Alright, let's assume for the sake of argument you "want to do something" however undefined.

1. Do you really want to go to spend more money (on the filing fee) & time going to small claims for damages? Damages that amount to zero.

2. If you start contacting people in your area about this photographer's behavior, how does the other side know you're not making sh** up because you're into creating drama? Do you not think word will get back to the photographer in question? Do you actually think this will cause them to work any faster? For all you know, it may evaporate any goodwill he MAY have in placating you.

Also remember one person's flake is another person's old reliable. Why should they believe you over him?

3. You've already stated you're about to burn your bridge & not work w/ them again.

What's that leave you for options? Seriously think about it.

Yet, Jojo says here...

See the thing is he does take nice pictures. I've been looking at his port and he's added some new stuff, so he's obviously still working. Like I said in the message I sent him...if they sucked, just tell me, but I still want to see them.

sounds like he's just being a douchebag.

Did you check his references, talk to anyone that had worked with him prior? If so, what did the models that had previously shot with him say when you asked them about how he is in terms of delivering what was promised?

Having been in this business for many years, I can assure you that an individual photographer  cannot ruin a models career. With the exception of the high end fashion world, nobody cares who or what a models good or bad reputation might be.

The idea that a photographer bad mouthing a model to a client or even another photographer would somehow destroy her career is unrealistic. All it does is make the photographer look bad and make people not want to work with him/her.

To me, this is just as bad as a no call no show. You invested your time and energy into an endeavor that you felt you would get something from. In the end, you wasted your time and got nothing. This has happened to me 3 or 4 times.

Once I shot TFP with a photographer who was REALLY amazing. Everything in his port was simply fantastic. His post processing takes ages because he does a lot to the photos so he told me up front that it would take a while to get the photos back. He said it might about 2 months before I got to see them. So a few weeks after the shoot he contacted me with a huge apology, telling me that his computer had crashed and that he was having someone recover the files lost from his hard drive and everything so it would take longer to get the pictures back.

A few weeks after that he emailed me telling me that his mother had died after having battling an illness for a while. This was 100% true and not some crappy excuse so I told him it was fine and to take as much time as he needed to grieve and not worry about the pics at that point. Well, it affected him pretty badly and it took him a long time to get his life back together afterward. I felt pretty terrible about his loss and I completely forgot about the pictures.

Almost a year after the shoot he sent me the pictures on a cd and they were so beautiful. He sent me about 20 or 30 more images than we had agreed upon, a few originals to show the difference between the original pic and the edited one. All the images were high res with a web sized copy. In this particular instance, I did not mind that I had to wait so long for images because of the unique circumstances and also because they were sooo gorgeous.

THIS X 1000

In life experiences I've had outside of modeling, this has always been the case. Most likely, you weren't the first and won't be the last model he screws over like this. And more than likely, he doesn't meet work deadlines and disrespect his employers and co workers in a similar fashion.

A big part of it is because she didn't actually pay for it.  When it comes to purchasing something and it not being delivered...depends on how much it costs.  CAM the photographer...report the seller to overstock if that's an option.  I doubt that any of it would be worth the time and effort to go to court...the FBI won't likely be helpful here.

You learn and move on, and sometimes that's all you can do.

+1


Andrew Thomas Evans
www.andrewthomasevans.com

Yes and no, it's the whole shoot, the payment goes both ways. Maybe the OP was terrible that day and looked like crap, then, her part of the compensation didn't come though.

Or maybe the photographer was terrible and the images suck, in which case why would the OP want payment anyway?


I can see this both ways, and can't see why someone wouldn't at least say "sorry, the images suck, let's move on" rather than give proofs, or at least followup a little. I can also see why there would be a reason to follow up on these, but then personally that sounds like way too much work on a trade shoot from last fall.

So OP, maybe work towards resolving this, but I'd work harder on future plans and current shoots.



Andrew Thomas Evans
www.andrewthomasevans.com

You don't seem to get what I'm trying to say. The only thing the model walks away with when it comes to trade is images. It makes perfect sense to expect images back from the shoot on a timely basis, despite the quality. That's just being fair. Otherwise it just amounts to a waste of time and effort

Then what does the photographer get out of the deal? If it was a mutual trade both sides need something of value, right?



Andrew Thomas Evans
www.andrewthomasevans.com

Yea both parties should have images to show for it. Quit trying to spin what I said

First, I never suggested that one photographer could ruin a model's career.  I did say it could cost shoots.  Just like it could cost the photographer shoots if he does not deliver the images and the model bad mouths him.  If other models and photographers are doing their due-diligence and checking references there will be a bad one from her because she did not get pictures and a maybe a bad one from him if she gets hostile. 

