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Hi. I've heard controversy on escorts. Some say they're a smart idea and others say they're not. (Personally i won't go without one because of past experiences) but what is your take on it? Just trying to understand the opposing side of it I suppose Mar 21 13 10:48 am Link This is a big can of worms. Which is why CLT's Survival guide for newbies recommends avoiding the topic: https://www.modelmayhem.com/po.php?thread_id=117121 You would do better to use the search function. TONS has been written on this subject. (here's what it gives https://www.modelmayhem.com/sitesearch/forums/results ) One MMer has their own search tool that is also pretty good. https://www.sendu.me.uk/modelmayhem/?te … rt_order=0 Mar 21 13 11:10 am Link Some photographers feel that escorts will be too much of a distraction or be in the way. Some also feel they have no purpose to be there if they aren't engaging in the photo or helping with anything. I don't mind someone having an escort so long as they are not in my way. Sometimes I'll even ask the escort to help if I need it and they don't mind. If it helps the model feel more comfortable having someone there he/she knows it will also make the session go smoother. It is a good safety precaution and even I as a photographer take someone with me if I feel it'll be necessary. Mar 21 13 11:13 am Link I no longer permit in-studio escorts. I have plenty of model reference links on my MM profile for a model to contact and verify. Mar 21 13 11:14 am Link I find llama herders almost as amusing as models with no experience who have a laundry list of demands and troll the llama herder topic in multiple threads. Mar 21 13 11:20 am Link Krisna Fretwell wrote: I do understand that models have concerns about personal safety and I am sympathetic to those concerns. However, I do not allow escorts. In place of an escort I offer to have my wife present if it will make the model feel more comfortable. I also can offer the names of models that have worked with me in the past as references. Mar 21 13 11:21 am Link OP, if you hired someone too work for you would you allow them to make demands and set conditions. I would never allow a model to bring a llama herder to any shoot I'm paying for. I don't allow them for TF either. You are free to do as you see fit but odds are you are missing out on paid work and working with better shooters as well. There are other ways to help insure your safety. Mar 21 13 11:25 am Link  Mar 21 13 11:30 am Link My view on "escorts" is...if you need a "escort" then you're not mature enough or smart enough to figure out how this buisness works, therefore you should stay in the sandbox until you can figure it out. Mar 21 13 11:30 am Link Krisna Fretwell wrote: I use to be all for the escort thing for the 1st shoot but I think my mind has changed now! Just in the past year and a half I've experienced some really odd things. Lets say there has been more than 6 or 7 things I can think of reflecting back, right off the top of my head. The last 3 has really made me reconsider this option. 1st was a friend of mine was shooting a agency approve model that he had paid to help upgrade his book. We sometimes assist each other to keep from being alone with the models and other artist and it also gives you an extra set of eyes from someone who has knowledge of what it takes to have a successful production. The model boyfriend just didn't seem right to me for some reason. He often pulled her to the side whispering and going out side for smoke breaks. Just didn't feel right! To make a long story short my buddy left home to go to his studio for an am shoot when he realized everything was gone. Mac computers, lighting, etc... you name it! The Mar 21 13 11:50 am Link Escort Pros: ... Model feels safe. ... Escorts can be handy (holding reflectors, for example). Escort Cons: ... Escorts & models have been known to beat up & rob photographers. ... Escorts can distract and/or inhibit models. ... Escorts can draw model's focus away from the photographer / camera. ... Escorts can become visibly bored, distracting the people working. ... Escorts have been known to wander around, opening drawers, invading privacy. Escort Strategies: ... Check the escort's references. ... Have the escort drop off the model, look around, leave, and come back later at an appropriate time to pick the model up. ... But by all means, discuss the presence of an escort before agreeing to the terms of the shoot. Mar 21 13 11:51 am Link Looknsee Photography wrote: Mar 21 13 11:56 am Link Read your profile and noted that the fact that you require a model release indicates that you really have no idea what you're talking about. Likewise, your stance on requiring an escort tells me it's amateur hour in Victorville. Mar 21 13 12:02 pm Link Krisna Fretwell wrote: In 5 out of 5 times the chaperone/escort has been a jealous boyfriend. So I'd rather not shoot then. Mar 21 13 12:05 pm Link Michael Pandolfo wrote: And apparently we're supposed to pay for the privilege. Mar 21 13 12:05 pm Link There's only one word I need when I see "I require an escort" in the model's profile ......... NEXT! Mar 21 13 12:05 pm Link ForeverFotos wrote: +1 Mar 21 13 12:08 pm Link Looknsee Photography wrote: How in the hell do you check the escort's references when 99 out of 100 llamas don't even know the "escort's" name an hour before shoot time? Too many times the "escort" I've seen has been some guy the llama met at a bar the night before. Maybe the llama can tell you which Hell's Angels chapter he came from, but that's only from looking at his colors on the way to the shoot. Mar 21 13 12:10 pm Link My take on the escort issue is ... 1) I shoot with models who don't need an escort. 