Monica L C wrote:
... but my lawyer told me it was worth pursuing.

I know you've been traumatized, but having been through a few nasty civil suits, I feel obligated to point out that all lawyers think disputes are worth pursuing.  After all, that's how they earn their living, and they typically don't last long if they turn away business.

Keep us informed -- let us know how your foray into our justice system goes.

Looknsee Photography wrote:

I know you've been traumatized, but having been through a few nasty civil suits, I feel obligated to point out that all lawyers think disputes are worth pursuing.  After all, that's how they earn their living, and they typically don't last long if they turn away business.

Keep us informed -- let us know how your foray into our justice system goes.

Asking a lawyer if you should sue is like asking a surgeon if you need surgery. It's their bread and butter so the answer is always yes.

Atelier Benson  wrote:

THIS is exactly correct. I sometimes wonder if half of the people commenting have actually read and understood what is being written?

I wonder if you two missed where the model said she agreed to the hair cut even though she knew it wasn't part of the contract. She is partially responsible for the breaching of the contract.

Erlinda wrote:
Am I the only one that thinks this is over reacting?

No, you aren't. I think it is a definite overreaction.
Had the model not admitted in the OP that she agreed to the hair cut based on an assumption I'd think otherwise... But it's really hard for me to read this and not think she is at least partially to blame for what happened.

Integrity would have been saying to the stylist 'My agency sent me to this job with the understanding that my hair would be styled ONLY, so I can not allow you to cut or thin out my hair'. Stick to the job you were sent to do. DOn't agree to changes, and then blame everyone else for the outcome.

Monica L C wrote:
Update:

Did I do the shoot? No.

The actual shoot was two days after the prep day. At the time, I wasn't emotionally stable enough to go through with the shoot. I decided I couldn't do it after what had happened and put myself through that trauma again. I chose to potentially lose compensation but realized putting myself through that again wasn't worth any amount of money. Hence the title of my thread. I was really just posting it for anyone else who might be going, might go through or have gone through something similar. Many people that responded to it, didn't really get that. And some did. Thank you for the support.

I sought out legal advice and spoke with people in the hair industry who have had similar experiences and have decided to take legal action to receive compensation for my losses --The cost to fix my hair (extensions), new photos (if I chose to pay), therapy, what a model does get paid to cut that much hair, etc. It's not a huge case, but my lawyer told me it was worth pursuing.

The reason for me doing this is more the principal for the wrong doing, standing up for myself, and establishing stronger boundaries in my life so that things like this don't happen to me.

Did my choice ruin my reputation? No. And if it did, would I care? No.

It's definitely been a life changing experience.

Thanks to the ones who actually understood the point of me writing this. And thanks to plethora of other opinions -- Cause after all they are all just opinions. 

Best,

Monica

Getting your haircut a "life changing experience?"  Really?  By the time you go to court, your hair will have grown back!  I have finally dropped a case worth up to $10,000 to me because after a little over 2 years with no progress towards a resolution, I give up! 

Life changing?  Did you read what I wrote about a model/singer I used to work with?  A car accident can be life changing.  Falling off a roof could be life changing.  Getting acid thrown in your face is life changing.  Getting diagnosed with a fatal disease is life changing.  I am sorry, but I don't understand how getting ones hair cut could be so "life changing?"  It grows back, right?

Monica, I am sorry that you experienced such an unpleasant situation, but it is a temporary one.  It's something where the gig was misrepresented to you, but things like this happen.  Your hair will grow back.   You will get over the trauma of seeing yourself with short hair.  It could have been worse ... much worse! 

I have been a photographer for hair shows and the major California Cosmetology Association Conventions in the past.  I've also had very long hair, I've had my hair various colors, I've had an Afro and had it shaved off ... all because I've been close to my friends who do hair AND I'm a guy! This is what "hair artists" do!  They will cut your hair.  Models that do hair shows are aware that they will be able to do only a couple shows at a time before they need to let it grow back.  Well since I'm no longer a model, I do understand the importance of your "image" so I sympathize with you ... but again, it could have been worse. 

The attitude of blowing off the job is not a good one.  I understand you are making a point, but this may hamper you getting future work.  You can get extensions, or wear a wig until your hair is back to normal.   You could grow a sense of humor about it! 

