Apfel Photography wrote:

angela camp wrote:
1.  He owns a camera that doesn't even remotely resemble the camera I have at home nor any camera they sell at radioshack or walmart.
2.  He is perfectly willing to meet my boyfriend before the shoot

In defense, Richard Avadon (heard of him right?) did some great fashion shoots with a pinhole camera.  Seeing that you can make one out of a oatmeal container, technically you can get one at WalMart. :-)

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BTW:
It's Avedon, not Avadon, and I don't believe Avedon ever shot with a pin-hole camera.  A brownie, yes, but that was in the 1940's..He used a Rolleiflex and after 1979 used a Sinar Norma 8 x10 with the occasional Hasselblad. 

I think what she meant was that the photographer doen't come to the shoot with a common consumer camera that you get a Ritz Camera.  But, I do disagree with the model.  I believe the work and reputation should stand for itself and the camera choice..well, if you're a good photographer-then you have the right equipment regardless..

angela camp wrote:
Okay, I know this has already been done but why can't it be done again?
It is always relevant considering how many naive aspiring models take a glance at the main page.  Heck, and hopefully I'll learn something.  Here is a list of two things I look for:
1.  He owns a camera that doesn't even remotely resemble the camera I have at home nor any camera they sell at radioshack or walmart.
2.  He is perfectly willing to meet my boyfriend before the shoot


Please add on and correct my two presumptions if you think they are wrong.

I too disagree with number one. I have seen some images that would astound you and they were done with a pin-hole box.

Number two. No problem there. Wanna meet for coffee, bring BF, the whole family, doesn't matter to me.

Diana Moffitt wrote:
MEET YOUR BOYFRIEND AT THE SHOOT??!!??!?!  Are you crazy???  My agent would kick my butt out of the door if I ever did that to one of their photographers......

Oh and my boyfriend (whom also used to model) would think I'm on crack if I asked him to do that.

Have you read the previous posts?
This is not referring to clients that book you through your agent.
This is referring to photographers you contact through networking resources on the net.

WestWoodStudios wrote:
Ok really who cares!!!!! This is just another MM stupid thread with no meaning.

Absolutely Correct!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



I wrote an answer before from my own perspective ... BUT the TRUE answer is that for every person, there is a different perspective of what a "real photographer" is.   

What is a "photographer" or "model" it is not a label or thing ... it is an occupation that every single person does differently.  I happen to enjoy doing photography regardless if some fool debates over if I'm "real or not."   Anyone can call themselves a "photographer" but if they actually can do photography is another question!

theedge wrote:
A good agency just like a Temp agency are the ones that pay you..you don't pay them...they take a percentage....I wonder what models here payed upfront?

I never gave my agency a dime.

The thread question was "How to Spot a Real Photographer",
not "What makes for a Real Photographer",
My intention was to give clues on how to know when a photographer is not legitimate, primarily for saftey reasons.

angela camp wrote:
Let me reiterate, this thread was intended to give insight on how to spot real photographers in the murky environment of the web.  I thought that was a given.

No, it wasn't a given.  Re-read what you wrote.  Internet or not, bringing a boyfriend is the purest form of one screaming, NET MODEL - TAKE MY PICTURE.

If one is going to pretend don't do it with a boyfriend in tow...bring a MUA if you feel the need to be protected.  Maybe then you'll act and start thinking like a model.

angela camp wrote:

I never gave my agency a dime.

You have your booker meet the photographer.  Not your boyfriend!!!

area291 wrote:

No, it wasn't a given.  Re-read what you wrote.  Internet or not, bringing a boyfriend is the purest form of one screaming, NET MODEL - TAKE MY PICTURE.

If one is going to pretend don't do it with a boyfriend in tow...bring a MUA if you feel the need to be protected.  Maybe then you'll act and start thinking like a model.

Act and start thinking like a model? LOL.  Whatever you think that means.

Diana Moffitt wrote:

You have your booker meet the photographer.  Not your boyfriend!!!

One more time, I am not talking about photographers that book you through your agency.  I am talking about photographers that contact you through the internet.

angela camp wrote:

I never gave my agency a dime.

