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Wednesday, June 30, 2010 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

Auditing Independent Modeling

08:20 AM

I'm going over the Independent Modeling site, and there are some issues. It's hard to believe that this site will be ten years old next year. It's certainly had its heyday, but the best years are ahead. My goal, for Independent Modeling, is for it to be up to its full potential by its 10th anniversary in September 2011. Obviously, it's going to take a few months of work to get the site to where it needs to be. I'm still corralling all of the outdated content and the bad links. I need to clean it up. With most of the new work for Independent Modeling applied to Tampa Bay Modeling beginning in 2005, Independent Modeling itself has obviously been off the wagon since, and in limbo. This will change, with Advanced Model driving new content, and Tampa Bay Modeling serving as a geographical lead-in for Independent Modeling. Much work needs to be done, and I expect it to be in full swing by August 2010. More is to be announced shortly.

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Wednesday, May 26, 2010 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

A NEW MODELING WAR!

08:00 AM

I was going to post some of this on the Tampa Bay Modeling Tampa Modeling Blog, as well, but Dreamweaver is having difficulty pulling up the html file, so the Independent Modeling Blog will have to suffice (who said that having an array of top resource web sites is not useful? The issue, it seems, was the same thing that happened to my Tampa DJ Blog last year; too much content. I’ll resolve this when I get the time to, by waiting a half hour for Dreamweaver to open the file, and then by organizing the content).
Then again, everything from the modeling job board to the main modeling tools used by Tampa Bay Modeling are here on Independent Modeling, so the work is more relevant spent on Independent Modeling.
So, what is this new modeling war?
I’m going to start out by saying that amateurs who pretend to be professionals (note: The Great Pretenders... I’ll have to use that headline in a marketing campaign to promote the RAS and to educate businesses on how to evaluate models and photographers. It looks like the modeling job board will become even more important, too) are going to face tough times ahead. If you call yourself a professional, but refuse to invest in your career (or, worse, set out to scam people on services that you are not qualified to deliver), you are not going to be able to compete against professionals who have invested in your career.
So, fine. Don’t agree with me. Don’t listen. It doesn’t matter. Seriously, though, will you be able to compete against professionals who have invested in their career, and are able to demonstrate it? I’m rather amused by all of the amateurs who will be wasting their time, running around using free services to build their business, and then try to book work. I will go out of my way to prevent that from happening, and the professionals in the industry will help me undermine you, because I will help them do it. The professionals are going to undermine all of the amateurs, and we weill maintain the integrity, and the ethics, of the industry.
This is yet another cycle in history. We all know history. In 2001, Independent Modeling launched, and began helping models empower their career, rise above the backwards, corrupt modeling industry, and book work, on their own, without having to go through an agency. It worked. In 2003, Independent Modeling began fighting modeling scams (and Tampa Bay Modeling became our test bed in our war against modeling scams in 2004). As of 2010, the modeling scam fighting war has proven to be extremely effective, and the efforts of Independent Modeling and our allies have had a tremendous impact on modeling scams. Although modeling scams rallied in 2009, saturating the market, our efforts to educate the modeling industry with our top resource sites worked. The scams lost a lot of money. Today, there isn’t a lot going on in the modeling scam front, as far as Tampa Bay.
Of course, such a war never has an end, and it continues on as an ongoing effort.
In 2004, the rise of good quality, low cost digital cameras began a trend with photographers and models building their portfolios for free, which wasn’t that big of a deal back then because most people in the industry knew that, in order to have an effective portfolio that you have to have to market your business, you have to invest in it. Of course, a lot of amateurs began flooding the market, and after a few years, a lot of people began to assume that working in the modeling industry was both easy, and free.
Which, of course, probably explains all of the models who claim to be independent, but allow others to book them for free. That’s one hell of a career, there, but, I suppose, if you didn’t put any money into it to begin with, then I wouldn’t expect to be able to book a paying job, either. You only get out of something what you put into it.
A more pressing problem in 2004 were people claiming to be professional photographers, using low cost digital cameras, attempting to undermine professional photographers by charging less. As a result, the market value on photography services plummeted, and profit margins were at an all-time low. The solution, of course, was educating the customer, but how could we do that? What could we do about it?
It turned out to be a two step process. First, you appeal to the greed of the customer by showing them a way to get photographers to bid for their business. Second, you allowed the photographers who ignorantly set out to take business away from photographers to do just that. You’d let them do it, and play their tactics against them.
How did we do that? Well, actually, I did it.
I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about reverse auctions, where companies made vendors bid against each other for contracts. The companies saved money, and the vendors were crying that their profit margins were driven down, and a lot of them could no longer afford to be in business because of reverse auctions.
Ah, a solution! I set out to see if it would work.
Tampa Bay Modeling launched in October 2004, and most of the work slated for Independent Modeling was diverted to the new modeling resource site. Tampa Bay Modeling became a test bed for some pretty radical ideas; among them, a reverse auction system optimized to address all of those discount photographers who were devaluing the photography service market.
Independent Modeling, through Tampa Bay Modeling, deployed the reverse auction system, which was decentralized, and not dependent upon the site. Models were instructed that, if they wanted the lowest rates in photography, to use message boards and make the photographers bid against each other for their business. The discount photographers not only fell for this, but could not figure out how to adapt to it (well, they didn’t know that much about business to begin with if they marketed their services on the lowest rates).
Within two years, most of the discount photographers managed to price themselves right out of business. Models, too, found out that those photographers could not deliver the services that they needed. As a result, the market, once again, stabilized, and photographers can thank me for being able to charge fair rates.
Of course, that was a solution for phase one of the problem. With digital cameras getting cheaper and more powerful, and free portfolio networking sites and social networking sites, another problem emerged: people began to think that they could use all of these free services to run a business.
It seemed that everyone and their sister was a photographer, because, hey, they had a camera which had a high enough resolution for great prints. Also, photography was cheap, with inexpensive digital cameras, and plentiful, high capacity memory cards. I have a camera, and therefore, that makes me a photographer who deserves to be in business, right?
As a photographer myself, I learned photography using a 35MM SLR film camera. I spent thousands of dollars on film and development over the span of a few years. I learned how to do photography the right way, in other words, correctly in-camera. I didn’t need to use computers and software, like Photoshop, to correct my pictures, because the pictures were right to begin with.
I paid my dues. I’m one of the best photographers in my market. I am a professional photographer with years of business experience, and a massive list of happy clients. How many can really say that? Not many.
I think what really screwed things up in the modeling industry was the explosion of web 2.0 networking web sites like Myspace, and free modeling portfolio networking web sites, in the past five years (I constantly get on my friend Shane’s case about Myspace, because he was one of the five or six people who created the site. It’s all his fault, I tell you! Actually, not really, because this B.S. would have happened with or without Myspace). For the first time, anyone could get onto the Internet, without any technical skills or professional credibility. This, of course, enabled the free career mentality, and photographers and models both began using these freebie services as their way of doing business. Need a professional web site? Why not Myspace or a portfolio networking site profile? Hell, why pay a web designer for a web site, and hosting fees, when it can be had for free? Ditto for career investments, such as photography. Many amateur models and photographers built their portfolios by helping each other, and doing portfolio shoots for free (and, there is a difference between established professionals collaborating on special projects, and undermining your business by giving away the store for free). Of course, amateurs didn’t care about business because they were just starting out, and were trying to build a portfolio. So, they did free shoots with aspiring models, who were also amateurs. With the blind leading the blind, how effective were those portfolios for marketing a business?
As it turns out, not very. You see, MOST of the businesses who have the jobs that models, and commercial photographers, work to book know what they are doing. Which brings us to a problem that will work very much in my favor to undermine this B.S., and help my efforts to put it in check.
What’s the problem?
Well, in this short term, it makes my job harder, with all of these amateur models running around with ineffective portfolios claiming to be independent models, and enabling the agencies to stay in the game longer (to a lot of people now, modeling agencies are seen as the only way to book the best modeling jobs, and this is going to change). In the long term, though, these amateurs are not going to be able to compete with legitimate professionals to get those jobs.
The key, of course, is to educate the businesses who have those jobs that the models want. It will all settle into place, and the market will once again stabilize.
A month ago, I was covering a car show, and one of my model friends had me hang out backstage before a fashion show with a large group of models. Some of the models had professional composite cards and portfolios, and that was good. Others, though, did not. This one model, who will remain unnamed, asked me if I had a portfolio networking site profile. I laughed at her. I told her that I had several, but that I didn’t use them. I told her that I had professional web sites of my own. We talked a bit, and the model told me that I should not be “so negative”. I told her that this was just her perception, and that I was just telling her how it is. The model then had the nerve to spin it, and tell me that she was “just being an independent model”.
I couldn’t tell you how pissed off she made me. She did not know what she was talking about. The model, otherwise intelligent, was an idiot when it came to her career. Additionally, what she was doing was NOT independent modeling. It was freebie modeling with amateurs.
So, not wanting to get into an argument right then and there, I bit my tongue. I looked at her comp card. Well, she obviously had some professional experience, because the pictures and the card were good. Later, though, when I looked at her profile on the portfolio networking site, I saw a ton of pictures which were not so good. It was obvious that the model did not know what she was doing, and had fallen off the wagon in her career.
Oh, and how true that was! Guess what I found out. Give up? Every single model at the fashion show was working for free! I suppose that they were all being “independent models”, working their “professional careers”, for free, right?
At any rate, with all of these free models not able to book paying work, it’s going to work in my favor. You see, independent models go out, find modeling job leads, and book work WITHOUT going through an agency, as well as using several agencies as one of many sources of modeling jobs leads (I’ve sacrificed my option to go through agencies as a source of photography work because my efforts, Independent Modeling, and Tampa Bay Modeling have been costing the agencies a lot of money. It doesn’t matter, though, because I get plenty of work without the agencies, and I do not need them). Independent models invest in their careers, and get that investment back by making a living with their careers, on their own.
Some people just don’t get it, and, yes, the ignorance of certain models still pisses me off.
The new war is now beginning, and the war is against these amateurs who undermine the progress of the independent modeling movement, and drop market values in the industry. Through efforts to educate the companies which have the jobs that these people dream of booking, and the Risk Analysis System, which is an easy way to evaluate professional credibility by the amount of investment demonstrated in a career, the amateurs are not going to make it as long as they use freebie tools in their “careers”.
The amateurs will not be able to compete against the professionals who invest in their careers; bottom line. That “independent” model from the fashion show can knock herself out working for free, because she’s going to have a hard time booking paid modeling jobs. Good luck competing with the dominant voice of my modeling resource web sites, too. If the portfolio networking sites cannot do it, you certainly will not be able to.
This said, it begins.