Years ago, I was photographing a young model and singer whom I was managing at the time.  She had long hair and had modeling for me before.  I had just photographed her on her girlfriends classic Chevy El Camino, then took off to go to a club where my band I was working with was going to play.  She and her girlfriend took off in the other direction in the El Camino ... when they got into a head on collusion with another truck!  She and her girlfriend were thrown from the vehicle ... no seat belts in that year of vehicle.  They both had head trauma and went into surgery for removing blood clots on the brain. Her attitude and sense of humor helped her to recover faster.

My friend came out of surgery, and was damn near as good as new!  She was ordering pizza and having too many visitors in her room at ICU (or was it recovery?)  Her head had been shaved, but she took it all in good humor.  We'd be at a stop light, and she'd smile at the guy in the car next to us, then lift off her wig to show her bald head laughing as we drove away!  It wasn't long before we were shooting pictures again.  Her girlfriend did not recover as quickly, as her attitude was not so bold and positive.

Count this a lesson learned, but look towards the future too.

Hunter Wald wrote:

K I C K H A M wrote:
You give your limits before hair shows and they are supposed to abide by them. I had it happen to me once, and yes, I got paid--and then lost all the work I previously had and had over a YEAR with hardly any work.

Hunter Wald wrote:
I suggest going to the shoot, getting paid, registering a protest with the highest authority there, and then seeing a lawyer.  Get some good legal council.  Find an agency that has your back.

My responses in bold to Mr. Cowles:


Why are you dragging me back into this anyway? 

To the others that say she agreed to the changes by agreeing to let them cut her hair, I disagree.  She agreed only to what they were telling her they were doing.  If they were doing something else, then they were deceiving her.  If they failed to permit her to see in a mirror as they worked, they were deceiving her.

I'm confused as to why my quote is here. Are you asking why I am dragging you into things?

Patrick Walberg wrote:

Getting your haircut a "life changing experience?"  Really?  By the time you go to court, your hair will have grown back!  I have finally dropped a case worth up to $10,000 to me because after a little over 2 years with no progress towards a resolution, I give up! 

Life changing?  Did you read what I wrote about a model/singer I used to work with?  A car accident can be life changing.  Falling off a roof could be life changing.  Getting acid thrown in your face is life changing.  Getting diagnosed with a fatal disease is life changing.  I am sorry, but I don't understand how getting ones hair cut could be so "life changing?"  It grows back, right?

Monica, I am sorry that you experienced such an unpleasant situation, but it is a temporary one.  It's something where the gig was misrepresented to you, but things like this happen.  Your hair will grow back.   You will get over the trauma of seeing yourself with short hair.  It could have been worse ... much worse! 

I have been a photographer for hair shows and the major California Cosmetology Association Conventions in the past.  I've also had very long hair, I've had my hair various colors, I've had an Afro and had it shaved off ... all because I've been close to my friends who do hair AND I'm a guy! This is what "hair artists" do!  They will cut your hair.  Models that do hair shows are aware that they will be able to do only a couple shows at a time before they need to let it grow back.  Well since I'm no longer a model, I do understand the importance of your "image" so I sympathize with you ... but again, it could have been worse. 

The attitude of blowing off the job is not a good one.  I understand you are making a point, but this may hamper you getting future work.  You can get extensions, or wear a wig until your hair is back to normal.   You could grow a sense of humor about it! 

Years ago, I was photographing a young model and singer whom I was managing at the time.  She had long hair and had modeling for me before.  I had just photographed her on her girlfriends classic Chevy El Camino, then took off to go to a club where my band I was working with was going to play.  She and her girlfriend took off in the other direction in the El Camino ... when they got into a head on collusion with another truck!  She and her girlfriend were thrown from the vehicle ... no seat belts in that year of vehicle.  They both had head trauma and went into surgery for removing blood clots on the brain. Her attitude and sense of humor helped her to recover faster.

My friend came out of surgery, and was damn near as good as new!  She was ordering pizza and having too many visitors in her room at ICU (or was it recovery?)  Her head had been shaved, but she took it all in good humor.  We'd be at a stop light, and she'd smile at the guy in the car next to us, then lift off her wig to show her bald head laughing as we drove away!  It wasn't long before we were shooting pictures again.  Her girlfriend did not recover as quickly, as her attitude was not so bold and positive.

Count this a lesson learned, but look towards the future too.

I think bringing up those situations is a bit unfair.

Yes, as a model having your hair jacked is LIFE CHANGING.

We make money based on our looks. If the look changes against our will, we lose our livelihood. You think losing your means of living isn't life changing? Think again. The time it takes for hair to grow back is not short.

Of COURSE there are worse things that could happen. I don't think she's arguing that.

