Ransom J wrote:

NO shit...I agree...but that dosen't change the fact. Either you demand respect and require a higher standard from your associatiates or you grovel in the muck with the scumbags...

Nerlande wrote:
Rapists and killers no.

Scumbags....hmm...lemme get back to you.

Nerlande, That does not answer my question. Your attitude is what gives you that edge...I don't believe fear is that big an issue for you.

Patrick Walberg wrote:
It just kills me how so many just assume that people who just happen to do photography must be shooting models and are perverts.

I took about 20 minutes to explain to my father what stock photography was. After I finished with my lengthy explanation of what it is, how it works, potential uses and licensing.. well, I think to this day he's convinced that since I shoot people other than my daughter, I am selling naked pictures of my friends on the internet.

John Jebbia wrote:
According to recent threads, a model's entourage is the most dangerous element in some shoots.

One can be very dangerous without being either a photographer or model.

Guess I'll close the shop and shoot small animals!   

Naaaaaw!

dissolvegirl wrote:
Same reason you don't pull over onto an empty street or freeway for flashing lights in the middle of the night, you wait until the first well-lit public place (like a gas station).. People misrepresent themselves all the time.

Just because someone says they're something, doesn't mean they are. People lie all the time-- and ten times as often online.

Fine....people have misrepresented themselves since forever. So why get involved if your afraid of what might happen?...there are far more dangerous activities than being a model and yet the paranoia factor is all out of proportion to the reality.

Ransom J wrote:

I still say it looks like a camel.

dissolvegirl wrote:

I took about 20 minutes to explain to my father what stock photography was. After I finished with my lengthy explanation of what it is, how it works, potential uses and licensing.. well, I think to this day he's convinced that since I shoot people other than my daughter, I am selling naked pictures of my friends on the internet.

This is exactly what I'm talking about...photography have a stigma attached that just isn't the reality in most cases.

Nerlande wrote:
Rapists and killers no.

Scumbags....hmm...lemme get back to you.

Solomage wrote:
Nerlande, That does not answer my question. Your attitude is what gives you that edge...I don't believe fear is that big an issue for you.

Sticking your finger in an electrical socket is dangerous.

You know who NOT to shoot with if a model is posting so much about his/her crazy scenarios about being killed at a shoot. It makes for good banter sometimes, but some people just live their lives fearful of everything.

At the same time, no one should be too trusting.

Solomage wrote:
I find that I am more often than ever before declining to work with people that show an over productive propensity to paranoia.

You turn down shoots that often?

Solomage wrote:

This is exactly what I'm talking about...photography have a stigma attached that just isn't the reality in most cases.

More so when the Internet was added into the mix.  My grandfather was a photographer and so I know that at one time it was a very honorable career.

Ransom J wrote:

home boy is whippin that camels azzzzz!!! LOLipopzz

Nerlande wrote:
At the same time, no one should be too trusting.

That goes for anything.  Being online or not ... people are people.

e-string wrote:
It's not paranoia.. there ARE lots of scumbags out there. I've worked with two of them, and I've avoided several others because I already knew of their reputations. Luckily I was able to handle the situations well, and I know how to avoid people like that now.

You say 'Lots of scumbags.' Could you express (guessimate) that as a percentage of the total photographers? How many good photographers are out there? Maybe going outside is not a good idea - there are lots of robbers also.

I appreciate what you're saying in the way of being cautious. I've cancelled a couple of shoots with models right after we met in a public place. Their 'escort' came across to much like a pimp. And the model just had a less than professional demeanor.

The other 'lots' of models are first class!! Compliments to them.

Patrick Walberg wrote:

That goes for anything.  Being online or not ... people are people.

Well yeah.

That's why my response started with

''sticking your finger in a socket is dangerous"

Nerlande wrote:

Nerlande wrote:
Rapists and killers no.

Scumbags....hmm...lemme get back to you.

Solomage wrote:
Nerlande, That does not answer my question. Your attitude is what gives you that edge...I don't believe fear is that big an issue for you.

Sticking your finger in an electrical socket is dangerous.

You know who NOT to shoot with if a model is posting so much about his/her crazy scenarios about being killed at a shoot. It makes for good banter sometimes, but some people just live their lives fearful of everything.

At the same time, no one should be too trusting.


You turn down shoots that often?

I find working with older more confident models a definite plus. The new crop coming up seems to bring more baggage with them. Yes...after interviews, I have declined three in the last month. That is very unusual.

tgimaging wrote:
"no one should be too trusting"

That's some advise to consider. When do you start to not be 'too trusting?'

The better we understand our own individual nature, the better we can see another's. If we don't trust someone at the beginning, how can they become 'trust' worthy?

Wouldn't it be better to trust someone until they prove untrustworthy?

Opinions?

Thats the way I do it tg. I give everyone the benefit of the doubt until red flags start going up....

Nihilus wrote:

I still say it looks like a camel.

I suppose the saying should be changed to "flogging a sleeping camel?" Give it some time, it'll catch on..

e-string wrote:
It's not paranoia.. there ARE lots of scumbags out there. I've worked with two of them, and I've avoided several others because I already knew of their reputations. Luckily I was able to handle the situations well, and I know how to avoid people like that now.

Hey ! You promised you wouldn't tell!

  Do'h!!!!

oldguysrule wrote:
just a thought... to those who have reason to fear...

1) you might pay for the services of a well-known and reputable qualified photographer rather than attempting to offer your services in trade.

2) you may wish to eschew paying jobs that have no client or publication attached.

3) alternative and art shoots tend to push the boundaries of both of the above. however as a rule, photographers do not pay for models when the work is not for publication, is not for commission, and is not for exhibition.

would that put most internet models out of business and make the search for tfp models more difficult for those without portfolio? of course.

would it eliminate most/all of the danger... you betcha.

lol...to be on the safe side you may also want to check your States version of the Megan's Law website...

Solomage wrote:
Yah..right...I don't buy into the idea that photography in general is a  profession inhabited by scumbags, rapists and killers. I am definitely running out of patience with all the paranoids that automatically assume that we carry body bags and shovels in our gear. I find that I am more often than ever before declining to work with people that show an over productive propensity to paranoia. The quality of work suffers so, that there is no point in shooting. Makes me curious though...if a person is so fearful....why get involved in a profession that is obviously tailor made for extroverts?

The paranioa may just be another avenue to garner a little extra of that much needed attention. 

Just my opinion, but don't people check references?  A quick email or two, maybe a phone call and you know what you're getting into.  It's not like I've never had a photographer call me and ask what a model is like to work with.

Maybe we should have a "Creeper Vine"  section in MM to post alerts.