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Thursday, April 20, 2010 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

WORKING ON SITES

07:45 AM

In my previous post, I announced a full rollout of Independent Modeling, with heavy updates of its supporting site, in May 2010. Well, I'm in the middle of updating photography marketing sites, and May is almost over; I've updated the heading of the previous post to reflect that. I will be delayed a few weeks, so your patience is appreciated. Once my photography marketing sites are buttoned up, I'll have months of time to consistently update modeling sites (minus what I'll be putting into my books and shoots).

In Independent Modeling news, this site is going to become the largest, and the dominant, modeling site on the Internet. I've been planning portfolio networking features since 2003, and once those features are infused into Independent Modeling, this site will become the worst nightmare of sites like MM, OMP, and MC. There will not be a single portfolio networking site in the world which will be able to compete with Independent Modeling, which will become a hybrid modeling industry resource and networking web site for professionals in the modeling industry. See you all soon.

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Tuesday, April 15, 2010 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

FULL ROLLOUT IN MAY JUNE 2010

08:20 AM

Well, that's the plan, at least. I should have the blogs secure, and my photography marketing sites where I need them to be, by the end of the month. After that, I'll be able to spend most of our web site updating the modeling and talent sites. Advanced Model will now launch in May, too, and will be important to Independent Modeling because it will drive content creation here. All article and tutorials referenced from Advanced Model will lead to content here. Of course, too, Advanced Model, Tampa Bay Modeling, and Florida Modeling Career (which I will be spending a lot of time working on in May) will all use resource on Independent Modeling, such as the modeling job board.

I placed the modeling job board in BETA test mode today because some of the support content is still pending, it has not been promoted yet, and I have to add even more support content now to combat modeling jobs which take advantage of independent models. I will be making some tweaks, as well as interconnecting the modeling job board with our featured model section, and our new modeling scam analysis database's modeling job scam section. It's coming along.

The rest of Independent Modeling is coming along, too. I updated parts of the main site today. Also, do you see those blank thumbnails just below the main menu? Those will be online, with images leading to our online modeling portfolio and our services sections, as soon as the site has been fully restored to full operational capacity. This summer, once all of the modeling sites are where we need them to be, the acting and talent resource site will be brought up to speed. Tampa Bay Acting is on standby, and Independent Acting might as well not even be online (considering my indie film career, and my status as a casting director, you would think that the acting and talent resources sites should be as important as the modeling site are. Likewise, Independent Performer has been shut down (I think that cybersquatters, which is the usual result of me giving up domain names, as I am very good at coming up with great names, have it, now), and I'm not sure if I will be going with the name that I currently have for my independent talent resource site (Oh, well, Tampa Bay Talent will set the foundation for whatever it will be). Time will tell.

Happy tax day, models!

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Tuesday, April 13, 2010 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

MODELING JOBS TO BE CRITICAL

08:00 AM

I'm almost finished sorting out the mess on the Independent Modeling site (editing my blogs and working on my photography marketing sites are slowing me down), and it's beginning to look more and more like addressing modeling jobs is going to become critical. It seems that we have a new type of modeling job scam undermining independent models, specifically, and giving the modeling and talent agencies more leverage, and more credibility. This slows our agenda down, and is becoming something that we are going to fight. What kind of "new" modeling job scam is it? Modeling jobs who feel that the models have to work for them for free! Sure, they love not having to go through and agency. Also, because the model is independent, they should work for free, which will look good on their resume, of course (and I am being sarcastic here. I do not agree with this statement). This is going to stop! Models, actors, talent, and photographers need to get paid for their hard work! Obviously, this is not going to be easy to address, either. It gets a little complex. Basically, and simple as I can put it here, all parties involved have to evaluate the job. What is being marketed? Who benefits? What kind of cash flow is there, and who stands to make money? Unlike a simple professional collaboration for, let's say, portfolio pictures, where established professionals exchange their services for time, and both benefit, modeling events and jobs are different. Is it a non profit organization, and is it for charity? Volunteering is fine, as long as they are being honest about it, and no one is making a profit, including the people who are behind the job. If they make money from the participation of the model, they make money from pictures of the models, or they make money off of a product, or services, which the model is helping them market, THE MODELS HAVE TO GET PAID! If they are misleading the models by telling them that they are not getting paid, either, and they are, in actuality, then they are committing fraud, which makes it a modeling job scam!

Obviously, the modeling agencies are laughing about the so-called "independent" models who work for free, because the models cannot do this indefinitely, and the modeling jobs who are getting free labor would not be paying an agency for models to start with. Agency represented and referred models do get paid, and that gives the agencies credibility when we have all these so-called "models" running around working for free, and saying that they are independent models, and that is what being independent is. Independent modeling is not free labor. Independent modeling is also not Internet modeling. Independent modeling is working a modeling career, and getting paid just as much as the model would if they booked the modeling job through an agency. I will be deploying a variety of new tools to address this, soon, and I also refuse to work, or be associated with, any business which takes advantage of models. This is going to be addressed, and this situation is going to change! Remember, models...... they are not able to do their job, or project, without the models who they seek. They need models!

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Wednesday, February 24, 2010 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

SUPPORT WORK SLAVE LABOR

10:00 AM

What a friggin' MESS! The search engines love this job board? They might, but there are plenty of bad links and outdated information there. No wonder no one is using it, despite the top search results! I now have to go under the hood, fix everything, and then tune it up. I also have to check each and every link. I'll give myself as much time as I need to get it right. The audition / job boards on Independent Acting and Independent Talent Network will not be this tough to get right because I'll be starting with fresh site code and directories. Independent Modeling is overly complicated because it supports old content (for the search engines), and there is a ton of maze-like baggage. It will always be complicated for me, but not much of an issue once I get the issues shorted out. I need to make this board easy to use and simple to understand for the users. It is the most advanced modeling job board and resource on the Internet, however, and it will be truly great in a few days! It's going to take some time. Time for tedious work.......

...... This said, I do love doing this. I not only solve some interesting puzzles from the ancients (namely, me in the past), but get something going which will help a lot of people in the modeling industry, as well as be one of the best tools on this site to bring balance to the backwards modeling industry.

Need to complete, and integrate, the RAS Risk Analysis System tomorrow.