JessieLeigh wrote:
I wonder if you two missed where the model said she agreed to the hair cut even though she knew it wasn't part of the contract. She is partially responsible for the breaching of the contract.

Like I stated in the beginning of this thread >"Upon arriving to the prep day shoot I was asked if I could get my hair "trimmed" and "thinned out." I was told that it would look the same, but only more styled. I agreed to this because I assumed that she was not going to drastically change my hair because she was aware of the styling only agreement. Every time she'd cut into my hair with scissors she'd affirm and re-affirm that it wasn't cutting very much. She said this at least 20 times. I trusted what she was saying because of this."

The agreement was a trim and thinning to support the styling of the look they were trying to achieve. I did NOT agree to cutting off 10 inches of my hair.

When someone is telling you one thing and does something drastically different without your consent it is traumatizing. This feels like a violation. Did you read the rest of what I actually wrote? Like having my hair the same length for 23 years and then to have it cut all off without my consent is a big deal. People with long hair get this. This is my look. It's how I get paid. The fact that I now have to pay to fix my hair (good extensions cost $2000), get new photos in the mean time because I no longer look like my photos in my port, etc.  It's gonna take a lot of time and energy and money to do all of this. Remember, this is one way that I make a living. It is important. Maybe this kind of situation needs to actually happen to you so you'd have any sort of understanding.

You clearly don't get it. That's fine.

T-D-L wrote:
"Therapy"?  Really?

Like I said above...


When someone is telling you one thing and does something drastically different without your consent it is traumatizing. This feels like a violation. Did you read the rest of what I actually wrote? Like having my hair the same length for 23 years and then to have it cut all off without my consent is a big deal. People with long hair get this. This is my look. It's how I get paid. The fact that I now have to pay to fix my hair (good extensions cost $2000), get new photos in the mean time because I no longer look like my photos in my port, etc.  It's gonna take a lot of time, energy and money to do all of this. Remember, this is one way that I make a living. It is important. Maybe this kind of situation needs to actually happen to you so you'd have any sort of understanding.

You clearly don't get it.

K I C K H A M wrote:

I think bringing up those situations is a bit unfair.

Yes, as a model having your hair jacked is LIFE CHANGING.

We make money based on our looks. If the look changes against our will, we lose our livelihood. You think losing your means of living isn't life changing? Think again. The time it takes for hair to grow back is not short.

Of COURSE there are worse things that could happen. I don't think she's arguing that.

Indeed. Thank you.

Looknsee Photography wrote:
I know you've been traumatized, but having been through a few nasty civil suits, I feel obligated to point out that all lawyers think disputes are worth pursuing.  After all, that's how they earn their living, and they typically don't last long if they turn away business.

Keep us informed -- let us know how your foray into our justice system goes.

The lawyer representing me is quite successful and doesn't need to take this case to keep business going. Not sure what kind of lawyers you have worked with but I am pretty sure successful one's turn down cases that they feel would not benefit them.

I'll keep you posted.

Monica L C wrote:
Like I stated in the beginning of this thread >"Upon arriving to the prep day shoot I was asked if I could get my hair "trimmed" and "thinned out." I was told that it would look the same, but only more styled. I agreed to this because I assumed that she was not going to drastically change my hair because she was aware of the styling only agreement. Every time she'd cut into my hair with scissors she'd affirm and re-affirm that it wasn't cutting very much. She said this at least 20 times. I trusted what she was saying because of this."

The agreement was a trim and thinning to support the styling of the look they were trying to achieve. I did NOT agree to cutting off 10 inches of my hair.

When someone is telling you one thing and does something drastically different without your consent it is traumatizing. This feels like a violation. Did you read the rest of what I actually wrote? Like having my hair the same length for 23 years and then to have it cut all off without my consent is a big deal. People with long hair get this. This is my look. It's how I get paid. The fact that I now have to pay to fix my hair (good extensions cost $2000), get new photos in the mean time because I no longer look like my photos in my port, etc.  It's gonna take a lot of time and energy and money to do all of this. Remember, this is one way that I make a living. It is important. Maybe this kind of situation needs to actually happen to you so you'd have any sort of understanding.

You clearly don't get it. That's fine.

