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AUGUST 2006

New Format

INTRODUCTION BY MODEL MONICA STEVENS

Hello everyone! I am finally back from by working vacation in the Carribean, and now that the August is halfway over and they are throwing a new mail bag format at me, this mail bag will be a little small, especially since my September mail bag is due on Friday, September 1, roughly two and a half weeks from now (It is 1 AM on August 14 as I write this, and it’s just me, a cricket just outside the open bedroom window on my Hyde Park balcony, a warm breeze, and a bathrobe... I really need to get to bed soon.... God, love that full moon out there).
For now, let’s get this mail bag going. As I begin, I would like to thank French Fry. His letter, as always, brings a smile to my face, and as I wind down from my delayed flight back, I needed it (what in the %^#$ is going on with the airports the last few days? Oh, yes, those silly terrorists and the typical overreaction by everyone- Do they really think that we are any safer with everyone acting stupid in the airports?). Oh, well. I am back, I had fun, and it’s back to work on my favorite mail bag job.
~ Model Monica Stevens,
Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor

01. Letter Of The Month: The French Fry talks about the Tampa Bay modeling market.
02. Will we fight Tampa model and talent agencies?
03. A model named David and his unique bed (again).
04. Another allegation that we are some sort of model scam.

LETTER OF THE MONTH

The French Fry Talks About The Tampa Bay Modeling Market.

hi monica,

If you have some questions for me,please feel free to come to inteview us in the studio.
I can shoot you with your new bikini in the same time.
Anyway,I cannot speak too much because we are a kind of concurence somewhere, no?.

tip of the day:
"beleive in yourself"
its not enought in this business,

80% of the models in these agencies NYC ,Paris,Milan are from East Europe,why?
because they are nice looking,survivors,ready and open to do everythings.
this is to be a model.
the girl Annabelle from you mailbag she will see the reality show "live", we will have fun.

Photographers in this area:
they do what they have to do like everywhere else,
you have the serious one like your Greg and couple more and me of course, and those who want only see the crotches for free! and wishes to date some babe.

I agree with you about this TFP things, its an horror for us but what we can do?

If I am in the top ten (photographers in the Tampa Bay market)?
we are doing our job , we don't try to do art B.S ybor city style.
its not our purpose.

ex Casting director:
he was a nice guy but the style to see the camel toes if you know what I mean.
Anyway,we have a nice acting teacher now. He is gay, like that we are quite a bit!

Internet stuff:
I like you why not (I kiss ass) but the others like one model place etc...are just to collect the models who cannot be models and be contacted by sticky photographers and parties guys who are behind.

that's it for now
kiss of the dragon
(I hope you are not a boy like I tought you was in the begenning)
By the way , couple years ago one guy from I. modeling call me and ask me to sleep with my wife. you don't hear about it?
- French Fry, a photographer from Clearwater Beach, Florida