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Wednesay, February 24, 2010 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

SUPPORT WORK

08:00 AM

Working on the Independent Modeling job board. Although the board has been up an online for quite some time now, I suspect that, despite the awesome search engine performance of the job board, that the economy is causing a shortage of modeling jobs (even Kitty's Florida Models job board, which has been busy for over a decade, is slow. It hasn't had a modeling job post in over eight weeks; I haven't seen it that slow, ever!). This said, the Independent Modeling modeling job board is going to be slow for a while after it is up to full speed by Monday, March 1, 2010; it's not like we can conjure up these jobs out of thin air. I will be pushing it heavily, though, so we will have modeling jobs on there. Oh, and additionally, even though I have all the legal disclaimers up all over the place that we are not responsible for job offers, etc, let it be known that we WILL be screening jobs before posting them, as best as we can. If the offer is suspicious in any way, or we don't think that it is good for this site or models, we will ignore these submissions and not allow them to be posted. The modeling agency placement scam which posts bogus jobs on modeling job boards, to use as bait in order to get models to come in so that they can sell them services, can simply not bother to try to post (and I'm sure that they will, because they already have).
A lot of support content, invisible to most site visitors and not published on the site, also has to be written (instructions to legitimate job posters, etc). One thing that we will be doing is educating the modeling jobs and encouraging them to check the source of any modeling job submissions; if it is from a source which they did not submit the modeling job to, they will not consider it (I don't know about you, but if I had a modeling job, I sure as hell wouldn't want some shady modeling scam taking my post information from the Independent Modeling job board and then using it as bait to attract models to their operation, and then sell them some service. That's a scam, it happens all of the time, and, until now, there wasn't an effective way to combat it.!). Additionally, countermeasures have to be put into place which discourage modeling agencies from mining the modeling job board and referring the models who they represent to those jobs. I'm not going to be doing the leg work for bookers! Actually, I don't think that it will be much of a problem, because most modeling jobs who post here will be doing so to save on agency fees to begin with. After all, we are free, and they are not. Additionally, they will find that independent models are more professional, and much better to work with, than the models who choose to be dependent upon some agency. I'd rather work with the more professional models, which are the independents. I don't see a downside to this, especially once the RAS has been factored into the selection process. Do you?

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Friday, February 19, 2010 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

ONWARD

09:20 AM

I look back on my blogs (especially since I've been backing them up, editing them, and removing content this morning) and see literally years of false starts, and whatever else, especially on Independent Modeling.

I've been reading past emails sent to us, and found some interesting ones sent to the Tampa Bay Modeling mail bag over the years (Note: The mail bag returns on Advanced Model next month!):

July 2007

If you ever get your mail bag going again, I would like this question answered. What is going on with you and your friends?
Work on your web site has slowed to a crawl, and Independent Modeling, despite evidence of a lot of work and some excellent refinements, is still not updating like they say they are or are going to do. Could you give us more information on what is going on with all of these professional models in the Tampa Bay area who have sworn to help the industry and models like me who are desperately seeking answers? Like you, I feel that model agencies are conflicts of interest and that they cannot be trusted for anything more than as one source of modeling job leads. Since we cannot trust the booker snakes over at the model agencies, we really need you! So, where is all this help and support that you keep promising? Promises are fine, but you really need to follow through with your intentions.
We need you.
Charlene Varley
Model

July 2006

Hello. I am writing in regards to a recent letter that you got pertaining to Independent Modeling being dead in the water. Nothing has been going on with that site for months, and I've been wondering the same thing. Will the site ever become what it was meant to be?
Jennifer from Miami, Florida

May 2006

Hey Tampa Bay Girls:

I've been an avid visitor to your site for a while now and it looked like you were finally on your way until I saw the notice that updates had been suspended. What happened?? The site was finally beginning to shape up. I admire what you girls are trying to do and as a model myself I know that this is an industry that has more than its share of inadequacies with plenty of room for reform. But you girls must continue to move forward and these long interruptions of no service to the site often without any explanation is beginning to make the site look as unprofessional as the industry. I am also wondering what is going on at Independent Modeling. After a big build-up of preparing the site visitors for major updates and and selling us on the theme of being a reliable resource for models they have been dead in the water for months. With scarcely any updates and no explanation. I am just about to take them of my list of favorites as they seem to be just taking up space. It is a shame to see this happening to the sites as they have so much potential. If there is any thing we visitors can do to help. Let us know!

Best regards,
Stacy

September 2006

Model Consultation Scam
A model has a bad experience with a model consultation scam.

I am writing in reference to a company out of (a Tampa Bay location) claiming to be holding casting calls. It is a classic bait and switch scam and I knew it the second I referenced Independent Modeling in the interview- ( he asked about my agent) because he started stuttering, acted like he'd never heard of it, acting snotty and berating me.
As soon as he realized that I have a brain and don't need him or their "services" he began to insult my character, integrity and even my age(23). He said I was too old to compete with the "16 /17 yr old tall blondes". He also told me that I would never make it in this industry because I wouldn't allow him to sell me on their classes or whatever. It is true that I am inexperienced in this industry but I am learning as much as I can to try and get started. Knowledge is power and I love your website. If you have any advice for someone who knows little to nothing about getting started please let me know. For example, since TFP is so shady how do you recommend I get started? Should I contact Aurora for a consultation? I know I need marketing materials, is the best way to just find a reputable photog and pay for them? Please respond at your earliest convenience. Thank you very much for your time and have a great day.
- Michelle, a model from Tampa Bay, Florida

In 2006, it seems, Tampa Bay Modeling and Independent Modeling were both on the verge of being closed down. Updates were suspended, and plans were put into motion to close the sites. A number of models protested, though, and the decision was reversed. Despite that, however, updates slowed as work continued. Independent Modeling has been pretty much idle since 2005, and Tampa Bay Modeling has seen all of the updates. The good news? The Independent Talent movement is gaining momentum now, and now, Tampa Bay Modeling, Independent Modeling, and the other modeling sites are in prime position to take advantage of that. It is now more cost-effective than ever to push this and see it reach it's potential.
The largest false-start for Independent Modeling was in 2007. It stalled. Over the years, Independent Modeling has seen large updates, but those updates were in site redesigns, and not new content. More preparation work was needed.
Happily, though, I have most of my preparation work done now, after six years, and I'm finally able to proceed. We finally have everything sorted out, and have all of the angles covered. Tampa Bay Modeling will see updates tomorrow, and I'll be working on Independent Modeling most of the coming two weeks, bringing everything online. Independent Modeling is now my core modeling site, so it will see most of the updates now. It will serve as the backbone for Tampa Bay Modeling, Florida Modeling Career, and Advanced Model. I'll be spending a good week in March getting Florida Modeling Career up to speed.

Well, I don't want to start announcing things, I just want to go ahead and do it. It looks like Independent Modeling will finally come back to life, and I predict that, by its 10th anniversary next year, and that it will be the world's best modeling resource site. Independent Modeling is where we want it to be on the search engines, so the foundation is there. Within a few months, models and others will notice that the site is once again busy, and by the end of the year, most will forget about the years of dormancy; although with all of the work being done to Tampa Bay Modeling, Independent Modeling was never really dormant. A lot of progress was made; it just wasn't apparent if you were only looking at Independent Modeling. Tampa Bay Modeling became a superpower in the Tampa modeling industry, and Florida Modeling Career, although it has been adrift on the Internet since its launch in 2008, and isn't quite fully operational at the moment, is the most advanced modeling resource site in the world. The concepts that were developed for Florida Modeling Career will be applied to Independent Modeling, Tampa Bay Modeling, and Advanced Model for the next year, at least. Within a month or two, Independent Modeling will be up to full speed, and with the addition of the most current tools, will once again be the most advanced modeling resource site in the world. This time, it's happening.

Which brings me to our modeling job board. As you know, when Independent Modeling launched as Tampa Bay Independent Model on September 4, 2001, I only wanted it to be a modeling resource site, and that's it. I didn't want a modeling job board, or networking features. My, how times have changed.

Modeling job scams are now on the rise, and the scarcity of legitimate modeling jobs outside of the modeling agencies helps give the agencies leverage in the industry, and maintains a certain level of credibility. This is going to change. For the past four years, we have been developing, and tinkering, with a modeling job board for Independent Modeling where anyone offering a legitimate modeling opportunity can post free of charge. What we have now is the most advanced modeling job resource in the world, and it will be fully operational NEXT WEEK! It will be updated slowly at first, but in the coming months (phase one will see the existing jobs, such as promotional modeling jobs, and phase two will see those coveted modeling jobs which are often only available through an agency), I will be contacting the sources of those modeling jobs, and sell them on going around the modeling agencies and posting those modeling jobs here. With the new RAS (Risk Analysis System), I don't see a problem with them doing this, and both the modeling job and the models will save on agency commission fees. I am determined to make the Independent Modeling modeling job board the best in the world. I will be educating the modeling jobs, as well as others in the modeling industry. For the first time, we will be taking modeling jobs directly away from the agencies, starting here in the Tampa Bay market. Once the modeling job board picks up steam, I fully expect modeling job offers from other markets to come in, and the board will be expanded into segmented geographic markets as that happens.