Actually, you don't get it. You 1) verbally agreed to an alteration of the contract and 2) have reiterated that fact here numerous times. If I was the stylist or the client or whoever it is you're suing that'd be my main point. Before agreeing you could have (and should have) asked 1) why if your hair was going to "look the same, but only more styled" that trimming and thinning was even necessary and because you had a styling agreement that said no cutting was necessary your agency likely wouldn't have faulted you for this or 2) since cutting wasn't a part of the original deal you could have asked to see your hair at any point. If the stylist has the opportunity to say 20 times that she wasn't cutting too much that should have been a clear indicator of what was going on, you may not have had a mirror but if the cut is as dramatic as you claim evidence of her lies would have been all over you and the floor. 10 inches of hair loss is a lot.

Beyond that you're claiming now that you're hair is your look and how you get paid (which by the way I'm not attempting to disagree with since plenty of models settle into a single look) but if it was that integral to your brand what in the world made you agree to have it cut when you were in a position where you didn't have to because cutting it went beyond the scope of your signed contract? I'm not trying to be rude but seriously that move has "dumb model" written all over it. I don't gamble with my livelihood. Why? Because it's my livelihood and it didn't take some "catastrophic" event to teach me that, it's common sense.

Monica L C wrote:
Like I said above...


When someone is telling you one thing and does something drastically different without your consent it is traumatizing. This feels like a violation. Did you read the rest of what I actually wrote? Like having my hair the same length for 23 years and then to have it cut all off without my consent is a big deal. People with long hair get this. This is my look. It's how I get paid. The fact that I now have to pay to fix my hair (good extensions cost $2000), get new photos in the mean time because I no longer look like my photos in my port, etc.  It's gonna take a lot of time, energy and money to do all of this. Remember, this is one way that I make a living. It is important. Maybe this kind of situation needs to actually happen to you so you'd have any sort of understanding.

You clearly don't get it.

Don't get defensive sweetheart, you're making it out to be entirely bigger than need be....people get therapy for things like: sexual abuse, PTSD, clinical depression, etc.....but getting a "bad" (was it really bad, or are you just being overly dramatic at the idea of having a different look) hair cut?  Been there, done that.  Wasn't the end of my day or my world (as you'd make it seem). 

Besides, that type of situation wouldn't likely happen to me...because I'm a grown up, aware of consequences and what not.  In the unlikely event it did, I'd realize I have no one to blame but myself.  If the roles were reversed do you know how the situation would have went down?

Stylist: Hey, can we trim your hair a little, it'll still look the same.

Me: Nope.  My contract was for styling, no cutting.

Stylist: Ok, no worries

Me: *sits there happily since I'm still getting paid for a job instead of losing my shit and flaking the next day*

Perhaps you missed the point I made earlier:

YOU are to blame here.  I don't care that she cut it short, or if she shaved you bald.  YOU gave consent.  Then YOU were probably on your phone playing words with friends or something instead of paying attention to what was happening.  If my look was super-duper important to me, and losing a couple inches of hair would be the worst thing to ever happen to me you can bet your ass I'd have a mirror, and would be watching the stylist like a hawk to keep an eye on them.

Take some accountability for Christ-sakes.  No one put a gun to your head and said "Hey, we're gonna cut your hair!"; you knew what the contract was, yet you decided to allow them to go against the terms set forth in said contract.  What's done is done.  I would hope you learned a lesson here, but clearly you have not and are going to blame everyone but yourself, and even worse you're going to get litigious when you should be more solution oriented and moving on with your life/career.

As has been said by others: models change their looks from time to time.  Have you tested the market to see if you really are going to lose work?  Maybe people out there didn't like your long hair....maybe there's a demand for shorter (or whatever hairstyle you have now) hair....who knows.  What I do know is that your hair is gone, you allowed it, don't accept any blame, will sue the client, WILL garner a negative reputation, and WILL cost yourself work if this attitude (and the whole lawsuit thing) as well as flaking and sensitivity thing continues. 

But what do I know?  I'm just another photographer on MM lol

K I C K H A M wrote:
I think bringing up those situations is a bit unfair.

Yes, as a model having your hair jacked is LIFE CHANGING.

We make money based on our looks. If the look changes against our will, we lose our livelihood. You think losing your means of living isn't life changing? Think again. The time it takes for hair to grow back is not short.

Of COURSE there are worse things that could happen. I don't think she's arguing that.

I'm sorry that this is something we disagree on, but there are very few models I hire solely on their hair.  Certainly there are some celebrities that have a hairstyle as their signature look, but we are talking about only a few.  Donald Trump comes to mind.  I know that Pamela Anderson has a certain "trademarked" look ... and everyone knows what the hair looked like on icons like Elvis and Marilyn Monroe.  Many other celebrities AND models reinvent themselves with new looks. Actors sometimes do things like shave their head or wear a wig for parts.  Models I've worked with have gone the wig route.  Some models that specialize in being "hair models" expect to get their hair cut and make their future bookings around it.  Again, I've worked with hair show models before.  I'm speaking the truth as I see it! It's not so life changing that one doesn't recover from it.  I've had bad haircuts ... who hasn't?