The thread question was "How to Spot a Real Photographer",
not "What makes for a Real Photographer",
My intention was to give clues on how to know when a photographer is not legitimate, primarily for saftey reasons.

Anything you mention is game..you brought up agency...I might have follow ups to make a point..

theedge wrote:

Anything you mention is game..you brought up agency...I might have follow ups to make a point..

The second part of my statement wasn't directed toward you going off-topic, I intended that toward the previous comments saying the thread was stupid because you can't put a label on what a model or a photographer is.

angela camp wrote:
Okay, I know this has already been done but why can't it be done again?
It is always relevant considering how many naive aspiring models take a glance at the main page.  Heck, and hopefully I'll learn something.  Here is a list of two things I look for:
1.  He owns a camera that doesn't even remotely resemble the camera I have at home nor any camera they sell at radioshack or walmart.
2.  He is perfectly willing to meet my boyfriend before the shoot


Please add on and correct my two presumptions if you think they are wrong.

For starters,  HE might actually be a SHE.  I know in the internet world of photography, it seems like all photographers are dudes, but not always the case!

As for assumption two, here's my thoughts...not only do I want to meet your boyfriend but after I'm done looking him straight in the eye, I want to strip him naked, slather him in red body paint,  dress him in ribbons and bows,  and then take him from behind while singing Ave Maria.  You can only watch and take photos with your crappy Walmart camera.   Does that make you feel safer now?

Diana Moffitt wrote:
An escort is not your boyfriend. 

An escort comes in different forms.....so get over yourself not all photogs on the net want to get in your pants.  Many photogs meet and shoot with drop dead gorgeous girls everyday and I'm sure they are now numb to the fact!!

Seriously.  Many photographers are actually women, some of us actually realize that a drop dead gorgeous girl is in the end, just a blob of protoplasm that shits and farts like other mere mortals... our intent is to create art or good work, the model being just that, a model.

Diana Moffitt wrote:
An llama herder is not your boyfriend. 

An llama herder comes in different forms.....so get over yourself not all photogs on the net want to get in your pants.  Many photogs meet and shoot with drop dead gorgeous girls everyday and I'm sure they are now numb to the fact!!

Bring an mua, wardrobe stylist and or hair stylist to all of your shoots.  These can also be your llama herder(s)!  I'm sure this will save the headache for your boyfriend as well.....I don't know too many guys happy about sitting around a studio 3 to 4 hours for their girlfriend doing nothing!  He is your boyfriend not your bodyguard.  Be considerate of your boyfriend's time as well as your photographer's.  Just my 2 cents!

Gosh, I guess you just don't want to read any of the previous posts.  I hope what you said was a general statement because I will NEVER get over myself! And maybe not all but quite a few wouldn't mind getting into my pants, and I don't blame them. 

  Thats not the point though, the point is if a photographer that I don't know is not willing to MEET my boyfriend or whoever before the shoot, something ain't right.  My boyfriend knows he doesn't have to protect me, wouldn't sit at a shoot for even an hour (especially not during March madness), and has little interest in what kind of pictures I'm taking (I'm a grown ass woman).

I go to shoots alone always, that is my personal preference.

KM von Seidl wrote:

Seriously.  Many photographers are actually women, some of us actually realize that a drop dead gorgeous girl is in the end, just a blob of protoplasm that shits and farts like other mere mortals... our intent is to create art or good work, the model being just that, a model.

How poetic.

C R Photography wrote:

Jeff Marsh wrote:
#3. Has more than a sheet for a backdrop.

Yea, and make sure it's not wronkeld

Don't forget drapy shit either.

angela camp wrote:

How poetic.

What, it's reality.  Or do you really prefer it when GWC's are going ga-ga over you?

Diana Moffitt wrote:
I did read your previous posts!

To protect yourself from a photographer you meet from the internet bring a mua or stylist.  Save your boyfriend and the photog the time and trouble.  I was never raped or harassed at a shoot and my boyfriend was never present and my boyfriend never met any of my photogs.....however I always had a mua or stylist with me!