The modeling job board become the spine of the site, and will tie into other parts of Independent Modeling, too. It will also become an effective resource for fighting modeling job scams. Additionally, our featured models will be tied into the job board so that the posters can check them out before posting a job offer.

My friend Kitty has had a successful modeling job board at her Florida Models site for 11 years now. One of the problems that she has had are modeling job leads being stolen from her site and reposted elsewhere. This also happened with earlier versions of the Independent Modeling job board. I know of one modeling scam which steals information from free modeling job boards, and then limits the information on their site and uses the jobs to bait models. The models sign up for a free profile on the site, and the information is then used by the modeling scam by their sales people, who contact the models and try to sell them things before they can be referred to the modeling jobs. I have solved this problem. Our new modeling job board has the appropriate countermeasures in place, as does all of our modeling resource sites. If anyone steals anything from our sites, it will become too much of a risk to their credibility. It will backfire. I will tell you now, for starters, that all of our modeling job board posters will be informed about scams which steal their job offers and use those offers to bait models; most of them will not consider any models who come from any sources other than the sources that the modeling job submits to.
At any rate, I don't want models to become dependent upon this modeling site, or anyone else to, either. For the first time, many of the latest tools are decentralized, and not reliant on anything. Although Independent Modeling will have the best modeling job board, and the best tools, it will also have tools which teach models how to find modeling jobs on their own. This will be our greatest gift, as it will make models truly independent.
In closing, I'm sorry if Independent Modeling has been unreliable in the past few years. We won't let you down like that again. Independent Modeling, and the modeling sites, are now one of my top priorities. It's time to see this revolution in the modeling industry through.

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Wednesday, December 30, 2009 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

GETTING READY

08:00 AM

The Independent Modeling web site, which has seen updates in 2009, is in the process of a ramping up to a full scale rollout. 2010 is going to be extremely busy here at Independent Modeling, and you can also look forward to updates and features on Advanced Model, Tampa Bay Modeling, and Florida Modeling Career.
Independent Modeling is going to become the ultimate modeling resource for modeling information, career tutorials, professional models, modeling job leads, modeling scams, and for the tools that models need to work their modeling careers. The other three modeling sites will reference Independent Modeling for information and tools. All of them will utilize features such as the Independent Modeling modeling job board database.
Expect this, and much more.

Modeling Jobs - Our evolved modeling job board and modeling job resource is finally out of beta, and it is fully operational. Our modeling job resource contains tutorials on how to find and book jobs on your own, how to weigh in the risks of working with others before you work with them, modeling job leads, and information on modeling job scams. Our modeling job resource also cross-references our featured models, and modeling job scam information. Some posts on the modeling job board will be test posts leading to information on specified modeling job scams that the model may have fallen for, as a part of the modeling job board is directly interconnected with our modeling scam analysis database.

Modeling Scams - A new second-generation modeling scam analysis database, based on the one originally designed for Florida Modeling Career, is the in the works for Independent Modeling. Featuring a primary scenario-based front end menu, this will prove to be very effective to help professionals in the modeling industry recognize, identify, avoid, and address modeling scams.

Model Scams - A scam analysis database covering unethical and unprofessional models. We never would have believe that we’d ever be fighting models when we launched Independent Modeling, and while we support professional models, there sure are a lot of unprofessional, unethical models out there today. We’re in the fight against unprofessional, unethical models, and will not support them at all.

Unprofessional Database - Another scam analysis database, this one will help modeling industry professionals recognize, avoid, and address unprofessional and unethical photographers, modeling agencies, and other professions in the modeling industry.

Industry tools - Free modeling industry career tools for models, photographers, and the businesses who book them. These tools also promote balance and communication between professionals in the modeling industry, and one type of tool is our ongoing series of Anti Scam Agreements, or ASA’s. We will also publish other types of agreements, releases, contracts, and pay vouchers for all of the parties.

Advanced Model PodCast - Published under the Advanced Model brand, this podcast, which will debut in 2010, will heavily reference Independent Modeling, as well as put unprofessional portfolio networking sites and other practices in their place.

Video Tutorials - For models who don’t like to read, 2010 will see the beginning of a long series of video tutorials on Independent Modeling.

Interactive Tutorials - Still a secret, Tampa Bay Modeling, Florida Modeling Career, Advanced Model, and Independent Modeling will all have their own separate versions published on each site.

THE NEAR FUTURE
Sometime in 2011, and after, we have some new additions and features planned for Independent Modeling. We will be adding subscription content, which is more in-depth information, tutorials, and career told for paid subscribers, or members; this will be enhanced, and more comprehensive content on Independent Modeling in addition to the free resources. We will also be adding networking features, and other advanced features.

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Monday, August 17, 2009 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

NOT QUITE READY

03:01 AM

I still have a few details to attend to, including form letters for posting on the modeling job board, etc. Expect the refresh in a few days. I am, however, accepting modeling job posts effective immediately, as the modeling job board is ready. Tweet.

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Saturday, August 15, 2009 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

ADJUSTING FILES

08:00 AM

It's Saturday! Ok, I'm adjusting the modeling job board, the service exchange, the announcements, and the the classifieds section. I'm almost done. I'll get the boards up, and will refresh the site code tomorrow. Tweet.

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Friday, August 14, 2009 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

MODELING JOB BOARD WORK

10:00 AM

Didn't I finish all four main sections of this a few months ago before I was distracted? Apparently not. This will take a few hours of work to get up to speed. Tonight I work on support information. Sunday, the entire site code will be refreshed, bringing it up to full speed and making the modeling job board active. I also need to work on the scam analysis database. This is fun.

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Friday, August 14, 2009 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

SOON IS HERE

8:00 AM

I can't wait any longer. Although it has been getting very busy with my photography business, and I'm still not done working on contracts (this should be accomplished next week), I have to resume updates on Independent Modeling. This is especially true because our 8th anniversary is coming up in less than a month.

Right now, I am mobilizing Tampa Bay Modeling, Florida Modeling Career, Tampa Talent Scams, and Tampa Bay Acting to deliver a crippling, and brutal, offensive against modeling jobs scams. Independent Modeling is being mobilized, too, but not as much work needs to be done, here, because our updates over the past few months have brought us up to speed. On our radar, there are at least five major modeling job scams operating in the Tampa Bay market, and we caught one of them already ripping off content from our web sites. They then attempted to sell the stolen content to models as career advice, but in many cases their scheme backfired because the models knew where they had stolen it from. The models confronted them about it, and walked away. In our opinion, however, if the models had been really smart, they would have educated themselves and would not have bothered with the modeling job scam to begin with.

Since the economy crashed almost a year ago, we have seen very few legitimate modeling jobs and, a dramatic increase in modeling job scams (art directors and casting directors don't have any modeling jobs and cannot pay models a dime when they themselves have no business. Where do you think that these modeling jobs come from- the modeling job fairy? Magic?). They must have been getting desperate, because they were advertising on the radio a lot. For now, either our efforts countering the radio advertisements must have worked, or the modeling scams ran out of money, because there has been a drop off of radio advertisements for inexperienced models who are needed for major department store fashion shows. Perhaps the FTC cracked down on the radio stations for running fraudulent ads? We have evidence that many of the radio stations knew that the ads were scams, and ran them anyway, which makes them an accomplice to the modeling job scam. Were are ethics and integrity in radio? We have zero respect for Tampa radio stations, because, in our opinion, they are so desperate for ad revenue in this economy that they will take money and run ads from anyone. Bastards. Forget the radio. Stop listening as long as they continue to run the ads of modeling scams. We say turn off the radio and quit listening to the obnoxious DJ's and the same music being played over and over again. Tampa Bay radio sucks, anyway.

The modeling sites may elect to boycott Tampa radio stations. Stay tuned.

Our modeling job board is an important part of our fight against modeling job scams. We will have it up and running by Monday, August 17, 2009, and will begin contacting the legitimate parties who offer real modeling jobs about it this weekend. Our modeling job board will also be spread over three modeling resource sites, with relevant jobs for the market posted and content adjusted to avoid duplicating it on the search engines. The Independent Modeling job board will be used on Independent Modeling, Florida Modeling Career, and Tampa Bay Modeling. Each version of the board will be customized for the geographical market of the modeling resource site, and will interlink with relevant resources on the host web site, which include the advanced modeling scam analysis databases originally developed last year for Florida Modeling Career.