T-D-L wrote:
Don't get defensive sweetheart, you're making it out to be entirely bigger than need be....people get therapy for things like: sexual abuse, PTSD, clinical depression, etc.....but getting a "bad" (was it really bad, or are you just being overly dramatic at the idea of having a different look) hair cut?  Been there, done that.  Wasn't the end of my day or my world (as you'd make it seem). 

Besides, that type of situation wouldn't likely happen to me...because I'm a grown up, aware of consequences and what not.  In the unlikely event it did, I'd realize I have no one to blame but myself.  If the roles were reversed do you know how the situation would have went down?

Stylist: Hey, can we trim your hair a little, it'll still look the same.

Me: Nope.  My contract was for styling, no cutting.

Stylist: Ok, no worries

Me: *sits there happily since I'm still getting paid for a job instead of losing my shit and flaking the next day*

Perhaps you missed the point I made earlier:

YOU are to blame here.  I don't care that she cut it short, or if she shaved you bald.  YOU gave consent.  Then YOU were probably on your phone playing words with friends or something instead of paying attention to what was happening.  If my look was super-duper important to me, and losing a couple inches of hair would be the worst thing to ever happen to me you can bet your ass I'd have a mirror, and would be watching the stylist like a hawk to keep an eye on them.

Take some accountability for Christ-sakes.  No one put a gun to your head and said "Hey, we're gonna cut your hair!"; you knew what the contract was, yet you decided to allow them to go against the terms set forth in said contract.  What's done is done.  I would hope you learned a lesson here, but clearly you have not and are going to blame everyone but yourself, and even worse you're going to get litigious when you should be more solution oriented and moving on with your life/career.

As has been said by others: models change their looks from time to time.  Have you tested the market to see if you really are going to lose work?  Maybe people out there didn't like your long hair....maybe there's a demand for shorter (or whatever hairstyle you have now) hair....who knows.  What I do know is that your hair is gone, you allowed it, don't accept any blame, will sue the client, WILL garner a negative reputation, and WILL cost yourself work if this attitude (and the whole lawsuit thing) as well as flaking and sensitivity thing continues. 

But what do I know?  I'm just another photographer on MM lol

As photographers, we should be sensitive to the needs of our models.  I try my best to be aware and communicative with models.   Sometimes the MUA or hairstylist might be doing something that we or the client suggested or even requested.  So there comes a point when a model needs to voice her concerns.  That should be done at some point before the hairstylist cuts!  Instead if the model takes a look at her hair and gets melodramatic over something like "a hair cut" for a client ... then the model (an agency one at that!) freaks out over the new look .. walks on on the job!  Then to top it off ... is thinking about suing?  To need therapy?  Sorry, but that's a drama queen!  That is NOT a model I would risk hiring for any future work.

Patrick Walberg wrote:
I'm sorry that this is something we disagree on, but there are very few models I hire solely on their hair.  Certainly there are some celebrities that have a hairstyle as their signature look, but we are talking about only a few.  Donald Trump comes to mind.  I know that Pamela Anderson has a certain "trademarked" look ... and everyone knows what the hair looked like on icons like Elvis and Marilyn Monroe.  Many other celebrities AND models reinvent themselves with new looks. Actors sometimes do things like shave their head or wear a wig for parts.  Models I've worked with have gone the wig route.  Some models that specialize in being "hair models" expect to get their hair cut and make their future bookings around it.  Again, I've worked with hair show models before.  I'm speaking the truth as I see it! It's not so life changing that one doesn't recover from it.  I've had bad haircuts ... who hasn't?

Because some people can book with a lot of diverse hairstyles. Not everyone can.

It doesn't have to be a "signature look" lost to make you lose work. You don't always know what gets your bookings. If I had known my hair had so much to do with it, I wouldn't have been screwing with hair shows. People didn't stop booking me because I had lost my "signature look," people stopped booking me because I was much less marketable with the cut and length I got.

Your bad haircuts don't affect your livelihood. This is pretty simple. I mean, you can disagree, but you are bringing up things that are completely irrelevant.

For me, personally, my work dried up. That means being out of work. That means no money for food or rent. Regardless of what you may think, those things really make a difference. You can tell me what you've seen, but I'm telling you what I've lived.

