Photographer
thatzkatz
Posts: 2
Northridge, California, US
I just photographed a paid model session (me paying the model) and was shocked to find out when she arrived that she was nearly 50 pounds more than she showed in her MM portfolio. I was over a barrel: I couldn't send her home because of the way she looked, and never want to be accused of body shaming. So I completed the session and paid her, although I cannot use the images! It certainly has taught me to ask, politely, if there are any changes since the posted images, such as new tattoos, hair, etc. A sadder but wiser photographer am I.
Model
Dea and the Beast
Posts: 4796
Saint Petersburg, Florida, US
You didn't ask for up to date stats or a few recent selfies?
Models are urged to vet the people they go to work with by many different means.
You could ask the nice model for a redo when she's back in shape. Nothing much else to do really..you already agreed to her false advertising being acceptable bc you followed through with the shoot.
I understand the awkwardness of the situation, I've also stepped into shoots that were not what was agreed upon.
I honestly and unsarcastically recommend a few reads on how to assert yourself.
Some people really just need to be told No. Sure, time was still wasted, but more time is usually wasted crying over spilled milk on the internet.
Photographer
Rob Photosby
Posts: 4810
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
I had a similar thing happen a while ago: her latest images were uploaded only a few weeks earlier and she looked exactly right for the job, but, on the day, I was confronted with a model who could most politely be described as "generously proportioned".
Out of a misplaced sense of civil behaviour, I I preceded with this shoot, with a similar useless outcome to your own.
On reflection, had I been in a restaurant and the waiter had brought me beans on toast when I had ordered seafood supreme, I would have had no hesitation in leaving the restaurant and should have done the same with my model.
Both model have misrepresented themselves, which voids any contract, real or implicit.
If I had to do it again, I would write off all the pre-shoot time and effort, send the model away, and spend the time reading a book, cleaning up the yard, or whatever, rather than throw good time after bad.
PS Your portfolio is excellent
Photographer
Stickgunner
Posts: 100
Lexington, Kentucky, US
thatzkatz wrote:
I couldn't send her home because of the way she looked, and never want to be accused of body shaming. What? I'm confused. If you had a client you were shooting for, and you gave them images which were unusable, do you think they would pay you? Certainly not if you misrepresented what you were going to deliver to them.
Why is it any different when it is the other way around? If a model showed and told me she only shoot nudes now, I would kick her out and send her home. My clients couldn't use the images. If a model showed up, and did not look the way the way they were representing themselves in their portfolio, they are unusable. Kick them out. It is NOT body shaming or fat shaming. It is shaming them for being liars who wanted money for what they could not deliver.
Plenty of Photographers will say its your fault, and that you should have gotten a recent pic, but that is simply blaming the victim. The model is showcasing themselves through their port. If they have gotten extra ink, gained weight, lost a leg, or otherwise altered the way their currently look from their port, THEY are the ones upon whom the onus lies.
Yes, it may be true that so many models are liars that it is a good practice to get a recent pic of a model before hiring them, but that does not negate the above.
Photographer
Filmz x Jonze
Posts: 16
Atlanta, Georgia, US
Stickgunner wrote:
What? I'm confused. If you had a client you were shooting for, and you gave them images which were unusable, do you think they would pay you? Certainly not if you misrepresented what you were going to deliver to them.
Why is it any different when it is the other way around? If a model showed and told me she only shoot nudes now, I would kick her out and send her home. My clients couldn't use the images. If a model showed up, and did not look the way the way they were representing themselves in their portfolio, they are unusable. Kick them out. It is NOT body shaming or fat shaming. It is shaming them for being liars who wanted money for what they could not deliver.
Plenty of Photographers will say its your fault, and that you should have gotten a recent pic, but that is simply blaming the victim. The model is showcasing themselves through their port. If they have gotten extra ink, gained weight, lost a leg, or otherwise altered the way their currently look from their port, THEY are the ones upon whom the onus lies.
Yes, it may be true that so many models are liars that it is a good practice to get a recent pic of a model before hiring them, but that does not negate the above. This is the answer! She might not have technically "lied" but since you didn't ask she certainly didn't offer up she gained half a person. By not addressing it, you kind of validate her behavior so neither of you actually gain. We've all been there before.
