Sluggo's

First off, there is a short photography rant.  Magic at the end, stay tuned.
So, I recently learned what the term "Sluggo" means.  It's a model's jealous controlling boyfriend.

Anyway, three recent shoots I had scheduled were cancelled because of the B/F.


One, when scheduling she said, "Don't put anything on my FB that we're shooting. My b/f doesn't like me modeling anymore," and she's an upstart model trying to become a full-timer.

Another one said, "I have to cancel, sorry; I showed my bf your work and he loves it and would rather do a couples shoot instead of the thing we were supposed to shoot today." (When I let her know that I didn't need couples shoots for my port and it wouldn't be TF*, she got mad, and couldn't believe that I'd make her pay for a shoot. Needless to say, we will not be working together).

The last one said, "be really careful not to delete ANY photos off the card or anything. my b/f will check the image numbers and timestamps to make sure nothing was deleted or a lot of time passed during the shoot where something could happen."
If your significant other is that paranoid, don't be a model -- or leave them. Make a choice, and leave me out of it...


Which brings me to a very, important point, the reason I made this entry!
I actually had a performance cancelled by a jealous b/f.  


My ONLY dealings with this woman consisted of her finding my website on her own, sending me an e-mail asking if I did adult parties, as she wanted to plan a surprise for her b/f who loves magic; and me replying with my rates and the words, "I can't wait to work for you!" like I always do.  


Almost verbatim,
"Hello.  My name is K*****, and I was curious if you perform for all-adult parties.  My b/f really loves magic and I want to surprise him with a magic show.   All of our friends and us like more nightclubbish and a little crude humor so I'm looking for the perfect fit for his party.  Is this something you can do?  Also, he knows a lot of magicians so if you know him don't tell him what I'm planning!! (:  If you can do this, how much do you charge?  -K****"


and my reply


 "Hi K*****!  I do, indeed, cater to adult parties.  And not to worry, as a professional I'm quite good at keeping secrets.  I certainly won't tell him, haha, so it should be an exciting occasion for all!  Are you looking for a half hour or full hour?  My rates are $*** and $*** respectively.  Let me know; I can't wait to work for you!  Magically, Aaron Stone"


The event, unbeknownst to her "man," was his surprise birthday party.  I got a phone call (the number matched the number her e-mail signature provided) from a very angry, upset man who hung up on me (conversation to be transcribed following...) after screaming a load of obscenities about how what I'm doing is morally wrong and how I'm never to e-mail his "girl" ever again, or he'll "kill" me.


The conversation, "Hello?"
"Yea is this Aaron Stone?"
"This is he! What can I do for you?"
"Listen up motherfucker, I don't know who you think you are but I read the e-mail you sent to my girl and I know she never fucking contacted you cause her sent mail is cleaned out and I don't know who you think you are mutherfucker but she don't have the money for a professional loverboy and she ain't gonna spend my fucking money on no jiggalo for when I'm at work putting food on her fucking table.  You contact her ever again and I swear to god I'll kill you muthafucker gangbangin prostitue!"


Before I could reply, or laugh, even, he hung up.  I didn't bother calling back.  I figure I'll get a phone call apology soon enough.  

Promotional Photos

I'm not upset that I'm not doing photos for a certain convention, because that's not something I typically market specifically.  Yes, I do headshots for magicians; so does Faverty, Amyx, etc.. but we don't try to get in on the "convenient headshot" market.

A guy named "Ken Reedy" is doing them for Abra-CORN-dabra.  He's not charging much, and that's a good thing.  First off, I spent nearly 4 minutes trying to find this guy's website. (For the record, that's WAY too long for someone like me to find something).  I found it, and his MySpace, and his LinkedIn and a few others, and in all of them he professes to be a "professional photographer for 12 years and a professional magician for 35 years."

This brings me to a very, very specific point:  professional, here in America, has come to mean 'get paid to do it,' not about the quality of your service.  Everywhere else in the world, a professional service is qualified, high quality, and masterful.

http://newphotosbyme.com/

Take a look.  It's terrible.

So, I'm not upset in any way about not being the photographer there -- I'm upset that people are going to pay for that crap.  I've done most of my really good stuff for free.