You may not have noticed but some photographers are petty and vindictive (and you find these people in all walks of life).  I know personally of some that would happily bad mouth a model for less than being persistent in getting images.  And the type of photographer that does not have the decency to tell a TF* model what is happening with her shots is the same type to be an ass if she confronts him. 

I have no idea who the model is targeting for her modelling career.  It may well be that the photographers who gather for meet & greets are her bread and butter - so some bad chat may well be a problem.  If she is with an agency and booking paid gigs with major brands then nothing a TF photographer is likely to affect her career.

The OP suggested a sit-in to get photos (perhaps that was in jest) and that type of behavior is what I was alluding to when I talked about being hostile.  If Apple doesn't pay my invoice I will most certainly not being heading to Cupertino to stage a sit in until I get paid.  I will follow normal collection procedures for the money.  If they still don't pay then I will weigh my options.  If it's for $500 I would probably just let it go as collection/legal action will end up costing me that much.  If it's $50,000 then that's another story.

But if the images are crap then the photographer DIDNT get anything out of it.  If it was his fault the images were crap then he should explain that and offer a re-shoot, some cash for her time or something like that.  At a minimum he should be responding to the OP's calls and emails.

If the model did not deliver that day for whatever reason then he should tell her (and maybe show some proofs to back it up) that she did not do well.  I've seen a few models show up hung-over, tired or otherwise not interested in shooting.  Usually those sessions end early, and the model knows when she leaves that the odds of getting a good shot are slim.  If a model did not come 100% ready to shoot why should the photographer be obliged to deliver on 100% of the promised images?

I am not saying the OP did not deliver, but in general it is a two way street and if both parties don't do good work on the day of the shoot there is only so much post production will do.

Ultimately communication is key and the photographer should be explaining why images are not being delivered on schedule be it his failure, the model's performance or some act of God.  To not answer is unacceptable.  And of course he should NOT be using any images from a trade shoot where the model did not get compensation.

You stepped on dog poo.

Wipe your feet on the grass and keep walking.

Good times up ahead.

.

So what you're saying is that if you have a TFP shoot, and the images are eh, not so great...it's ok to not send a model the images? Fine they sucked...but the model is still in her right to see the images, and certainly to know why she hasn't received them.

In my particular case...I had three shoots that day. The images from the other two photographers were delivered to me via email no more than two weeks from the day we had the shoot, a couple edited ones along with unedited ones.  I didn't even had to send a single email to them, instead I received emails saying "sorry I would've gotten these to you sooner but I got really busy, thank you for your time, let me know what you think". The photographer who hasn't delivered obviously liked the work we did together, because he mentioned "what we have looks good" and tried to get me to shoot with him again before he disappeared.

The more I go through the responses on here the more I realize that I won't drop this. Yeah it'll be time spent, but isn't that what I'm doing on here anyway? It's about making a point, he might be used to doing that to other models but only because they allow it, I won't on principle. Simple, don't claim to be a professional if you can't behave like one, and if you do then learn to deal with the responsibilities owed to your trade.

I organize my time well, so yeah I'm working on my other shoots, doesn't mean I won't have time to bug this dude, I get a whole hour for lunch, lol.

Lol yeah that's the worst thing ever, especially in heels

And how is anyone to know if the new work in his port was done before or after her shoot?

Because I know some of the model's he's worked with and it was after our shoot

Hahaha...hmm tempting

Perhaps hostile is the wrong word.  You said:

If he refuses to answer emails and phone calls it's one thing to drop by someones studio and say, "hey where are my pictures?", and leave after a few minutes (unless invited to wait for them).  But it is a whole different story if you sit in his lobby while his customers come and go until he delivered the photos.  It would disrupt his business and he would not like it.

I am not saying he should not honour his commitments to you.  He may even deserve for people to know about it.  I just question whether it is a tactic that will result in anything useful.  He could just as easily give you 5 crap photos and you are no further ahead for sitting in his office for 4 hours.

He is wrong for not communicating with you.  Most likely in the wrong for not delivering the images he promised.   But instead of wasting all this time pursing images from 3 months ago go find a photographer that will deliver on his promises and get better, newer pictures.  If you aren't careful you will spend 20 hours trying to track down photos from a 4 hour shoot.  And in the end you may still not get anything useful.

Just my $0.02

Hahaha, I'm sure he'd learn a lesson, but I couldn't do that. I'd take my husband but then a part of me worries the photographer might try to behave like a tough guy and things will escalate. I try to avoid situations where anyone has to get physical, especially my husband, he's scary, lol. I'll stick to annoying him with PMs, and texts eventually he'll give in.

This situation amounts to pretty much the same thing as a "flake" or an "escort ruining a shoot"...it results in a waste of time and effort. Sadly, those situations ALL happen far to often...on both sides of the camera. Welcome to the Mayhem!

Yes, do this! ...if you wish to get arrested.

[/sarcasm]