at least one new photo to their Model Mayhem portfolio.

Modelmayhem is dead like many other model websites. And frequently models here ask me to move to Instagram as well. I don't like it. But there is nothing I can do about it. Modelmayhem is the better website.

Mia Turquoise Image wrote:
Just curious as to why most portfolios of model who clearly are updating their instagram are choosing not to add at least one new photo to their Model Mayhem portfolio. 

Question to photographers/:  Does it help to see pictures of models 10 years ago, if they do not look like that today?

There is another reason for not seeing updates.  The models are doing 'private' work with some of their MM photographers beyond the work shown here. Collections done by these photographers .  Sometimes they shoot a few thousand erotic and explicit pics in a weekend, pay big cash for the model, and then group them up for sale at other sites in bundles of 30 or so pics for various costs depending on the content.  None could be posted here in a profile, as it is all too explicit.  I think the most explicit pics found here are those of spread leg close ups that often are daily 'winners' of the POTD.
Maybe a pic of a girl holding a toy, but never showing finger play or insertion of anything allowed here
    .  I found out the hard way for one model, when I did a simple google 'search' of the model screen name.  I figured to just find links back here to her MM profile. But no, there were links that led to more links indirectly and sure enough as suspected; the result was a history of big time porn.   Apparently just started a few months before she stopped posting updates or returning any of my messages.  That went on for over 6 months of no coms and few uploaded new pics.   Lots of explicit videos from a variety of 'film making' companies and then being sold by some distribution center.  Shocked the hell out of me, as she led me to believe she was never going to do 'hardcore', no Patreon, no Onlyfans type of work or pages in her plans.....Such is the world of modeling and where you can make the most cash.

Brett Hunt wrote:
Did not think this place could get worst but I guess that is what I get for thinking.everything is marked mature now even fully clothed . I have not loaded an image in a long while till today and they said five fully clothed images needed to be marked mature. Not to mention I rarely book models here anymore. This is no better the tumb lr now

I believe that all photos uploaded are automatically marked M but YOU can uncheck any photos that you don't think need that designation.

Nat the droid wrote:
Once my introductory VIP month runs out, I'm not really planning on using this profile as a main way to find work. It's foolish that MEMBERS CAN'T EASILY MESSAGE EACH OTHER UNLESS THEY'RE PAYING CUSTOMERS but not much about this site has ever made sense.

To add insult to injury, members not being able to message each other unless "friends" or paying customers was touted as a NEW AND IMPROVED FEATURE when first rolled out. No, really. "Basic members can now send unlimited messages to friends!!!"