2) I pass on models who want to bring an escort. *I've sent models back home when they've brought along an escort even though they were informed that I don't accept them. For me it's that simple. Mar 21 13 12:12 pm Link ForeverFotos wrote: Agreed. Mar 21 13 12:15 pm Link Krisna Fretwell wrote: Open you mind and your mouth to TALK with the photographers that you might work with!!! Having an "All or nothing" attitude towards photographers and the topic of "escorts" can be dangerous as it's the closed mind that gets blindsided. Mar 21 13 12:19 pm Link For me, personally, it's a matter of inhibiting creativity and most importantly for my own safety (as the photographer). I may be a big man, but I'm not stupid. Mar 21 13 12:22 pm Link What a great idea for a forum discussion . . . . Mar 21 13 12:33 pm Link The vast majority of model I shoot with will not bring anyone with them. When they do, it's usually the first time we meet. Then after we've exchanged enough information, we get to work! It's typical for models to want to introduce me to MUA's, and other models that they think I might like to shoot with, OR often times we are in the same circle of acquaintances so it's going to be a fun gathering. We all have such a great time! My personality is bold! I do understand that not everyone is the same. Where as I'm great with shooting in front of a couple people or a couple thousand, not everyone is like me. Even though I am open to shooting in public places, on stage and so on ... there are models who are not so extroverted. I don't make you get on stage or shoot in front of other people. I do have some models that come to me and ask that no one else be in the studio. The reason is that I took the time to become friends with them and put them at ease, but they are shy. Often times, those are the models that pay me. Ken Marcus Studios wrote: So photographers and models alike! What would you think of charging spectators to watch you work? Ken Marcus, I'd start with you! I'd pay $50 to sit in on one of your photo sessions. Maybe that wouldn't be enough for a seat in your studio? How about $100? Are you game for it? Mar 21 13 12:34 pm Link My take on it is that in every shoot I've allowed an escort to be present is that the escort has been a distraction to either me or the model. It's not that it has been a terror story, but certainly counterproductive to the shoot. If a model requires an escort for safety sake I will offer plenty of options which should allow the model to get to know me before the shoot (come check out the location or give references). If that's not acceptable I'll find another model. Mar 21 13 12:46 pm Link Krisna Fretwell wrote: Personally, you and your escort would never get near my studio. Mar 21 13 12:51 pm Link No problem. I won't shoot with you. Mar 21 13 12:53 pm Link Jerry Nemeth wrote: There are two situations here. Mar 21 13 01:04 pm Link Yan Tan Tethera wrote: I have photographed many different models. Some that I first met when they arrived for the shoot. None of them have required an escort! Mar 21 13 01:12 pm Link Krisna Fretwell wrote: Another escort thread! Who knew?! Mar 21 13 01:17 pm Link Top Gun Digital wrote: This is a great idea. I actually recently worked with a photographer who had his wife present and helped with the shoot. We had a great time! Mar 21 13 01:19 pm Link Krisna Fretwell wrote: As everything else in life that involves different interests, I see it this way... Mar 21 13 01:28 pm Link Krisna Fretwell wrote: Since you've opened this can of worms; mind telling us what the experiences were? Mar 21 13 01:49 pm Link these threads rarely end well. if you want to have someone on set with you (other than a MUA or maybe a female model friend) then that may limit the photographers you can work with. it is what it is. i don't think anyone's mind has ever been changed by one of these threads. for our part we allow escorts and so far haven't ever had any major problems. Mar 21 13 01:51 pm Link Krisna Fretwell wrote: After much deliberation, I've decided that if the model intends to bring an escort, I will bring one also - just for my own safety. Mar 21 13 01:58 pm Link Thank you to those of you that have actually answered my question  I'm not here to argue back with those that have a smart aleck response. I appreciate the insight Mar 21 13 01:58 pm Link A common piece of advice: let people know where you plan to be, check in during a break and especially when you arrive, and have someone expect you or a phonecall at a certain time. There is nothing unprofessional about doing any of those things, and it helps you stay on schedule. It certainly eliminates the negative connotation associated with models that treat going to a photoshoot as their first day of school. Mar 21 13 01:58 pm Link You shouldn't even be allowed to write 'escort' in the forums anymore. It should be forbidden! Mar 21 13 02:01 pm Link Great another escort thread with absolutely positively no "right" answer period. Mar 21 13 02:07 pm Link Krisna Fretwell wrote: I was going to say, this is one sore topic... Mar 21 13 02:14 pm Link |
part is that he almost spent the night there but decided to take the long trip home. #2 I was booked to shoot a swim line for a designers look book. Total of 6 models for the first shoot. Three of the models I've worked with before. 2 models canceled at the last minute so the model I've worked with said she just shot with a few models that were worth calling. So, she did just that. With it being so last minute I went against my closed shoot rule! Well, one of the 2 models had two other young ladies that came along. End of the shoot $800 and wallets were missing. Last incident that just happen 2-3 weeks ago was Model shows up with boyfriend who she claimed was her support system(LOL)!! Model seems different by the second look, my assistant which happen to be a former model was making facial expression that caught my attention. Before I could say anything my assistant blurts out "I smell Vodka"!! Someone drinking?!! Shook my head thinking how unprofessional was that, until the model said, "yes I'm so sorry"!! She proceed on to explain her boyfriends Coffee container was full of Vodka, it's how she relax when she is nervous. I rushed 6 more poses out of her and called it a day. The part that has bothered me most is that I grew up in the worst part of Compton as kid and could usually see these things a mile away! The fact that these people came from a wealthy areas fooled me is now bothering me. I'm thinking that because you can't judge a book by it's cover, and everything is so impersonal now (hide behind text, hide real phone numbers, email me, etc..) that I must rethink the escort thing. It seems the odds are against me. Not a good feeling!!