Hi French Fry! I am back! Aren’t you happy for me?
I found myself thinking of you during a bikini modeling shoot last week in some really blue water off of a Carribean island. I couldn’t help but think of you photographing those swimsuit models in that modeling training video of yours that I saw with the bad music (did your DJ son do the music? Sorry. I didn’t like it). The island that the designer flew me to blew Fort Desoto away, though. Maybe I will send you some of my pictures when I get them back. The irony is that I got booked into that job just days after that New York fashion model Annabelle wrote us and rubbed her modeling career in our faces. I know that my gig was the better deal.
Regarding interviewing you in you studio- Well, Don’t you think that our readers want to see what you have to say? I think so, too. With the suggested bikini shoot, though, I’d have to send you my rates, but knowing that it would not be fair to you paying me out of your pocket just to add to your portfolio, wouldn’t you rather just let me know about the next catalog print job that you book and consider me so that we both make money? There are demanding little amateur models in the Tampa Bay market that have been praising the work of photographers and then proceed to cram their modeling rates down their throats when the photographer responds, and I hardly think that this practice is professional or fair. I don’t think that a photographer should pay a model unless the photographer is making money, too, as there are no models in Florida worth paying just for the sake of building a portfolio, especially if the model is way shorter than 5'7'’. Anyway, let me know when you book your next print job or runway show, and if I am interested I will send you a composite card and my resume so you can consider me.
Hee hee. Why did you think that I was a boy? Because I am aggressive? Before I hit puberty, a lot of people thought that I was a boy, too. Actually, I was a bit of a tomboy who liked to kick ass. If you look at me now, though, I’ve shaped up very nicely. I support a bikini like they were made for me, and I grew bored of bikini jams after I kept winning them. Sometimes, though, I wish that I could go back to looking like a boy, like the time when that evil sex offender photographer Mario was pestering me in the Ybor nightclub and he kept staring at my cleavage while he told me that he could make me a model and I kept telling him that I already was a model and to leave me the hell alone. That guy gave me the creeps, and I am glad that the bouncers kicked his ass. I am also glad that I got to throw a drink in his face, too. He really deserved it.
God, I love that story. It makes me smile every time that I tell it. Women can be aggressive, you know, but then again you already knew that.
Ok, regarding the TFP issue, let’s just say that it is being taken care of. When we get through with the Tampa Bay market, let’s just say that most models will stay away from TFP simply because they will be terrified of the potential for unethical motives. This will happen within the next year, too, which brings us to certain model and talent agencies in this market. Some agencies are not doing their jobs and we now believe that they are putting models in jeopardy, with a special investigation beginning on that “agency with many models” that you were complaining about. Let’s just say that it is in the best interest of Tampa Bay model and talent agencies to be professional and ethical right now. Check who you are associated with. Agencies that are doing unethical or illegal things will have to answer to the models who they represent. Do I trust these agencies and bookers? After some of the evidence that we just obtained, let’s just say that my confidence in the integrity of some agencies has been shaken. I am tired of being misled and lied to, and so are many other models. Maybe the Tampa Bay modeling industry would be better-off if some of these agencies simply closed.
Hmmmm..... TFP photographers and model agencies in the same boat? This is going to get good sooner rather than later. Here’s to widespread distrust of unethical professionals and unprofessionals and blatant suspicion regarding their motives. Here is to agencies complaining about the fear-mongering Tampa Bay Modeling web site and the models who will make them accountable for compromising the professional integrity of the models who they represent. Those who are doing wrong and think that they are getting away with it are in for a big surprise.
Maybe it is time that models put these agencies in their place. Are agencies really that important to models anymore? Maybe if you’re stupid, clueless, and want everything handed to you. Let’s just say that more and more models are booking work on their own, and this last print job that I just returned from was one that I booked on my own. It’s already started. The modeling industry has already started to change, and it is finally growing up as the limitations that other try to impose on modeling careers fade away.
Oh, mighty model agency, guide my career and save me from the misfortunes that can befall me! Please. Why not just ask the wolf to guard your sheep? Those who sacrifice freedom for security deserve neither. The future of the modeling industry belongs to the models who wake up and realize that they can manage and promote their own career better than any agency can, especially when a lot of agencies are staffed with minimum wage, unqualified bookers with a few days of training at the most when they are telling the models who they represent how to conduct their careers and what photographers to shoot with. Do these bookers model? Have the ever done professional photography? Are they really qualified to do anymore than pick up a God-damn phone and cold-call businesses all day? Most bookers can barely do that, and the sooner that model realize that modeling agencies are only useful as a source of go-see leads and not much more, the sooner that agencies lose the ability to manipulate and mislead models for their own gain at the expense of those models. You really have to consider the source when it comes to opinions or advice, and some glorified secretary working as a Tampa Bay agency booker has no business telling me how to conduct my modeling career when it is obvious that they have no clue what they are talking about and I am far more qualified to manage my career and make professional decisions than they are. In my opinion, the only booker in Tampa Bay who knows what they are doing is Matt over at Alexa, and he is the only one who has my respect. Well, him and Susan. Susan knows her stuff, too.
Ok. I’m done with my anti-agency rant. So, French Fry, you’re in the top ten photographers in the Tampa Bay market? We’ll see. Oh, and who called you about wanting to sleep with your wife? Is I. Modeling supposed to be Independent Modeling? If that is the case, I am sure that no one from there called you, as I was on their staff from 2001 until 2006, and even today I am a contributing writer and know everyone there. There has never been a single person at Independent Modeling who would do something like that. Independent Modeling is completely professional and no one would do that; the only thing that Independent Modeling did do was send large teams of models to the streets of downtown Clearwater in 03 to counter activity that they were monitoring and they occupied Ybor City in 04 to address a threat. Anyway, what exactly happened? That’s a bit weird for someone to call you and say that they wanted to sleep with your wife. On second thought, don’t most guys want to sleep with models? Maybe you should be flattered. Guys always try to hook up with me, but I have too much respect for myself to fall for that B.S. and put them in their place (like the big-name professional photographer that I just worked with. He knew his stuff, but kept hitting on me. I think that he got with the other two models, but he didn’t get anywhere with me and I left with him respecting me as a professional). Just because you’re a model or are perceived as being attractive does not mean that you are easy to access. There is much more to any person than how they look......... Hmmmmmm, here’s a thought: Have any models called to ask you to sleep with them? I’m just wondering if photographers have to put up with the same crap as models do.
While you’re bring up your wife, another question comes to me. Does your wife ever check out our site? If so, what does she think, and does she like it? The woman knows her runway!
Until the September mail bag, my friend.
~ Model Monica Stevens,
Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor

 

Will We Fight Tampa Model and Talent Agencies?

This web site seems to be posturing to slam Tampa model and talent agencies. Are they your target, and, if so, why are they? You should know that they are aware of this site and are watching you closely. A booker made a derogatory remark about Tampa Bay Modeling today and a model who overheard him got into an argument with him. It was a lively debate, and the model lost. You models always seem to lose. At least models seem to like this site.
- Tony from Tampa Bay, Florida

Hi Tony,
What would you expect model and agencies to say about anything that teaches models to do the job that they do? So, are we posturing to slam agencies? That may be the case, especially since models are beginning to find out what has been going on. Read what site editor and Clearwater model Danielle Cooper has to say HERE.
So, what is going to happen? It’s up to the agencies. So far, it is looking like they are making the wrong choice. It’s too bad.
As far as models losing debates with these bookers, get one of us in there. Things are not always as they seem to be, especially when the bookers rarely know what they are talking about. I have already put that “Jay” booker in his place in earlier mail bags, and most models can do the same thing.
~ Model Monica Stevens,
Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor

A Model Named David and His Unique Bed (again).

Hi. I made a unique bed in a very creative room.
I have modeled in the past but I was wasting my time because height is
big factor. I am only 5'7". I am wondering about my bed however. Do You know of a Tampa Magazine which shows pictures of creative furniture?
What puzzles Me is that heigth can be hidden in pictures so I do not understand the lay off. Maybe because clothing is for taller people.
Dave.
- David from Tampa Bay, Florida

Dear God. You again? Didn’t you send me a letter like this over at Independent Modeling two or three years ago?
Ah, yes, here we go. My archive database works quite nicely. Here is a letter from May 2003 which is suspicously like yours. Is this you? If not, then there are some odd people out there who are into the same thing:

Photogenic Bedroom

FROM: Jeffy
SUBJECT: Modeling

I am a blond haired guy with blue eyes and straight teeth. I am in good
shape. Kind of off the wall, but I have an amazing room with this unique
bed that I made in the dead center. If You ever need pictures of a neat
room designed by this guy who looks much younger than He is, then I am
here. I would like to show my unique furniture, and maybe get lucky in
modeling.

I am a blond haired girl who models. I have straight teeth, too, and I might mention perfect posture. I'm also in good shape. I could model bikinis, and I turn heads everywhere I go. You should see my room, too...... Boy, it's awesome!!!!!! I have a water bed full of plush pillows and stuffed toys! My boyfriend gave me this huge heart shaped pillow last valentines day, too, and it's really unique. Man, you should really see it!
Heh heh. Not gonna happen. What kind of freaks do we get writing us, anyway? Wanna "get lucky" with modeling? Jesus. What do bedrooms have to do with legitimate modeling? Hmmmmmmmmmm........ If you want to model, just go for it. Just keep your cloths on.
Oh, and one more thing: The next time that you send someone a letter, leave the bedroom stuff and the sexual subtext out. Make like a spider and stick to that wall. You'll be ok.
Well, I have to go. For next month, send in more answers to the survey, and tell us why you feel being independent is better. Give me stories and professional anecdotes!
-Monica

Jesus.
Height shouldn’t be an issue, especially if you are 5' 7'’. I also don’t see what relevance your bed has with anything, unless you are some sort of interior decorator. There are a number of magazines which cover interior design, but none that I know of will let you model in your bed. Well, there are a few Tampa Bay magazines that may do that, but they have nothing to do with interior design or modeling, and if you are a model you should avoid that kind of work.
Oh, yes, and one more thing. Stop using a Web TV account. It screams amateur and is still very traceable. Don’t get me started about AOL.
~ Model Monica Stevens,

 

Another allegation that we are some sort of model scam.