Ah...... I really, really like the lock and key / checks and balances system that I designed and integrated into the modeling job board format. It addresses what has been going on with modeling job scams recently, and should discourage modeling job scams from stealing information from our modeling job boards.

I'm going to work a little on the modeling web sites to get them up to speed in the next three days, and most of the work will happen on Florida Modeling Career. This is our most advanced modeling resource site, with the best tools, and it has been idling on the Internet since it launched last summer. It's time to get things cranking!

I plan on refreshing the entire Independent Modeling web site on Sunday, bringing the entire site up to full capacity and activating the thumbnail array. The thumbnail and imaging work has been done; it only has to be activated by a content refresh.

Oh, and models, one more thing. Don't work for free! You don't have to, especially when the modeling job that you volunteer from makes someone else money. Make them respect you! If they are honestly short on funds, by all means be flexible with your rates, and be reasonable, but don't work for free. If your modeling portfolio is strong, and your resume is balanced, spend the time on you instead. Spend the time working toward booking more paying modeling work, or, if those aren't available, take a vacation with friends and family.

The economy will bounce back, and so will the modeling opportunities. The bad economy had one benefit, however. It is weeding out the weak in the industry, while the strong remain. Just last month, I visited a Tampa modeling industry, and you would have been surprised to see just how slow it was.

Tips? Don't live beyond your means, and save as much as possible. Wait out the storm, and then take the industry on your own terms when it comes back!

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Tuesday, June 09, 2009 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

UPDATES TO RESUME SOON

1:53 PM

So, several weeks later, I'm still in the thick of things. I booked that shoot, did many more, and the clients were happy. I'm also still working on those contracts- one of them, which is being finalized now, is the most sophisticated document that I've ever composed, and I'm tweaking some details. The document is so classified, that I cannot even disclose what it is for, or what it has to do with my modeling resources. So begins a new era, the era of controlled documents, with new rules and terms of use.

I ran some errands yesterday, and noticed four kiosks for a modeling scam in the local mall. I cannot believe how numerous modeling scams have been this year, but there is a crack in that egg. I'm starting to see those aggressive marketing campaigns falter and fall off. Could it be that my modeling resource sites and my modeling scam fighting efforts have been more effective than I believed? Could it be that the aggressive marketing was, in fact, the final fight of crippled modeling scams, and that many are about to go out of business? Without flattering myself, I'm leaning more toward the theory that modeling scams have lost money this year because of the economy, and that they had to pour more money into marketing to offset the falloff of business. Regardless, no one can keep that up for long, especially if the new business influx is limited because people are too smart to fall for the same old B.S. New business? Do you think that modeling scams get repeat business? Modeling scams depend almost entirely upon new business to sustain them, as their customers are hardly happy campers once they figure out that they were ripped off and lied to. Repeat business, indeed. Excuse me while I go grab a root beer and try not to laugh too much. Some of this stuff is very amusing, and I've seen plenty of pathetic things going on in the modeling industry the past few weeks.

Ahem. I have much to do. My photography business is getting very busy again, and I believe it is at the expense of other so-called Tampa photographers (rightfully so, in my humble opinion). Gotta love those photographers who run their businesses from freebie Internet profiles on Myspace and portfolio networking web sites. They do more harm to their business than I could ever do, and this is about to become a much larger issues for them, as we push the risk analysis agenda. This will become a big part of the modeling book that I am now writing.

I have to go now. I will finish the contracts this week, and will resume updates here later this month (no, not another false start here). I also have to order some modeling books to study. It seems that new models have been served the same modeling industry propaganda / B.S. that others have been feeding them for years. I have to love it when a bunch of clueless photographers and modeling industry types with self-serving agendas blindly refer others to such biased sources of information. My modeling book will put other so-called modeling books in their proper place, and hopefully, out of print.

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Wednesday, May 13, 2009 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

THEN AGAIN, MAYBE NOT

8:00 AM

Good lord. I'm buried in contracts, consultations, and bookings right now for my photography company. It became very busy this week. Give me a few days to finish all of this stuff. I have several shoots this week, and I need to finalize at least 12 different business documents and service agreements. Since a lot of money is involved, and it is time sensitive, it will be next week before I can really get Independent Modeling up to speed.

Of course, Independent Modeling is critical to what my photography company will be doing, so don't worry. This won't take long. Independent Modeling will update soon, and update a lot.

Yesterday, I looked at my schedule and snuck out for a few hours to see the new Star Trek movie with some models. That was a luxury that I could barely afford, and I only had 45 minutes to spare after the movie ended to return to the studio, gather my notes and my tools, and leave again for work. A client called me just as I was walking into the theater to get a seat, and she wanted to book over the phone for her shoot this week. I suppose that I could have done it with my PDA, since I was wired with enough gear to run an office, but it wouldn't have been easy without my checklists and a lack of encryption, which I would have had to configure there. I will have to add the checklist, and other documents, to my PDA, and then encrypt them in case it is ever stolen. At any rate, I'll book it over the phone today, since the shoot is time sensitive, a consultation is not schedule-friendly, and we need to finalize some details. Not to worry, however, as I do this all of the time. I've booked many shoots this way in the past few years, and have never had any issues with it.

Business first, people. I'll be back at work here next week. Something tells me that using my modeling resource sites as a marketing platform is working very well. If I can get this paperwork finalized, then I'll be able to keep up with Independent Modeling and the other modeling resource sites regardless of how much photography business I'm doing. That's just the first step, however. Once the photograph business is where I want it, I move on to my event planning company. Why is that relevant to Independent Modeling? Think about it. You'll all find out, soon enough.

Other Tampa photographer wish that they had my problems. I hear that many of them are not working right now at all, and much of their business is lost because of my business. Sorry, guys. Spend a few years building a portfolio and contacts, and invest thousands of hours into support resources. Maybe then you'll deserve some business. I didn't take short cuts and invested in my career. This is why I am leading the Tampa photography services market. Oh, and it helps to own the top modeling resource sites, too.

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Tuesday, May 12, 2009 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

BACK TO WORK

6:00 AM

After a long week working on support files for Independent Modeling, Tampa Bay Film, and Tampa Bay Modeling, it's back to work on Independent Modeling. We should be in position to aggressively start pushing the modeling job board this week. That is all for now, as we are busy.

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Wednesday, May 6, 2009 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

MAIN SECTIONS LACKING

8:41 AM

Current menu selection:

BLOG - MODELS - JOBS - SCAMS - FEATURES - PHOTOGRAPHY - SERVICES - CONTACT

I still have issues with the main sections of the Independent Modeling web site. I need to make sure that they are fixed before I do a complete refresh of the web site on the server to add the thumbnail images and online portfolio section. I still have no clue why I have a "photography" AND a "services" section. It seems redundant to me, a bit of overkill, and I don't know what I was planning when I did the redesign late last year. I can see some differences which would make two sections necessary, but at other times, I don't. It seems to me that the "paperwork" and the "tutorials" sections should be brought to the front of the directories and linked to from the main menu, as they are more important. The paperwork section is critical because models are going to need vouchers (way overdue) and an array of ASA's (Anti Scam Agreements) for their careers. There will also be paperwork forms for photographers and the businesses that book models and photographers, with balance between all the groups. I can now confirm that there will be two types of pay vouchers available, with releases built into them and the main difference between both would be payment terms (in photography, I always get paid because the client pays me before they get their pictures... modeling vouchers normally don't work this way, and the payment is normally billed later, but without an agency or third party guaranteeing payment, the new type of voucher will be made available, as well as a traditional one. I'm smart like that, and I will translate my business success into forms which will benefit models, free of charge). Going back to the menu, perhaps I will change out two of the menu buttons this week, but not before I make sure that the existing sections are up to spec. Any sections dropped from the main menu, of course, will be accessible from our "features" section. Also, be sure of one thing: that either the photography or the services section would stay. Independent Modeling is a marketing platform for my modeling portfolio photography and composite card design business. So are Tampa Bay Modeling and Florida Modeling Career.

