Photo Jen B wrote:
However I fully understood that you were asking about modeling for someone who advertises a casting as a private collector is not just someone who is keeping the photos private, they are someone who is looking to intentionally shoot for their own masturbation viewing material.

OMG I never knew.

That’s going to make me look at a couple of my buyers in a bit of a different light from now on.  :-)

But seriously, out there in the real world, away from the reality distortion field of MM, a private collector usually means a person who collects photographs simply out of the love of photography.  Or some such.

I admit I have been this type of collector myself in the past.  Not any more, I simply don’t have any wall space left.

J-PhotoArt wrote:
I would like to know how it is that people know about these mythical "GWC" and the "Private Collectors" and their supposed activities with these images?  Has there been research on this subject?  Have people a actually witnessed this behavior?  is there a certain look that they have?  Or re people just making assumptions?  What?

I had some private collectors as customers, when I was shooting adult interest stuff years ago.  They paid very well.  One particular customer used to buy every shot from a session, complete with the contact sheets to prove it.  Others had various requirements which we needn't go into here.  And yes, they masturbated over the pics.

There were also private photographers;  there were a number of circles in London that I knew of and there must have been lots of others elsewhere.  Models would be passed around the circle, from photographer to photographer.  These photographers tended to be professional people who didn't want their identities generally known.  They didn't always bother with film in their cameras.  The models were expected to make it clear if other services were available, and some models moved into the services sector professionally.

I'm going back a few years, but I see no reason, even given the changed social circumstances today, why similar things do not still go on.

J-PhotoArt wrote:
Just because someone is a "professional" photographer does not necessarily make that person a better photographer than an amateur or even a good photographer!

I don't know? Though nothing is ever absolute, if you are talking about good/better as far as skills go. You have to be pretty darn good to survive in the pro photography world. You don't normally see crappy photographs come out of Vogue, National Geographic, or Sports Illustrated.

Chuckarelei wrote:
I don't know? Though nothing is ever absolute, if you are talking about good/better as far as skills go. You have to be pretty darn good to survive in the pro photography world. You don't normally see crappy photographs come out of Vogue, National Geographic, or Sports Illustrated.

You are right... and I would agree with you on this point.  I have seen some amazing work from some amazing artist in some of the publications that you have mentioned.

However, I was referring more about all the professed "professional" photographers here on Model Mayhem, probably not the ones that you are referring to. 

You know the ones who are always talking about how they are professional, hire a professional to get better images, to get your images on time, their professional conduct.  The ones who continually try to elevate their worth and prestige in contrast to thee lowly and mythical "GWC"  So many of them are nowhere near as good as they think they are!

J-PhotoArt wrote:
You are right... and I would agree with you on this point.  I have seen some amazing work from some amazing artist in some of the publications that you have mentioned.

However, I was referring more about all the professed "professional" photographers here on Model Mayhem, probably not the ones that you are referring to. 

You know the ones who are always talking about how they are professional, hire a professional to get better images, to get your images on time, their professional conduct.  The ones who continually try to elevate their worth and prestige in contrast to thee lowly and mythical "GWC"  So many of them are nowhere near as good as they think they are!

“Professed” is the right word.

I’ve known and worked with lots of professional photographers and in my experience they are not usually prone to overplaying their abilities, the opposite if anything.

If you have people paying you thousands of dollars a day for your work, out there in the real world, why would you need the MM forums for your validation?

On the other hand, if you’re  a photographer who was never good enough to make it as a professional, you can come on here and pretend to be whatever you want.

J-PhotoArt wrote:
I would like to know how it is that people know about these mythical "GWC" and the "Private Collectors" and their supposed activities with these images?  Has there been research on this subject?  Have people a actually witnessed this behavior?  is there a certain look that they have?  Or re people just making assumptions?  What?

Hello,
I have not personally at all however I think there is a market for internet models who market towards this to make a living off of it. At least, that is what I have been gleaning from model forum posts about it. Not my genre at the moment yet, modeling is modeling regardless of who you are marketing your skills too.
Jen