My First Model Experience With a "Professional" Photog

Today I'm going to discuss something very un-cute and I have tried to be very patient but I think it's important to warn others.

Earlier this year I found a post searching for models by a lady named Joy in the Midwest Model & Photographer Talent group on Facebook. I PM'd her and she was really nice and easy to talk to.
The shoot was TFP (so free, I just get the pics too) and the pics were intended to be used for bookcovers as she is in a network of authors who use her work for their books.

She showed me a page with some examples of her work which were basically heavily photoshopped photos but the photoshop was pretty good--looked basically like what you see on the covers of adult fiction at Walgreens or Walmart. So I thought, yeah she seems talented and of course I'd love a chance to be a book cover. Her FB pages are here and here.

My first photoshoot was on 03/02/14. She lives in an unincorporated area so the only GPS that I could use was MapQuest, which not only was confusing but also had me go through tolls even though I turned them off. It took well over an hour to get to her house.
I brought my own clothes and did my own makeup which was fine.
She had a setup in her basement, a green back drop and the basic lighting. I had nowhere comfortable to do my makeup.
I thought the setup was pretty basic and expected more, because she made it sound like she was pretty experienced and not an amateur.

I spent about 5 hours there. Only about 3 of those 5 hours were spent actually shooting. There was a lot of chit chat and life story telling, and then a lunchbreak. In the end I also signed a release of which I could not get a copy because they are "for her". Ok.

The shoot:
-She gave posing pointers
-She used onboard flash nonstop
-Several breaks between shooting to talk
-Her father would come to watch and chat too, distracting and unnecessary

She showed me some of the unedited photos a couple days later, most looked washed out but I figured they were compressed by FB and not edited so it was normal. I never received edited shots. 

On the 4th of March I spoke to her on the phone; she said that an author she knew saw my photos and wanted me to model for her bookcover. Of course this was exciting and I agreed to it. The shoot was a "couple shoot" which would include a random male model and though I stated that I would not agree to any touching at all, she kept acting like she was disappointed about it and kept trying to make it happen.
The photoshoot was on March 22nd. This time there was an MUA and she did a nice job with my makeup. I requested to be done with the shoot by 5:30 but again it dragged on. It was cold outside, and the almost the entire shoot was outside. She made no mention of this to me before, I would have dressed warmer if I knew. Again, spent several hours shooting, etc, and I never received any photos (she said that it took loads of time to photoshop me and the male model in ways that looked like we were touching). I saw a couple shots on her FB photog page. Again, washed out looking and unedited, from bad angles, and as if taken with any P&S camera.

When I asked her several times for my photos, she said I was demanding and that most professional photographers had up to a 6 month turnaround. She also said that I could never make it in the modeling world if I refused to do any touching with male models when I previously made it clear that I never intended to make modeling a serious career.

So to this day I have not received any final photos whatsoever. She deleted me from Facebook and after I responded to her long message to me about how "demanding" I was (end of April, while mid-April she said she's send some that night and of course she never did). She accused me of constantly asking about my photos, when I only asked at most 3 times over several weeks. She also tried to guilt trip me more or less by saying how she's one of the only female photographers near me (I will only shoot with females) and that I was making unrealistic demands. Meanwhile she was posting on FB looking for more models for more shoots, and she did other shoots for which photos were posted on her fb, but mine weren't.

The last time I heard from her was April 21st regarding any of this.

I guess what I'm trying to say is: DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME! Not only are her photography skills mediocre at best, but she is unprofessional and you will not see your photos possibly ever.
She does not keep her end of the deal, and doing basic edits like making a solid background does not take several months to do, which I can say for a fact as I do have another friend who is a photography student and has higher quality shots that she has finished editing in a week.

She does not understand how business works and believes being nice and friendly is all she needs, but I did not drive 120miles, paid for gas and tolls, and lost 12 hrs of my life to have friendly chit chat with a stranger. I came to have a serious photoshoot, and to have photos to add to my portfolio as was agreed upon.

I'm really disappointed with her work and her behavior. I would not recommend her until she figures out how to provide a more professional service.

Joy if you read this, don't ask me to delete it because I will not. I don't care about your personal life. You posted looking for models and I answered the call for the photoshoot. I came to your door at your convenience, brought the things you asked me to, and you never held up your end of the deal. That's NOT acceptable. If you'd like to make amends and actually provide the edited photos and work with me on which photos I'd like to have, I will update my review, but until then, I will change nothing. Don't try to turn this on me like I'm impatient when I'm not the only model you haven't provided photos to.

ModDeals.com Review!!

So the other night I came across this ModDeals website, not entirely sure how, but they had a lot of basics and cute pieces for very low prices. I decided to go ahead and order a few things; I got 3 tops and 3 pairs of shorts.

All 3 shorts are made of that thin, stretchy, denim-like material.
All 3 tops are larger than expected. They're supposed to be like t-shirts but they're the oversized-on-purpose kind. They didn't appear that way on the models, though. Guess I just overlooked that. Everything came packed separately in plastic bags, but it all came in a small box. They also threw in some free Suave samples!

I got all this for $60 including shipping ($6.99). Placed my order on 06/14 and it arrived today! Overall I'm happy with it. I'd buy from the site again :)

Never Before Seen! A fresh rap song written by yours truly~!

Hello my dears!

Recently I've started writing again. I used to write a lot, a LOT of poetry in high school, but after graduating and in all those next few years I completely stopped....the words just weren't coming to me anymore.
The music stopped.