I could change it to this:

BLOG - MODELS - JOBS - SCAMS - FEATURES - PAPERWORK - SERVICES - CONTACT

Or

BLOG - MODELS - JOBS - SCAMS - FEATURES - FORMS - SERVICES - CONTACT

I think that I will go with the latter........ Oh, I see now. I went over to Tampa Bay Modeling (since Tampa Bay Modeling was used as a platform to develop many of the Independent Modeling resources), and see what we did there. I now know what I was thinking when I created a "photography" section and a "services" section on the main menu...... The "services" section, much like the one on Tampa Bay Modeling, is supposed to be used to sell my photography and design services. The "photography" section is supposed to address modeling portfolio photography, as well as reference my photography services. Well, since the cross-reference is overkill, and modeling portfolio photography isn't that much of an issue anymore (it's not 2003 / 2004, when modeling portfolio photography scams were the top modeling scams, although those scams are now integrated into, and a large component of, top modeling scams), I think that it can be dropped from the main menu because it is confusing and the section can be handled elsewhere on the site. I will also be handling the issue of modeling portfolio networking site amateurs, but they will be taken to task and decimated by our new risk analysis system, which helps the modeling industry properly evaluate those who they intend to work with. Hint, hint: If you want to be taken seriously as a photographer, model, or business, don't use freebie web 2.0 services such as Myspace, Facebook, and portfolio networking site profiles as primary business sites. Invest in professional web sites and portfolios. Pay your dues, and pay for the professional tools that you need. Well, I have to run. I have to finish this morning's work on Independent Modeling.

Independent Modeling was in shambles, that's for sure. It's needed more work than I originally considered. The site should be up to full power in another week, however, and the hard work is paying off. My other sites can wait until we get this one up to spec. Oh, and I also have to properly index this modeling blog when the overhaul is over, too. I now have enough posts to activate the index. This said, I will not post as often until the main work is done, as I need to focus on that instead.

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Tuesday, May 5, 2009 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

ALMOST READY

3:59 AM

I'm still working on image files and some of the sections. Independent Modeling is almost ready to be marketed aggressively. I became sidetracked with the online film festival for a bit because of some moron(s), but now the work is all here. Such is life when you own a fleet of top web sites (I will have to explain the "fleet" concept on my C. A. Passinault Blog once I get that up to spec, if I haven't already). Time to work. Hopefully, I will have the image file thumbnail index and the site code refreshed my daybreak. I may also spend some of that time adding content to the main sections (and maybe add a simplified 2nd generation proto modeling scam analysis database based on the full version developed for Florida Modeling Career). Once this site is up to spec, my team will be working on Florida Modeling Career. Oh, and we have new rules for our featured independent models in our featured model section. The featured model will be invite-only, with only the best independent models featured. I will not be adding all of my modeling clients there from my modeling portfolio photography business. One reason for that is that I do not want competitors using this site against me, and tracking my workload. Another reason is that the main Independent Modeling web site is not a portfolio networking site, and I don't want it cluttered with too many featured models. The featured model section, as most of you who are monitoring- er, frequenting Independent Modeling, are aware of, it directly interconnected with the modeling job board so that those who offer modeling jobs can consider the featured models for the job before they post it.

I know that this is taking time, but I'm all about doing it right so we don't have to go back and fix things. I am investing long hours of hard work into Independent Modeling, and it should be up to speed in another week or two. I really don't want to change (er, update) the overall look of the site until we are ready to push the modeling job board, which should be sometime this week.

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Saturday, May 2, 2009 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

CONTENT UPDATES AND SITE WORK

8:00 AM

I haven't posted on the modeling blog in a week because I've been busy working on the Independent Modeling site content (I've also been backing up tons of files from our computers in preparation for some new projects, which Independent Modeling will benefit from). The image files are almost done, too, and the site code should be refreshed tomorrow. Progress has been good, and we've made some decisions regarding content that we need to ad and formats that need to be nailed down. We have some surprises which should be online in the fall that will prove to be extremely effective. In May, and throughout the summer, however, the site will receive massive updates and have older content updated. Additionally, this new Athena Class site format will be ported over to Independent Acting and the new Independent Talent Network Site.

The Independent Modeling modeling job board, which will the core job board for Tampa Bay Modeling and Florida Modeling Career, has been online for a couple of weeks now, and updates will increase; it has been slow so far because of work to the rest of the site, support work on the modeling job board, and because it will be another few days before we can really start to push it. The modeling job board should be up to full speed later this month, and will grow exponentially over the summer. Growth will especially be facilitated with the databasing upgrade, and we will begin work on that this month, too. We are working toward bringing a database version of the modeling job board online this summer, and modeling job posts will be immediately published by those who are offering the modeling jobs (unless we remove the posts or ban them for some reason). This databasing is critical because the acting / talent audition boards on our sister sites will require it, and the Tampa Bay Film Online Film Festival also needs it (It will be June before our web team gets the chance to do anything with that film festival; we are too tied up with this site right now, and I have some things to do this month with my photography business).

Oh, yes, and like Tampa Bay Modeling, Independent Modeling and Florida Modeling Career will directly market my modeling portfolio photography and composite card services. Effective immediately, no photographers or businesses deemed to be in competition with my businesses will be allowed to market their services on my modeling and talent resource sites, and this includes posting ads on our classifieds section. Sorry, guys, you can cry about it all that you want, but these are my sites, and if you want fair competition, I suggest that you go out and invest in resources like I have. As far as I am concerned I own the Tampa modeling portfolio photograph market and the Tampa modeling industry. There are a few out there who may dispute that claim, but in the near future it will become obvious. I am working toward changing the entire modeling industry, and it starts here in Tampa. In the next year, we will cripple Tampa modeling scams, put Tampa modeling and talent agencies in their proper place, make portfolio networking sites ineffective (and a liability for any professional who uses them as a primary marketing and business tool), and take most of the business away from Tampa photographers. This is not only a war against modeling scams, but it is a war to bring about proper balance to the modeling industry. There are some out there who have convinced themselves that I have done all that I am going to do, and that my efforts have peaked. This is not the case. My people and I have been quietly working on things, and we've spent years doing it. I've been sitting on revolutionary concepts from as far back as 2003, and it is now time to implement them. It can be said that I take my time and do things right. You have not seen anything, yet.

I wrote more, but Dreamweaver had some fatal exception error and crashed, so I lost a few paragraphs. Curse you, Dreamweaver, that's the second time in three days! That's what happens when you transfer most of the files off of the computer and prepare to reformat it. Dreamweaver should be back up once it is reinstalled on the restored computers. I have to run, now. It's time to work with Photoshop.

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Saturday, April 25, 2009 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

THE WAR AGAINST MODELING JOB SCAMS

11:00 AM

Wow. Imagine if everything that you heard advertised on the radio or read being advertised in the paper was for real. Just imagine, and I do hope that your imagination is good, because a lot of it isn't real. So, models are needed for a major department store fashion show, and no experience is necessary? Don't believe any of it! None of us here at Independent Modeling has EVER seen a modeling job advertised on the radio, on television, or in the newspaper turn out to be legitimate. These so-called fashion modeling shows, which may or may not exist, and the people who advertise them have to be a licensed modeling agency in order to make money referring models to them (and they are not), are just the latest bait in a bait-and-switch scheme to get aspiring models to buy overpriced, low quality modeling portfolios and modeling classes.

I am going to bring these modeling job scams to task and make them accountable for their deceptive trade practices by utilizing every resource that I have. For those of you who already know, my resources are substantial, and they are powerful. Independent Modeling, Tampa Bay Modeling, and Florida Modeling Career are all being aligned to fight these scams. So will Advanced Model, and a large number of modeling resource support sites, which include Tampa Model Search, Tampa Modeling Agency, and Tampa Talent Scams. This is war!

With a ton of modeling job scams (and so-called modeling jobs which are not really modeling jobs, and which are dangerous to the careers of models) posted on craigslist and other classified sites, our modeling job board is really becoming important. The Independent Modeling modeling job board and its modeling job tools, which will also be used by Tampa Bay Modeling and Florida Modeling Career, will become critical for our fight against modeling job scams. While we cannot guarantee any of the modeling job offers which are posted on our modeling job board, and anyone responding to those offers assumes all risks involved, at least we will be trying out best to screen them. If we think that it is a modeling job scams, we will not post it on our modeling job board. If we get feedback that a modeling job is a scam, and we find proof, we'll remove it from the board. We will also post "test posts" on the board which are not actually modeling job offer posts, but will lead to information telling the person trying to respond to it that "if this were a real modeling job post, it would be a scam, and here is the reason why", or something along those lines. The test post would reference information on our modeling scam analysis database, too, which will be online in a few weeks.

Ah, yes, and we also have a team of professional models monitoring sites like craigslist, and they work together to remove obvious (or known) modeling job scams. We are determined to help models, and to help maintain professional integrity in the modeling industry. Consider such efforts to be a backlash against unethical and unprofessional elements in the modeling industry (or who claim to be a part of the modeling industry). Our second modeling scam war is going well, and will be in full swing in the coming weeks with the deployment of more web sites and the most advanced, and effective, modeling scam-fighting tools ever seen. Models talk. We listen, and we investigate. If you are running a modeling scam, especially if it is a modeling job scam, you will lose because you will be going up against us. Consider the Tampa Bay modeling industry to be ground zero in our fight against modeling scams, too; if you are running a modeling scam in the Tampa Bay area, you will soon find that it will become very difficult to stay in business.