K I C K H A M wrote:

Because some people can book with a lot of diverse hairstyles. Not everyone can.

It doesn't have to be a "signature look" lost to make you lose work. You don't always know what gets your bookings. If I had known my hair had so much to do with it, I wouldn't have been screwing with hair shows. People didn't stop booking me because I had lost my "signature look," people stopped booking me because I was much less marketable with the cut and length I got.

Your bad haircuts don't affect your livelihood. This is pretty simple. I mean, you can disagree, but you are bringing up things that are completely irrelevant.

For me, personally, my work dried up. That means being out of work. That means no money for food or rent. Regardless of what you may think, those things really make a difference. You can tell me what you've seen, but I'm telling you what I've lived.

I remember when you got your haircut.  I don't remember you suing people or complaining on the forums about how your life was ruined and you needed professional help, nor do I remember you suing anyone.  Correct me if I'm wrong though.

What I do remember was you realizing it was a bad idea in the long run, and putting on your big girl pants and dealing with it.  You made the decision to accept the job and your hair was cut, albeit not entirely to your liking...but you knew it was going to be cut.  You didn't accept the gig, then complain about it looking for sympathy and talking about integrity and other nonsense to justify you flaking on a gig.

K I C K H A M wrote:
Because some people can book with a lot of diverse hairstyles. Not everyone can.

It doesn't have to be a "signature look" lost to make you lose work. You don't always know what gets your bookings. If I had known my hair had so much to do with it, I wouldn't have been screwing with hair shows. People didn't stop booking me because I had lost my "signature look," people stopped booking me because I was much less marketable with the cut and length I got.

Your bad haircuts don't affect your livelihood. This is pretty simple. I mean, you can disagree, but you are bringing up things that are completely irrelevant.

For me, personally, my work dried up. That means being out of work. That means no money for food or rent. Regardless of what you may think, those things really make a difference. You can tell me what you've seen, but I'm telling you what I've lived.

None of what you have just said rises to the level of LIFE CHANGING which has been the point of the last phase of argument in this thread. At most you could say short-term impact on career. That is most definitely not the same as life changing. I would venture to say that you have far more going for you than a haircut and that in a year or two you will see the episode with a different perspective, as will the OP.

RE. hairshows in general there has been an abundance of stories about cutting and coloring disappointments resulting from hairshow bookings as long as I have been around/aware of modeling--well in advance of the web or Model Mayhem. I don't think there is any excuse these days to say that a model has no idea of the potential negative results of these kind bookings.

I had a little sympathy for the OP from the original post, but subsequent information/behavior has eroded that.

T-D-L wrote:

Don't get defensive sweetheart, you're making it out to be entirely bigger than need be....people get therapy for things like: sexual abuse, PTSD, clinical depression, etc.....but getting a "bad" (was it really bad, or are you just being overly dramatic at the idea of having a different look) hair cut?  Been there, done that.  Wasn't the end of my day or my world (as you'd make it seem). 

Besides, that type of situation wouldn't likely happen to me...because I'm a grown up, aware of consequences and what not.  In the unlikely event it did, I'd realize I have no one to blame but myself.  If the roles were reversed do you know how the situation would have went down?

Stylist: Hey, can we trim your hair a little, it'll still look the same.

Me: Nope.  My contract was for styling, no cutting.

Stylist: Ok, no worries

Me: *sits there happily since I'm still getting paid for a job instead of losing my shit and flaking the next day*

Perhaps you missed the point I made earlier:

YOU are to blame here.  I don't care that she cut it short, or if she shaved you bald.  YOU gave consent.  Then YOU were probably on your phone playing words with friends or something instead of paying attention to what was happening.  If my look was super-duper important to me, and losing a couple inches of hair would be the worst thing to ever happen to me you can bet your ass I'd have a mirror, and would be watching the stylist like a hawk to keep an eye on them.

Take some accountability for Christ-sakes.  No one put a gun to your head and said "Hey, we're gonna cut your hair!"; you knew what the contract was, yet you decided to allow them to go against the terms set forth in said contract.  What's done is done.  I would hope you learned a lesson here, but clearly you have not and are going to blame everyone but yourself, and even worse you're going to get litigious when you should be more solution oriented and moving on with your life/career.

As has been said by others: models change their looks from time to time.  Have you tested the market to see if you really are going to lose work?  Maybe people out there didn't like your long hair....maybe there's a demand for shorter (or whatever hairstyle you have now) hair....who knows.  What I do know is that your hair is gone, you allowed it, don't accept any blame, will sue the client, WILL garner a negative reputation, and WILL cost yourself work if this attitude (and the whole lawsuit thing) as well as flaking and sensitivity thing continues. 

