Punch Robert - That Doesn't Make You A Model

[The Newswire]

One of the oddest impacts of the internet is that being actually famous has become super unfun and being even a teeny bit internet famous can lead to a lot of the same headaches real famous people have -- privacy invasion, unflattering paparazzi pics, strangers saying mean stuff -- only without the resources actual successful famous have, like money and lawyers and sycophants to assure them the haters are all losers.

Robert James Hoffman is mostly a dancer/choreographer, but he got internet...

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[Raza]

I'm torn. On one hand, I've always thought that making being in pictures out to be a profession is a little ridiculous... on the other, this guy is being a bit of an ass about it, and seems to think it stops being ridiculous if only you build up the right qualifications. I don't agree.

I think the worst thing about fame is the 'fan/celebrity' relationship. I interact with people as equals, or I don't interact with them at all. All these people with their 'fan pages' insisting on being treated like public figures... and there is nothing so unfair as being adored intensely by someone you know or feel nothing about, relationships with no place to go but down before they've ever even started.

[Sierras]

I have to agree with Raza...it's a little funny, I admit, and it is a little silly that girls think they can become "internet famous" or models simply by posting self-shot photos on ******* and modelmayhem...but I agree that this guy is being a dick. Let those girls have their fun, and yeah it's a little ridiculous, but why do we care? We don't need to ridicule them for it.

[Raza]

Aren't they models? All it takes to 'be' an ad hoc model is to pose for a picture. Perceived 'professionalism' is quantitative at best, and hardly cause for describing the act with a distinct verb entirely.

It just seems to me such an absurdly narrow specialisation to name as one's primary occupation, to aim to be visually worthwhile during that one moment when the camera shutter opens. Even if there is real skill to it, in the bigger picture of photography it's like a mechanic building a career on only wielding screwdrivers. I get that the title is a badge of honor for being pretty, but people go about building modelling prestige like WoW-players grinding their dedicated characters for DPS.

S'puzzling. Culture of its own, I guess.

[Mr Karl]

I suppose just like any other occupation it depends on how well whatever you do is able to support itself..........and especially if anyone notices....I suppose it would suck to be a model noone noticed

[Cafe_Post_Mortem]

If it was easy, then everyone would do it. Beside the whole, looking like the photographer wants you to in front of the camera, and being able to translate what photographers want, there is the fact that in any entertainment industry you have to hustle to find paying work.

Yeah, it is a narrow skill set, but so is brake repair.

[Raza]

Everybody is doing it.

And why must photographers always do the creative directing? Their being expected to decide and arrange everything while the model just poses is another brick in the wall of the 'occupation''s ridiculousness.

[ForrestBlack]

Ideally, in many cases, it's a creative collaboration. However, if a company wants an image shot, they communicate that with the photographer whom they probably hired. The photographer has to ensure they are capturing what they have been assigned to capture. That requires a bit of creative direction and instructional communication with the subjects in front of the camera.

If the person in front of the camera is the one who hired the photographer to capture a certain image/mood/whatever, then they obviously get to have more of the creative directing role. However, since they probably hired the photographer because they liked their style and/or quality, there will still be some areas where creative direction will require more negotiation. Again, ideally they work well together.

We've struggled not to use the term 'model' because it connotes a certain role which doesn't directly fit in with our creative process, but the term is so ubiquitously used these days that it becomes a real challenge not to just use it. Stylish cultural photojournalism is actually a very different animal from manufactured commercial photography, even if they are both shooting cute young women in pigtails and striped stockings. The whole creative mechanism is different, and the funny part is that to some degree, they are both trying to look like the other one. To me, and hopefully this won't ruffle too many feathers (but it probably will) a proper basic model is a cypher, which is the direct opposite of a truly stylish unique individual. However, these days the term is used for both, which confuses matters.

Everybody is doing it.

And why must photographers always do the creative directing? Their being expected to decide and arrange everything while the model just poses is another brick in the wall of the 'occupation''s ridiculousness.

[Morning Glory]

I have a dream that my children will one day surf an internet judged not by their twitter pics, but by the content of their blogs.

[Raza]

I have a dream that my children will one day surf an internet judged not by their twitter pics, but by the content of their blogs.

Or you could not settle for just one of the two.

[Morning Glory]

Actually, I want none of them, especially the children. I was just trying to be funny.

[Raza]

You were - mildly - but that doesn't keep there from being a message.

[Morning Glory]

well I think the celebrity worship is stupid, especially for someone on the internet. Can you imagine if people were talking about me? 'oh, your snarky references are brillitant!' Maybe Diablo Cody should write my script. Come on. it's all just bullshit.

But when it comes to self expression I'm pretty accepting for what people want to do. I may not know art, but I believe that it should stand on it's own sake, and that's really the only limitation I see there.

[Amelia G]

well I think the celebrity worship is stupid, especially for someone on the internet. Can you imagine if people were talking about me? 'oh, your snarky references are brillitant!' Maybe Diablo Cody should write my script. Come on. it's all just bullshit.

But when it comes to self expression I'm pretty accepting for what people want to do. I may not know art, but I believe that it should stand on it's own sake, and that's really the only limitation I see there.

Why would it be totally bizarre for people to talk about you for what you say online?

Diablo Cody is a case for exactly what Raza suggested. Her whole career came from posting hot pics of herself and snarky posts on the internet. Some people believe she didn't really write the snarky posts herself, but internet famous can certainly become something more solid.