Lohkee wrote:
Can't quite put my finger on why, but it sure smells like a scam to me.

It's an "experiment" to see if he "enjoys" it.  So I guess he isn't getting enough enjoyment from browsing the profiles on MM and wants to start a private collection for his spank bank?  Don't put your finger on it ... it might bite! 

Chuckarelei wrote:
The fact that op stated the 'potential scammer' saw her profile here on MM, and then the 'potential scammer' can read all these posts, advises, and suggestions written here on MM. I'm sure the 'potential scammer' is having a field day laughing.

Chuckarelei wrote:
How do you know?

No, posts, advises, and suggestions like this will only encourage scammers to lurk for fish. They are thinking..., these people are actually even giving this a slight and falling for it.

Geez?

How do YOU know??

Eros Fine Art Photo wrote:

Chuckarelei wrote:
The fact that op stated the 'potential scammer' saw her profile here on MM, and then the 'potential scammer' can read all these posts, advises, and suggestions written here on MM. I'm sure the 'potential scammer' is having a field day laughing.

How do YOU know??

No one knows, but the dude who sent the emails. 

Eros Fine Art Photo wrote:
How do YOU know??

Common sense and simple logic.

Chuckarelei wrote:

Common sense and simple logic.

Wow, that's what you're going with, huh?  Well, then you've certainly got your fingers on the pulse of scammers out there. 

Silly me.  I've actually taken classes in fraud and watched documentaries about scammers.  I've also paid attention to news stories, regarding rooms in Nigeria filled with scammers on computers, who spend their entire day sending out phishing emails to thousands of people around the world in the hope they'll get someone to fall for their lies. 

But hey...you know what you're talking about and you have the power of clairvoyance, so I'll just go with your amazing powers of perception and believe a scammer is actually taking the time out to follow the posts of the one victim he's trying to deceive and giggling at the fact we're discussing it here. 

You rock, dude. 

Eros Fine Art Photo wrote:
Wow, that's what you're going with, huh?  Well, then you've certainly got your fingers on the pulse of scammers out there. 

Silly me.  I've actually taken classes in fraud and watched documentaries about scammers.  I've also paid attention to news stories, regarding rooms in Nigeria filled with scammers on computers, who spend their entire day sending out phishing emails to thousands of people around the world in the hope they'll get someone to fall for their lies. 

But hey...you know what you're talking about and you have the power of clairvoyance, so I'll just go with your amazing powers of perception and believe a scammer is actually taking the time out to follow the posts of the one victim he's trying to deceive and giggling at the fact we're discussing it here. 

You rock, dude. 

I know i rock.

Hahaha, The fact that you have to take classes in fraud, that tells you about common sense and logic that I was talking about.

Chuckarelei wrote:
I know i rock.

Hahaha, The fact that you have to take classes in fraud, that tells you about common sense and logic that I was talking about.

I wish your sentences had some logic in them.  I honestly cannot understand what you're trying to say when you write. 

To help you understand better, the classes were on fraud investigation.

But, how about you stop trying to derail this thread and stick to topic at hand.  I'm sure everyone else will appreciate that as well.

Eros Fine Art Photo wrote:
How do YOU know??

Chuckarelei wrote:
Common sense and simple logic.

Common sense and simple logic would tell me that you both don't know what the person who sent the email to her intended at all!  Common sense and simple logic also is about knowing when not to assume what the intentions of others are if you do not have enough information to make those assumptions.  Enjoy your winnless debate.

Hotel Room Shooter wrote:
I used to shoot for private collectors all the time and it was easy money. He is not looking for you to "hire" a photographer and a MUA. You can do your own make up and most models have a photographer friend who will usually shoot for fun. Not every guy with a camera is hung up on copyrights to snapshots. I'm sure he isn't to hung up on the wardrobe either so just pull from what you own, email him a pic to say, this is what I have, is this ok? and I'm sure he won't mind. You aren't creating art here and it's not a Vogue spread. It's 20 or so snap shots for $150.00. Not bad money for a lazy Saturday morning in the park.

