Good question and I don't really have an answer to the rudeness involved in the industry. Part of the answer probably has to do with the big egos you mentioned, just because they 'can'. But another part of it is simply calousness. They have so many models and photographers coming to them that they often lose patience, viewing us as commodities. Some of it is probably just expediency, as they review so many books and comps that they often see those reviews as interuptions in their very busy schedules, but sometimes it's just to make a point.
In the case in which the art director who told me, "Well this sucks", as he tossed my portfolio toward as trash can, he was making the point that the images wre worthless to him as they were not images which told him how I could help him and I was wasting his time. The images were good, in fact excellent, but not the sort of images he needed. Months later I had another portfolio review with him. In the second one, he flipped through my book, handed it back to me saying "OK". Within a couple of months after that, I began getting assignments from him.
Don't misunderstand though, all are not like that. Some can be quite helpful on occasion, but they often have hundreds of books/comps to review in a limited amount of time and in between other duties. Another guy went through my book and made comments on each image, asked me questions about my studio set up and offered me a number of tips and suggestions. I should note however, that was during a scheduled lunch meeting and two or three adult beverages, which I bought. From him, I got good a good deal of time, some excellent suggestions, but no work.
|