Of course, much like the person who overuses antibiotics and antibacterial soap helps new, resistant bacteria to evolve, the same will go with these modeling scams. Expect Tampa Bay to see some of the newest, and some of the most effective, modeling scams in the world come out of our efforts to fight modeling scams. We will, however, continue to be several steps ahead of them, and will continue to deploy effective tools that can be used against them. Expect an arms race of sorts, and a vicious cycle of measure / countermeasure to emerge. We have already seen this happen, as some Tampa modeling scams have been enhanced with ideas stolen from our site. We know what we are getting into, and are more than equipped to continue winning our fight. Our modeling sites are widely read, and we are legitimate. We are also smarter than modeling scams (if they were really smart, they would be able to run legitimate businesses). The modeling scam war continues, and the fight will be ongoing.

I have to get back to work now. I still have to edit pictures and graphics, and should be in position to refresh the Independent Modeling site on Sunday. Although the modeling job board is operational now, I haven't had the chance to spread the word and get modeling jobs to post here. That should change next week, and our modeling job board will be up to full speed by mid May, 2009. Hopefully, by fall, we will upgrade it to a PHP database based system, and when that happens our modeling job board will start on the road to becoming the largest, most effective, and most popular modeling job board in the world. Just think.... thousands and thousands of models, photographers, and the businesses who book them going on that modeling job board every day, maybe even every hour, using it for modeling job leads while learning about modeling job scams and how to avoid them. Information is a virus, and it will infect the modeling industry and inspire real change. This will be one of the most devastating things that we can do to modeling job scams. We can't wait!

Oh, and while on the subject of educating our site visitors about modeling scams, we have some new tools on the way that will prove to be most effective. It seems that many people don't like to read on the Internet. Soon, it won't matter. This year, Independent Modeling will become so easy to learn from that you won't have to be able to read to use it! In as little as a minute, and with no effort, you'll be able to learn as much as you need to know to recognize and avoid modeling scams! you'll also be able to learn other things. How? You'll soon find out!

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Thursday, April 23, 2009 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

THEY OUGHT TO BE IN PICTURES

08:00 AM

This week has been hectic. I've been playing phone tag with television reporters, producers, and a ton of models. One model just washed from an interview due to scheduling conflicts (she is also and actress and is working on a movie right now), so I pitched them Nicole, who was in a recent dateline NBC national package, and proved to be a good interview. Nicole is also a swimsuit model and a DJ, so she should work out fine (my lunch card is filling up with models for next week, incidentally). With my model friends in high demand (and becoming more popular all the time because they are asked back after their initial television appearances), and that demand increasing, I'm going to put together a model media team specifically for these projects. This will increase the response time and help the television producers with their deadlines.

I spent a year and a half recently working at a top television station. It was eye-opening, and I got quite an education in how news works. What I've learned about the television news business will prove to be invaluable as I begin to deal with more and more television news stations. I will start working with print and radio media shortly, but not by learning from working there. I've learned enough from OJT experience, thank you very much, and now it is time to put what I learned into practice. I've moved on, and learned as much as I could from that experience.

With Tampa Bay Modeling breaking the media ice last year, and god-only-knows-how many television appearances from models representing Tampa Bay Modeling, the way has been paved for models to start making appearances for Independent Modeling. Expect to see a lot of television appearances for Independent Modeling and Tampa Bay Modeling this year. Also this year, expect to see a lot of actors and talent appearing on behalf of Tampa Bay Acting and Independent Acting. I'd say the Independent Talent Network, too, but that site has not launched yet, and I cannot say when it will launch due to all the other web site work that we're already tied up with.

Note to models: Please don't bug me about getting in on the television and media action. I choose who I refer, and I won't refer models who I do not know. Because I know a lot of models, and am friends with most of them, I have no shortage of models to refer to these media appearences. I like to make sure that they will do a good job, and will reflect on my modeling sites well..

I'm still working on Independent Modeling. I should have the image editing finished today, and will refresh the entire site code when I get the chance. I'm also contacting modeling job contacts so that we can add more modeling jobs on the modeling job board. It's off to a slow start, but it is online, and operational. One of the main delays is because I have had to compose the letters to send to the sources of modeling jobs, and I have been working non-stop on a variety of projects since the modeling job board went online last week. The letters are being finished now.

Ah, the weekend will be good. More work on Independent Modeling, and no film festival appearance from me (this could change). I watched a Tampa indie film today, the Chris Woods classic Bleed, and pitched him a story for a sequel, which would be called Believe In Him (other possible names included Bled, and Bled Out). I don't think that Chris Woods wants to do a sequel, although he liked my idea for the story (no, I will not do a sequel for Bleed without his permission), but I do have indie films on the brain right now. I double checked today and will be ordering a HD DV camera in a few weeks. I will also be using a portable hard drive to archive most of my files so that I can free up one of the computers for indie film editing. I'll be shooting indie films starting in the summer, and the camera work will become very useful for the modeling sites. How? You'll find out! I'll also start carrying a DV camera with me on all of my shoots.

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Monday, April 20, 2009 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

LONG WEEKEND

12:23 PM

It's been a weekend of long hours of work and very little sleep. I returned to the studio last night, tried to connect to the Internet, and then fell asleep. I caught up on my sleep last night and this morning. Because of extreme sleep deprivation, I didn't get much done with the image editing (I was falling asleep working on Photoshop). I'll chill out today and get back to work tomorrow, well rested.

Independent Modeling is coming along nicely, and I will be working on some photography business things this week, too. I recently took some time to look at the overall progress of both the modeling resource sites and my photography marketing. Everything is now in perspective, especially after I was able to see the way things have played out over the years in one sitting (A lot of progress was made, and I feel better about it, now- sometimes, you have to review what you've done to get a feel for where you are at). I can't believe how primitive Independent Modeling was back when it launched in 2001,and the barrage of site redesigns a few years ago which kept the site from being updated with new content. The cool thing is that, despite their advanced level, the current modeling sites are 100% compatible with the dial-up Internet of ten years ago. If I could go back in time and infect (the word is used accurately, because I see ideas, and the communication of those ideas, as a virus which infects the established norms and changes things) the Internet with the current sites, I would like to see how things would have progressed. The current tools are well ahead of anything out there now, and are inspiring change, with the opposition not able to adapt to them and effectively counter them. Eight years ago, it would have really been interesting. Even now, with the latest modeling industry tools about ready to be unleashed, those modeling scams out there will be crippled from what is about to happen. Ah, to be a fly on the wall of the modeling and talent agencies, too. It's amusing, and gratifying, at the same time. The models are about to get a lot of help. I have many ideas, ideas which are proven to work before being refined, developed, and deployed. I have better ways of doing things, and it is going to change the modeling industry forever.

That's it for now. My mind is racing with a lot of things. I need to eat- I didn't get a chance to eat much this weekend, either (although the low-fat, low-carb chicken strip wraps that I made at 3AM were awesome- I'll make more today, and I'll add tomatoes, green peppers, and onion chunks to the honey mustard / garlic/ bbq sauce blend).

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Friday, April 17, 2009 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

IMAGE AND GRAPHICS WORK

5:30 PM

I spent several hours last night designing image and thumbnail templates for Independent Modeling. I tweaked some of the graphics files online today, but it will be another night of work to implement the array of image files; this will require a complete refresh of the site code, and I need to adjust the supplemental content at the bottom of the pages for that, too. My day will be crazy tomorrow, with little sleep and long hours, so it will be Sunday before I can do the refresh and activate the thumbnail array.

I have to set up some support accounts and go over some things before I can push the modeling job board, which is now online. I'll be set to push it on Sunday, and it will be up to full speed next week. With the dominant search engine performance of Independent Modeling and the modeling job board, it won't take long for this site and its modeling job board to get very, very busy. All of that momentum will translate nicely to the Independent Acting audition board and the Independent Talent Network entertainment industry job board, which will be brought online in the coming weeks as both sites are brought up to speed. I told some people yesterday that the job boards are critical for some event projects that I am planning for next year. Of course, they also do well with helping to fight job scams. These job boards will become very important, and updated a lot. This, of course, will lead to a push for PHP databasing, which will benefit all of my sites, including my online film festival. The PHP databasing will also benefit Independent Modeling in other ways, as we begin to add a new TALON industry contact database and portfolio networking features which will serve well to undermine all of those amateur portfolio networking sites out there (I am also working on new types of web sites, so that will be interesting, and a benefit, too).