A couple of months ago I wrote a pop song, which I think I'll share later, and a couple of weeks ago I wrote two rap songs! They're not your average gangsta sounding rap but....I was inspired by Iggy and Die Antwoord ^^;

Without further ado~ here is one of those songs! If anyone would like to drop some beats for it, let me know! Would love to collaborate! I imagine it as a slow/medium paced beat.

"Red Coupes"

Everybody be so quick to judge

They don’t stop to think

Their hardships cloudin they minds

Spilling liquor down the sink

I never said what wasn’t true

I put me all out bare

But bitches wanna talk talk talk

Its like no one fuckin cares

Hated school more than anything

All these basic bitches were so fake

Too absorbed in themselves

I could never even relate

Threatened me, hurt me, my insides

Got burned yo

But look at yall now

Same place you left off now

[Chorus]
Riding in his red coupe

Money easy, got that juice

No care for the past dues

I’m all over you

[x 2]

Closet full of pastel sweets
modesty brought me Lolita treats
chocolate prints and pink roses
society cryin like i be broken
Angelic Pretty BTSSB
All my favorites hang pretty for me
Do whatever makes you happy
you struggled for it so you can be

[chorus]

Mom and dad put in long hours
I worked my ass off to get through college
just to land a gig of a few more dollars
but now it’s all becoming clear
sparkling crystals on chandeliers
glitter be turning into gold
you can get it, girl
just gotta be bold

[chorus] [x2]

-End-

I know it's sort of cheesy but let me know what you thought! x3

Shopping is Love~ Hollister, Shiro Cosmetics, JillPunxLoli! + 1000 views Giveaway!!

Hello my dears!

I wrote a post earlier this month but as I did it on the Blogger app on my phone, the draft didn't get saved on the account and it refuses to publish anything when I include photos! Quite annoying.
Anyway, starting from scratch again!

Today my Hollister order arrived. They were having a sale again and shipping was free for orders over $50!

I haven't had a chance to try them all on yet, I'm sure they will fit fine, I just hope the Gilly Hicks bralette isn't too tight because I bought XS, and even though the bust measurement matches mine, I'm not sure if it'll feel comfortable after a while. Hopefully it will because it will look so cute under that crop top, which has a crochet design in the back and the bralette would show through :)

Shipping was kind of slow, I placed my order on 04/20. Perhaps that had to do with the Easter holiday xD

My order from JillPunxLoli on Ebay arrived as well, I purchased these Ank Rouge replicas.

Both are suspender skirts!

I thought the blouse was the same color as the beige skirt....but whatever. Buttons aren't missing.

 I'd say it's F21 quality. It's soft and undamaged, but as you can see, the fabric is coming through these seams here on the collar.

Also, on one skirt, they forgot to sew on a button, bu that's an easy fix, plus I don't plan on using the suspenders much anyway!

 Overall, I'm satisfied with the order. Both skirts are lined btw, and the fabric is NOT sheer at all. Print is clear as well. It all cost me about $66 with shipping!

Last but certainly not least, a friend on Facebook recommended Shiro Cosmetics to me, as they have many vegan shadows available. I have sensitive eyes and have found that UD shadow doesn't irritate them while anything that is Sephora or ELF quality does! So I bought a few samples.

Shiro was so nice, they included a little pack of SweetTarts! And they kindly included 2 free samples as well (the gold tone and aqua one at the top). The samples are very generous, and honestly the only reason I bought the samples rather than an actual tub is so that I can test it first to make sure my eyes are fine with it! Also, the black chapstick smells like chocolate and the brown one like caramel! yummmm!

Lovely service and company, would recommend them!

And noooowwwww *drumrollllll*

In celebration of 1000 pageviews, I'd like to do a giveaway!

Prizes: 

1 x Japanese gummy candy

1 x small star hard candies

1 x Sanrio My Melody Notepad with 3 different style pages 

1 x Cinnamaroll coin pouch

Rules:

There will be ONE lucky winner! Giveaway ends May 15th, 2014 at midnight, CST.

Winner will be contacted via Facebook so please check your "Others" folder if you do not see a message from me in your inbox!

To enter the giveaway:

1. Leave a comment on this post.

2. Follow me (Google+ link in right panel of this page).

3. Share my Facebook link for this post [click here] and make sure to mention your blogger username, and make your post public so I can see :)

Edit: Contest ended, thanks for playing ;D
Winner will has been contacted♥

Days I get mail are the best! + Kawaii Gyaru Shop Review!

I haven't blogged about my recent purchases for a while! I got a couple new lolita dresses and such recently~

Chess Story Maracon et Mademoiselle chocolate OP, and White Moon JSK.

 Angelic Pretty Romantic Rose Letter skirt & headbow in mint

Bought it as soon as it came to the SF store :3
But I've sold the headbow just yesterday. I like it but the flaring ribbons are kind of too big and the rose looks sort of cheap. I don't know, I think it would look good over a wig but since I don't have full/thick hair, it looks rather large on my head!

 Hello Kitty Mon Amour Eyeshadow and Blush palette and coin purse (free gift)

Today I also received my order from Kawaii Gyaru Shop!

I bought this adorable Fairytale dress--and I really don't know why it keeps looking so yellowy in photos, it's actually a peachy-pink color in real life! Very soft and lovely!
I placed my order only to find out it was sold out, but luckily another came in from Japan the next day. It was shipped to me by the shop owner, Stephanie, on 04/02/14 and arrived today. I also got two cute free gifts--natural lower lashes and a cute HK lash case! :3

So ratings wise:
Communication: 5/5
Shipping time: 5/5
Packaging: 5/5
Item as Described: 5/5

Overall very good experience and great communication with the shop owner! I would recommend this shop and would buy from again! It has many affordable, new or like new Liz Lisa items ♥

Thanks for reading!! Tschüssssss ^.~