But what do I know?  I'm just another photographer on MM lol

You have no idea what PTSD is.

It's an emotional (chemical) response, the specifics of which are influenced by all sorts of things. You can have the traditional trauma of experiencing something horrific, but you can have compounded trauma - the feeling of being violated by having your haircut drastically different from what you expected can trigger past traumas and lead to a far more intense reaction Thant someone who hadn't. It's an new trauma on top of someone who's already got PTSD, which is very different from someone who doesn't.

You can even develop PTSD symptoms without experiencing anything negative. Not that cops don't experience negative things, but literally the act of sitting waiting for the radio to go off primes your fight/flight response. Experiencing that in a prolonged state is what happens in PTSD. Long term there can be permanent brain chemistry changes.

Your response is probably far more damaging than you can actually imagine.

You're trying to reason with someone's emotional experience. Do you believe her that she felt bad? Do you believe that you can convince her to un-feel bad? Or is your goal to convince her that she was wrong to have something else to feel bad about?

I'm sure ill be called a white knight for this post, but I'm not really concerned with defending her. I think with a better understanding of PTSD, you'd be pretty embarrassed by your post. She may even be triggering traumatic experiences in your life by making you think "that's no as bad as when I ..... and I don't have PTSD" yet you're physically tense and you're hear rate has jumped and you're feeling agitated. Most people would feel angry at her for making them feel that way.

Patrick Walberg wrote:

I'm sorry that this is something we disagree on, but there are very few models I hire solely on their hair.  Certainly there are some celebrities that have a hairstyle as their signature look, but we are talking about only a few.  Donald Trump comes to mind.  I know that Pamela Anderson has a certain "trademarked" look ... and everyone knows what the hair looked like on icons like Elvis and Marilyn Monroe.  Many other celebrities AND models reinvent themselves with new looks. Actors sometimes do things like shave their head or wear a wig for parts.  Models I've worked with have gone the wig route.  Some models that specialize in being "hair models" expect to get their hair cut and make their future bookings around it.  Again, I've worked with hair show models before.  I'm speaking the truth as I see it! It's not so life changing that one doesn't recover from it.  I've had bad haircuts ... who hasn't?

It doesn't matter if they do or don't, it matters if they believe they do.

What happens when you take away a MLB pitcher's good luck charm, do they usually perform better or worse?

Patrick Walberg wrote:

As photographers, we should be sensitive to the needs of our models.  I try my best to be aware and communicative with models.   Sometimes the MUA or hairstylist might be doing something that we or the client suggested or even requested.  So there comes a point when a model needs to voice her concerns.  That should be done at some point before the hairstylist cuts!  Instead if the model takes a look at her hair and gets melodramatic over something like "a hair cut" for a client ... then the model (an agency one at that!) freaks out over the new look .. walks on on the job!  Then to top it off ... is thinking about suing?  To need therapy?  Sorry, but that's a drama queen!  That is NOT a model I would risk hiring for any future work.

That's one way to look at it. I've read a lot of photographers say that they are in charge and responsible for everything. There are lots of people who would hear about this as it was happening and ask the model specifically if they were ok. Sometimes people have reasons they're afraid to speak up.

Really the hairstylist should have had enough experience to know that there's always a risk of this happening and shouldn't down play how much her hair will change. She can always cut a little, see if the model is still ok, and then cut more. She didn't have to go straight to irreversible.

T-D-L wrote:

I remember when you got your haircut.  I don't remember you suing people or complaining on the forums about how your life was ruined and you needed professional help, nor do I remember you suing anyone.  Correct me if I'm wrong though.

What I do remember was you realizing it was a bad idea in the long run, and putting on your big girl pants and dealing with it.  You made the decision to accept the job and your hair was cut, albeit not entirely to your liking...but you knew it was going to be cut.  You didn't accept the gig, then complain about it looking for sympathy and talking about integrity and other nonsense to justify you flaking on a gig.

Did she feel mislead when she got her hair cut?

Dan Howell wrote:

None of what you have just said rises to the level of LIFE CHANGING which has been the point of the last phase of argument in this thread. At most you could say short-term impact on career. That is most definitely not the same as life changing. I would venture to say that you have far more going for you than a haircut and that in a year or two you will see the episode with a different perspective, as will the OP.