Photographer
Beyond Boudoir Photo
Posts: 416
Portland, Oregon, US
This happens to me occasionally, even though I'm pretty careful to ask about a model's current appearance and ask for recent pix if there is any doubt. But sometimes I'm in a hurry and not careful enough.
When a model shows up who doesn't look like her pix, I don't get upset. I carry on with the shoot as normal and in my mind I call it a charity shoot. If I'm paying her, I just mentally write off the model fee. Then I use my skills to make her look as good as I can and I get some emotional reward later when she sees the images and is surprised at the amazing results.
Although I won't normally offer those images for sale to my followers, I might use them to promote my boudoir business. Most of those customers don't look like models and they enjoy seeing images in my port that look like "real" women.
It's also worth remembering that as photographers, one of our jobs is to make our models and clients look better than they really do. It is a form of deception, even if well intentioned. I can't blame a model for having images in her port that use the same techniques I use all the time.
Photographer
Dan Howell
Posts: 3572
Kerhonkson, New York, US
Stickgunner wrote:
Plenty of Photographers will say its your fault, and that you should have gotten a recent pic, but that is simply blaming the victim. Yes, it is the on the photographer to gather the information prior to the shoot or suffer the consequences. It is part of the job.
The OP is essentially stating that he has rigid definition about the look or body type he is capable of photographing. If he has that limitation then he should know to look at the dates on the photos.
You might also want to look up the definition of 'victim'.
Photographer
Green Wave Photo 312
Posts: 118
Chicago, Illinois, US
You've got to develop your model "spidey sense" better. Sounds like this experience has you on the right track.
Photographer
Malleus Veritas
Posts: 1339
Winchester, Virginia, US
thatzkatz wrote:
I just photographed a paid model session (me paying the model) and was shocked to find out when she arrived that she was nearly 50 pounds more than she showed in her MM portfolio. I was over a barrel: I couldn't send her home because of the way she looked, and never want to be accused of body shaming. So I completed the session and paid her, although I cannot use the images! It certainly has taught me to ask, politely, if there are any changes since the posted images, such as new tattoos, hair, etc. A sadder but wiser photographer am I. Sending a 'model' home because they falsely advertised themselves isn't body shaming. Models are hired for their appearance. If their advertised appearance does not match their actual appearance, they are commiting fraud. Plain and simple.
Do not do business with people who commit fraud. If they get away with defrauding you, it only encourages them to defraud other people. Shut that shit down.
As a model, keeping your profile and portfolio updated and notifying your clients about changes is a sign of professionalism. Don't work with unprofessional people. Rewarding unprofessional behavior only perpetuates it.
Photographer
Dan Howell
Posts: 3572
Kerhonkson, New York, US
Malleus Veritas wrote:
Sending a 'model' home because they falsely advertised themselves isn't body shaming. Models are hired for their appearance. If their advertised appearance does not match their actual appearance, they are commiting fraud. Plain and simple. Fraud would be a model showing only photos of another model. Models, being human, actually change over time. While this may be an extreme example of change, it ain't fraud. Hair length and color change almost constantly. Did the model have exactly the same hair length and color in each of their photos or how they arrived. Is that fraud in your opinion too?
If exact body proportions are an issue for a photographer, it is on them to get verification prior to booking. Plain and simple.
Model
Papro
Posts: 26
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, US
-when he utilized an online hook-up to meet her for sex it turned out to be someone totally different, money and bowel motivation, lack of human ability to work independently/privately, a general culture across the country in which no one, tinder type apps are the same as a lot of mm, you need to be a photographer beyond building a portfolio, the model should always have up-to-date references and look more same than less to years ago
Photographer
Bob Helm Photography
Posts: 18909
Cherry Hill, New Jersey, US
Malleus Veritas wrote:
Sending a 'model' home because they falsely advertised themselves isn't body shaming. Models are hired for their appearance. If their advertised appearance does not match their actual appearance, they are commiting fraud. Plain and simple.
Do not do business with people who commit fraud. If they get away with defrauding you, it only encourages them to defraud other people. Shut that shit down.
As a model, keeping your profile and portfolio updated and notifying your clients about changes is a sign of professionalism. Don't work with unprofessional people. Rewarding unprofessional behavior only perpetuates it. This.