The irony with all of this is that I never wanted a modeling job board with Independent Modeling. I mean, the whole point of models being independent is to give them the resources to find their own modeling job leads instead of being dependent upon a modeling web site to feed them those leads. There are advantages to having a modeling job board, however, which make it worthwhile, as well as a need for it. It's the same with modeling and talent agencies. While modeling and talent agencies are now longer the only game in the modeling industry, they will always be around because there will always be models who don't want to work the business, and they will be content to rely upon an agency. Want to know a secret? Of course you do! Some of the Tampa modeling agency owners won't like it, but I still have my modeling agency plans simmering on the back burner. If I were to launch my own modeling and talent agency (which would complicate my career as a photographer because it is against the law to make money doing modeling portfolios with an agency, and I will not break the law or support a conflict of interest). The cool thing to think about? If I were to launch a modeling agency, it would be infused with certain business enhancements from Independent Modeling which would make a super modeling agency at least ten to twenty years ahead of any modeling and talent agency currently in existence. How is this compatible with Independent Modeling and my modeling book? I can't say, but there is a plan on how this will work, and it won't be a conflict. Let's just say that independent models and models who are content to be led my an agency are two different markets, much like this modeling job board is on my modeling resource web site. There is a market for just about anything, if you know how to make them work, and if you play them up to their strengths (another example: online film festivals and film festival events; each have their strengths and weaknesses, and they are compatible because certain strengths can offset weaknesses in the other).

On the subject of modeling job boards, I will say that I'm not happy with the few that are out there. There are too many modeling scams posting jobs, and way too many promotional modeling jobs. While there is nothing wrong with promotional modeling jobs, I'd like to see more print work and the modeling jobs that models invest in portfolios for. Want to know another secret? During the downtime, I've spent a lot, and I mean a lot, of time working with art directors and other big companies that the agencies insist will only go through them to obtain models for their print work and television work. Can you guess what I found out? They all have issues dealing with modeling and talent agencies, and they are all open to booking independent models and bypassing the agencies altogether. I've also solved the credibility and professional accountability issue which a certain modeling agency brought up a few years ago, and it is no longer an issue. If Tampa modeling and talent agencies knew who I had on board with this, and who I've been in contact with, they would freak out. When the modeling job market picks up, the best modeling jobs will be here on Independent Modeling, and the trend will continue to a next-generation job resource site that is now in the works. Just when you thought that nothing was being accomplished while Independent Modeling was dormant, we all now learn that I spent those years working on a foundation for what was to come. Before I set out to work on the groundwork, Independent Modeling had a beta-version modeling job board a few years back. It had promising results, even when it was supported as well as it could have been by my team. Some modeling print jobs were booked through the old modeling job board back in the day, and businesses thanked us for referring them professional independent models which made their print projects work. The cool thing? The models received full pay, which they would have expected if the booked the job through a modeling agency, and the businesses save money because they did not have to pay agency fees. Ah, such is progress. That earlier success is an indication of what is coming. The Independent Modeling modeling job board may prove to be a major force in the modeling industry, and modeling agencies could very well lose a lot of business over all of this. I say make them sing for their supper. Anything that makes the modeling agencies work harder and clean up their act is a good thing, and competition is always good for the market, and for industries in general.

Well, I have (another) two models who want to do lunch next week. That should be productive. I saw one of them featured on a national television program a few days ago and realized that I had her number on file. I rang her up as soon as the program was over, and we caught up. She gave me some insights into the news program that was never aired, so that was cool.

I have to run. Time to eat.

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Thursday, April 16, 2009 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

INDEPENDENT MODELING SITE WORK

5:29 PM

My day is only getting started. I returned a call to a news reporter and set up two models for a television project. I'm also sitting around looking over the Independent Modeling site, and am wondering what I was thinking in some of the sections and menu choices when we reformatted the site four months ago. Maybe I was sleep deprived when I mapped out the menu. I really hate taking breaks after large site design overhauls, as precious momentum is lost. I have to figure out what page I am on. Doesn't matter. I'll have a handle on the entire site in another day; if I can't figure out what some of this does, I'll just take the initiative and go with it.

The modeling job board was brought online this morning, on schedule. I'm going to adjust the format, and it will take it a few days to get up to speed. I posted a modeling job post, from France, of all places, and received another one today after the board went live. Very funny. What part of "We refuse to post modeling job offers which exploit models and reflect badly upon their careers" did you not understand? I don't care if the modeling job is not hardcore and the models are prancing around in bikinis on a web cam (I really dislike web cam models; they are not models). The "modeling job" is exploitive, it is not modeling (in the sense that it is compatible with a professional modeling career), and it isn't in good taste. I refuse to post the offer on my board. If you wish to find skanks and convince them that they are models, go post on Craigslist. I'll have fun later when I go on there and have a group of models flag and remove the post after we determine that you mis categorized the post and placed it in the talent gigs category when it really belongs in the adult section! We are not aiming for a generic Craigslist here, kids. Since the new modeling job board resource is interconnected with our modeling scam-fighting resources, and it primarily is engineered to fight modeling job scams, we are not going to post every supposed modeling job offer that comes along. Well, we can afford to be selective, too. I have a long list of modeling jobs that I consider to be legitimate, and after I finalize the letter copy I will be sending them e-mails so that they can post their modeling job ads on our board. I could graze some of my sources, write my own post copy, and post them, but it will enhance our ability to stop people stealing modeling job content from our boards if we have a relationship with the parties offering the modeling jobs and educate them about the dangers. Let it be known that you will damage your professional credibility if you allow your modeling job offers to be taken and used by others as bait for some modeling scam. We have a a "handshake" policy which will discourage the theft and misuse of modeling job offers and other content on Independent Modeling.

It's time to go. I have to eat, call some models, and get ready to work on Independent Modeling tonight. We will be refreshing the code of the entire site, will be adding a new photograph format, and will be adding the online portfolio and picture thumbnails. I will also be adjusting the format of the modeling job board. I suppose that we will be receiving modeling job offers tomorrow from the emails sent out tonight, but I will be tied up with projects this weekend and may not be able to finish posting until Sunday evening. The cool thing about modeling job board updates? I'm working on a PHP database for Independent Modeling right now, and it should be ready by early summer. Later this year, parties offering modeling jobs will be able to post modeling jobs automatically, and it will be much easier to go on there and edit out the inappropriate posts rather than manually adding them. I can't wait, and this will be a good year for Independent Modeling and independent models. What am I most excited about? That some of those modeling job scams out there will lose money over all this. I cannot begin to tell you how pissed off that I get every time that I hear a commercial on the radio for those fashion shows with "no experience necessary" and their counterparts in the paper (see our Tampa model search annex site and our warning about modeling job scams for more). It's a modeling job scam! No one is going to book a model into a fahion show without experience! Also, no one is going to refer a model to a fashion show job if they cannot legally make money doing so (and they can't if the are not a licensed modeling and talent agency). How many people out there are stupid enough to fall for that? Apparently, enough to keep them is business. This will change, and our modeling job board will be a part of that.

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Wednesday, April 15, 2009 - Independent Modeling Blog entry by C. A. Passinault

A NEW ERA IN MODELING

9:00 AM

Welcome to the Independent Modeling Blog! This is our first Independent Modeling blog post, and I'll be brief because there is a lot going on here today, and I have to get back to work. As of today, tax day, our Independent Modeling Blog is officially online. As of tomorrow, our new modeling job board goes live, and both Tampa Bay Modeling and Florida Modeling Career will utilize our modeling job board resource. The modeling job board and modeling job resources are absolutely critical for our efforts to combat modeling job scams, and this modeling job resource will be one of our front-line tools in our second modeling industry war.

The Independent Modeling Job Board will be simplified upon launch. It will not connect to a talent and professional contact database and will be manually updated on a daily basis. The database and automated updates will be coming soon, and our first PHP databasing efforts will begin here (and, later, will add to, and enhance, the automated maintenance of things such as the Tampa Bay Film Online Film Festival). We have been preparing for this for many months now (and some may argue years). It is now time to get started on what is here now, and what is coming for the next modeling industry.

As of today, April 15, 2009, we officially declare war on unethical and unprofessional practices in the modeling industry. We officially declare war on modeling scams and on modeling job scams. We declare war on misleading model searches, model management scams, and modeling consultants. We declare war on modeling scams who steal from our modeling resource sites and those who use our information to enhance their modeling scams. The war begins today, and our modeling job resources, which will reference our modeling scam-fighting resources, will take point at the start of our second modeling industry war. We will win this war, just like we won the last one. The modeling industry will never be the same, and it will be forced to change. Balance and professionalism will be restored, and models will benefit from our efforts. It is a great time to be a model, and these are exciting, revolutionary times for the modeling industry!

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