Since you are young and new, I would recommend that you walk away. You have real legit model height and the potential to do some real world modeling work long term. Mostly it's the online models who are under 5'4 (with little opportunity offline) that take advantage of these opportunities. While it may be innocent, if you decide to go for real offline model life, you don't need these cheesy pics showing up on TMZ in a few years when you walk in NYC. Do you?

You sir, are giving good advise! 

I've shot content that was "private" before as well.  It isn't necessarily a 'scam" but is probably not worth her time.  To turn it down would be a good choice.  She wont be missing anything by passing on this one.

g2-new photographics wrote:
This discussion has lost its way.  Scams almost always target young models who have just joined MM, exploiting their dreams of 'making it'.

Some of the posters suggest that 'well, it MAY be legitimate'...  I'd say 'well, maybe not'.

Instead of trying to assess whether the offering may be legitimate, it would be better to counsel the young and new to be very suspicious of strange-sounding offers.

As she was.  But - reading through all the confusing and contradictory pieces of advice - is there a consensus that she can work with?

I believe you should re-read the site title - the word "mayhem" means you will never get a consensus in the forums - not even on the fact that we can't come to a consensus on anything.

To the OP - along with many of the others I don't think this is a scam in the sense that someone is trying to get money out of you.  At the worst they may not pay you all of the money they are offering if you send photos before being paid in full - but that is a risk even when showing up at a shoot if the photographer didn't go to the bank machine first.

Based on the text you have posted it certainly sounds like a private collector.  Now there is nothing wrong with shooting this type of content, many models do it.  Ultimately you need to decide if you this is the type of work you want to do.  Some models will shoot for anyone who can pay their rate.  While others take the approach of only working with people of a certain caliber to reduce the chance of sub-standard images of themselves appearing online.

If your ultimate goal is agency representation or a career in certain fields (politics, teaching etc.) a job like this might come back to haunt you. 

Also be wary of the client asking for fitness and swimwear at the start and eventually asking for lingerie, implied, then topless.  You can always say no and not send those kinds of pictures.  But I would not be surprised if this resulted in an unhappy client.

Just my $0.02

g2-new photographics wrote:
This discussion has lost its way.  Scams almost always target young models who have just joined MM, exploiting their dreams of 'making it'.

Some of the posters suggest that 'well, it MAY be legitimate'...  I'd say 'well, maybe not'.

Instead of trying to assess whether the offering may be legitimate, it would be better to counsel the young and new to be very suspicious of strange-sounding offers.

As she was.  But - reading through all the confusing and contradictory pieces of advice - is there a consensus that she can work with?

It does not matter if it is a scam or not.  It is a suspicious offer.  The general "consensus" is that she is making the right choice by not proceeding with doing it.  She has good sense by being suspicious about it to post with her doubts.  All we are doing is confirming that she is correct to pass on it.   

There are people who legitimately pay for private content from models.  With the information we are given by the model posting, it's enough to confirm her suspicion that this probably is not a good gig for her to pursue.  It does not mean it's a bad choice for everyone, because to further confirm it's a scam or not, we'd need more info to research.  Best advise for all models is when in doubt, research!  If your gut tells you it's a scam or something you may not want to do, then go with your gut feeling and pass on it!

VeronicaB wrote:
(His reply)
At least a dozen, sent over email. This isn't for a portfolio, so they don't all need to be the "best" shot. I'm not very picky on the total number, but I would expect more than a couple.
I am flexible on timeline. Sooner is better because this is an experiment to see if I enjoy it, but there is not a strict deadline. I would probably lose some interest if it doesn't happen in a couple weeks.
I am happy to confirm plain-English details with you via email (which is just as legally binding) but I am unlikely to involve an attorney to review a document over this.

I was right, some perv that wants pictures of teenage girls for his collection.

VeronicaB wrote:
So I was able to get a photographer friend of mine to help me set up the details. He has collected 50% of the payment. Thanks everyone for your advice, I think that everything should be fine but I will update if anything changes.

That's a good outcome )) thanks for the update.  It's a good lesson for all that strange does not always equal scam, and a deposit separates fact from fiction.