If the photos are old I either request recent ones, check for an IG that has more recent ones and if the recent ones look just like the old ones that is a red flag.
this thing about blaming the victim, sometimes the victim is at fault for not using common sense . She used false advertising to get the job the photographer didnt do his homework.
She scammed you and will do it again to someone else who didnt do their homework
Photographer
JohnnyBPhotography
Posts: 2
La Vergne, Tennessee, US
As a human, you did the right thing. Going forward, prior to the day of the shoot I'd ask about any changes in appearance since his/her images were posted I'd need to know about. Then, if she showed up not as you expected you could politely send her away.
Photographer
Zap Industries
Posts: 85
STATEN ISLAND, New York, US
I once had a model show up that had body hair (she didn't in her pics). I mean, what did I do wrong that could have prevented this? I can see asking for her current weight, but was I supposed to say "Do you still shave your legs and armpits?"
Photographer
Brooklyn Bridge Images
Posts: 13200
Brooklyn, New York, US
Zap Industries wrote:
I once had a model show up that had body hair (she didn't in her pics). I mean, what did I do wrong that could have prevented this? I can see asking for her current weight, but was I supposed to say "Do you still shave your legs and armpits?" YES!!!
I ask models do you look like the photos you show ?
Have you changed anything ?
Orange Hair ?
Plastic surgery ?
Swastika tatoos ?
You are hiring people based on their appearance...misrepresenting their appearance is no different than somebody claiming a fake degree on a job application.
These people get fired or not hired when found out.
Photographer
Roaring 20s
Posts: 137
Los Angeles, California, US
thatzkatz wrote:
I couldn't send her home because of the way she looked, and never want to be accused of body shaming. You could have. It is absurd that you didn't.
Why are you so afraid of being accused of body shaming, were you body shaming? Is this a euphemism for the model being fat, exclusively? If so, you shouldn't have booked her if you weren't looking for that. If no, then it was because she looked different than her photos no matter what body that was.
In the latter circumstance, nobody would sympathize with her story if it actually came up at all. If you don't understand that it shows a bigger problem of never stopping to understand what the sentiment really is and is about.
Just pull up her picture and say "where is this person" and there are some predictable excuses like "oh you can just photoshop to that" (for 200+ photos) or they're old. Either way, tell her to leave. Be mildly annoyed that your time was wasted given the scheduling and prep time, and move on. Don't mentally (or actually) write off any expense to the model. Services not rendered as advertised.
Photographer
Roaring 20s
Posts: 137
Los Angeles, California, US
Beyond Boudoir wrote:
When a model shows up who doesn't look like her pix, I don't get upset. I carry on with the shoot as normal and in my mind I call it a charity shoot. If I'm paying her, I just mentally write off the model fee. Then I use my skills to make her look as good as I can and I get some emotional reward later when she sees the images and is surprised at the amazing results.
Although I won't normally offer those images for sale to my followers, I might use them to promote my boudoir business. Most of those customers don't look like models and they enjoy seeing images in my port that look like "real" women.
It's also worth remembering that as photographers, one of our jobs is to make our models and clients look better than they really do. It is a form of deception, even if well intentioned. I can't blame a model for having images in her port that use the same techniques I use all the time. absurd. you pay the model and spend more or your own time in post production to fix the model. for what you call charity. and for what you call a write off. (even though all of your shoots should be actual write offs deductible against your earnings, not tax advice, contact a cpa)
but your "charity shoot" that you shouldn't have paid money for is beneficial to you because they are ugly enough to look like your non-model clients? what? you didn't use the word ugly but what word did you mean? if you are going to modify images can't you also do that with models that look like their portfolio to make them match your clients? or just book different models that attract your clientele?
its interesting you made this work because of your parallel business, this is still far beyond gymnastics, these are the mental olympics, just send them home
Model
Model Sarah
Posts: 40987
Columbus, Ohio, US
I used to get offended by this because I would never ever do something like that. Maybe because this is my living and I care about my health and physical appearance... My body has never been any more than 5-10 pounds over what I had/have on here - that is directly related to sodium/blood pressure issues I have since been aware of/resolved. No one ever noticed including me until I saw the number. ANYWAY, I realized that this sort of crap was happening and I was mortified.
Everyone gave great advice here. I now HAPPILY show recent pictures if they ask.
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