Why do you attack people and try to make models think that everyone in the industry is doing a scam? Your site seems to be the only one dishing out bad advice that can hurt model careers.
Models need to stick with agencies, where the real professionals who can really help their career are. In my opinion, Tampa Bay Modeling is a scam run by people who are not real models.
- Nicole from Clearwater Beach, Florida

Enough. History is full of people who accuse progress of being a scam simply because they are too ignorant to take the time to understand it or simply lack the mental ability to comprehend better ideas. Some people blindly put their trust in others and refuse to think for themselves. These are the weaker people who will never make it. It is survival of the fittest, and let’s face it, we are the dominant genome that has been introduced into an old ecosystem. We are only one facet of a revolution that will see the old agency-based modeling industry become extinct and a relic of the past. Capitalism and taking the initiative to change an outdated way of doing things is not a scam. Factory workers at the start of the industrial revolution probably thought that automation was a scam, too, and it’s probably because they felt threatened and afraid. America would not be the superpower that it is today if they had their way.... Hell, we would have probably lost World War II!
Model and talent agencies are middlemen and little more than temp agencies that are a working conflict of interest. Many agency bookers are undertrained minimum wage cold-callers who are no where near qualified to give any model career advice or tell a good portfolio from a bad one. Models who limit themselves to agency representation do just that. They limit themselves by not exploring every way of promoting their career and booking work. Does a booker really book a model into anything? No. They refer models into job leads, job leads that models can easily find on their own. It’s still up to the model to give art directors composite cards, show their portfolio book, and sell themselves into the job when they get to the go see.
Some models feel that agencies are their safety net, and that bookers serve to screen reputable jobs. Some models find job leads on their own and then do the bookers job for them by referring the job back to their agency. Does that lack of professional confidence make them look good and inspire respect? It is not hard to figure out what legitimate model jobs are, especially when you have a site like Independent Modeling and our extensive resources which are specifically designed to help models do just that! Have you looked at our model scam definition database lately? The scam definition database is designed to expose the behavior patterns of scams and teach models how to figure out who the scams real are!
~ Model Monica Stevens,
Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor

CLOSING BY MODEL MONICA STEVENS

Well, that’s it for now. I’ll see everyone in a couple of weeks with the arrival of the September 2006 mail bag. September will be a busy month for me because I will be celebrating the fifth anniversary of Independent Modeling with the professional models on their staff, our staff, and with other models throughout Tampa Bay and Florida! This site has really made a difference, and Tampa Bay Modeling would not even exist if it were not for Independent Modeling and other modeling sites such as Florida Models. I’m very excited to help my friends celebrate, especially when I happen to know that the last five years is nothing compared to the next five years. I can’t wait!!!! Anyhow, in closing, how do you like this new mail bag format? Is it easier to use? On my end, it’s a little more work, so I would like to know if it is worth it for you.
The mail bag might be written in a rather more creative style starting in September. We will be writing it more like a story, and I will be getting a writing assistant who will review a video tape of me reading E-Mails and replying. It will be more interesting than this sounds, I can assure you...... the mail bag will be written more like a story with my reactions described and my replies presented in a more creative fashion, as well as my surroundings and other aspects described in detail. If some of you think that this is a work of fiction, I’m sure that you won’t know what to think when this mail bag become more of an interactive story where you all can participate. No letters column has ever been done like this, and I am rather intrigued by the potential and the possibilities. You will all be much more entertained than before, and if it gets more models to read what I have to say, I’m all for that. Don’t quote me on this, though, as we are still not sure if we are going to do this, and it may not be too compatible with our mail archive database.
With that, it is time for me to get some sleep. My cricket friend turned in hours ago, and the breeze has become cool and damp with the nearing dawn.
~ Model Monica Stevens,
Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor

 

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E-Mail us and let us know what YOU think! If you wish to add to one of Monica's answers or disagree with her and want to post an answer of your own, please let us know what letter and month you are replying to and if we see that it is relevant we may add it to that month's archive. We will let you know if new content such as letters have been added to mail bag archives!

E-MAIL: TampaBayModeling@Yahoo.Com

C/O Monica Stevens, Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor

THIS MAIL BAG IS SUBJECT TO EDITING AND CONTENT CHANGE AT ANY TIME AND WITHOUT WARNING.

UPDATED 07/11/07

© Copyright 2006 Tampa Bay Modeling. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

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