I doubt that just because he doesn't want to meet your boyfriend it makes him a creep or makes the situation ''strange''.  After all he's shooting you not your boyfriend.  Take this however you want but you did ask for other's input!

Thank You all for contributing to this thread, I have been really bored the past three days as I am stuck inside with a stomach bug.  This is my main source of entertainment (request for pity).
 
Diana, Consider yourself blessed to have never had a bad experience.  I have had experiences with people who weren't what they said they were (not necessarily photographers) and that had bad intentions.  It is something that women should be alert for in all situations.  It only takes one case of bad judgement to end up in a very unfortunate predicament...

I really feel that if the photographer at least meets someone and is identifiable by that person that it is a small indicator that they don't have bad intentions.  I only ask that the photographer meet someone, it can be anybody really, but my boyfriend is the person that is most available for me. They don't have to meet for lunch or anything drawn out like that.  It can be as simple as my boyfriend & I stopping by the studio for 5 minutes.

Furthermore, I always go with my gut feeling about a person and it has never served me wrong.

I never bring mua's or stylist to TFP shoots because I do that myself, unless the photographer insists that someone else do it.

KM von Seidl wrote:

What, it's reality.  Or do you really prefer it when GWC's are going ga-ga over you?

Definitely the latter, save reality for those fools on Prozac! lol. just kidding mom.

Matt Conrads wrote:
How to spot a real photographer? Look at their portfolio/website(s). If it shows high quality work, being published etc., you found one. They will usually charge you for their services or maybe do a test shoot and use your talents later for a shoot that is paid by a client. You may let the boyfriend do something else in the meantime, because it's between you and the photog. You wouldn't bring the bf to a job interview, would you?

It's easy for someone to put a FAKE website with stolen pictures online!  It's even easier to put a FAKE profile up on these free sites like Model Mayhem and MySpace.  That is why I created the FAKE BUSTERS group to go after these people and BUST them through public humiliation by posting the truth!

There are as many definations for "real" photographer as there are people posting on this topic!

Patrick Walberg wrote:
It's easy for someone to put a FAKE website with stolen pictures online!  It's even easier to put a FAKE profile up on these free sites like Model Mayhem and MySpace.  That is why I created the FAKE BUSTERS group to go after these people and BUST them through public humiliation by posting the truth!

There are as many definations for "real" photographer as there are people posting on this topic!

Yeah, yeah, there are black sheep everywhere on this globe. One can always contact models and ask them if that photog shot the pic. If there are no links to models at all, that MAYBE a sign, or not = be careful. Bringing the bf to the meet and greet will not prevent the model from being found sliced up in the Hudson River if she ran into a psycho. And don't get me wrong: There are "legitimate" photogs out there that try anything they shouldn't try.

Diana Moffitt wrote:
Isn't there a famous photographer in NY that shoots with a snapshot?  I don't think the type of camera justifies anything...........

I've never heard of a Snapshot Camera...
Do you mean Point And Shoot?

Diana Moffitt wrote:
I did read your previous posts!

To protect yourself from a photographer you meet from the internet bring a mua or stylist.  Save your boyfriend and the photog the time and trouble.  I was never raped or harassed at a shoot and my boyfriend was never present and my boyfriend never met any of my photogs.....however I always had a mua or stylist with me!

I doubt that just because he doesn't want to meet your boyfriend it makes him a creep or makes the situation ''strange''.  After all he's shooting you not your boyfriend.  Take this however you want but you did ask for other's input!

You're a genius sometimes...

C R Photography wrote:

Yea, and make sure it's not wronkeld

Hey I got several sheets as backdrops!!! LOL

Shyly wrote:

I disagree with this as a blanket statement, Jeff.  People like Max V, Michael Rosen, Jeffrey Scott, Ravens Laughter, August Bradley, James Hickey, Haleh Bryan and Shaun Alexander (to name a few) are absolutely real photographers.  They just happen to be real photographers who make regular (and skilled) use of Photoshop.

Which is why I continue to maintain that it's the finished product that counts.

I totally agree, I started as a graphic designer and photoshop is what I learnt first before photography and I feel it is a neccessary tool especially in this day of digital.