RE. hairshows in general there has been an abundance of stories about cutting and coloring disappointments resulting from hairshow bookings as long as I have been around/aware of modeling--well in advance of the web or Model Mayhem. I don't think there is any excuse these days to say that a model has no idea of the potential negative results of these kind bookings.

I had a little sympathy for the OP from the original post, but subsequent information/behavior has eroded that.

She was talking about herself and her experience, not the OP's experience.

This is about how the OP felt, not how it has changed her life.

It's amazing how many people who aspire to make photos that show emotion are seemingly unaware of it.

Monica L C wrote:
When someone is telling you one thing and does something drastically different without your consent it is traumatizing. This feels like a violation. Did you read the rest of what I actually wrote? Like having my hair the same length for 23 years and then to have it cut all off without my consent is a big deal. People with long hair get this. This is my look. It's how I get paid. The fact that I now have to pay to fix my hair (good extensions cost $2000), get new photos in the mean time because I no longer look like my photos in my port, etc.  It's gonna take a lot of time and energy and money to do all of this. Remember, this is one way that I make a living. It is important. Maybe this kind of situation needs to actually happen to you so you'd have any sort of understanding.

You clearly don't get it. That's fine.

I read everything you wrote.
You seem to think that because I do not sympathize with you, I do not understand the situation. That's far from accurate. 

You get paid based on your looks. Your hair is important to your look. You have had the same hair length for 23 years...  And despite this,you decided to trust the word of someone you JUST met, you consented to allow them cut and thin your hair despite the fact that you were sent to them to be styled only. You could and should have said no. For some strange reason, you instead decided to trust a total stranger with your livelihood. I find it difficult to view you as some kind of martyr over this, you simply made a poorly thought out decision and it's coming back to bite you in the ass.

L Bass wrote:
It saddens me to see how this has affected you and I'm truly sorry you had to go thru all this misery. As an earlier reply stated... I don't think it's your hair that is bringing you success in this business. That's just a bonus.

All I can say is this... this kind of thing may happen in L.A., but do it in east Texas and there would be a hair stylist and an agent that (when they woke up) would be able to add 'I got a good old fashioned east Texas ass-whoopin' to their autobiographies!

I wish you all the best in whatever it takes to give you satisfaction in this matter.

Yeah, that's a good way to solve your problems....

Dan Howell wrote:
None of what you have just said rises to the level of LIFE CHANGING which has been the point of the last phase of argument in this thread. At most you could say short-term impact on career. That is most definitely not the same as life changing. I would venture to say that you have far more going for you than a haircut and that in a year or two you will see the episode with a different perspective, as will the OP.

RE. hairshows in general there has been an abundance of stories about cutting and coloring disappointments resulting from hairshow bookings as long as I have been around/aware of modeling--well in advance of the web or Model Mayhem. I don't think there is any excuse these days to say that a model has no idea of the potential negative results of these kind bookings.

I had a little sympathy for the OP from the original post, but subsequent information/behavior has eroded that.

Meh, I think having your career put on hold for over a year, when most modeling careers only last for 4 years or so, could be considered life-changing. I suppose that we might have different definitions, and that's fine. My point was that something can be "life-changing" without being an almost life ENDING situation.

And, as oppose to the OP, I DO have distance from the situation. My hair has already grown back (after 2 1/2 years) and now I am booking more. However, my options are more limited at my age now. I am very realistic about my situation and have lived in this industry for quite some time now. Trust me, it made a huge, visible difference that affected whether I ate meals on a regular basis or not.

I'm still astounded that you can think that in MODELING being out of the game for 2 years is a "short-term" impact on your career.

T-D-L wrote:

I remember when you got your haircut.  I don't remember you suing people or complaining on the forums about how your life was ruined and you needed professional help, nor do I remember you suing anyone.  Correct me if I'm wrong though.

What I do remember was you realizing it was a bad idea in the long run, and putting on your big girl pants and dealing with it.  You made the decision to accept the job and your hair was cut, albeit not entirely to your liking...but you knew it was going to be cut.  You didn't accept the gig, then complain about it looking for sympathy and talking about integrity and other nonsense to justify you flaking on a gig.

The OP and I have many differences. But I DO see where she is coming from. I can empathize with cancelling on the job. That I really can do. I didn't, and I don't regret that, but when people go specifically against what you need and affect your career to such a large degree (especially considering hair shows aren't know for the big bucks), yeah, I get it.

No, I wouldn't sue. And no, I didn't complain in public. It seemed like a bad route on two fronts: 1. People might just think I'm whining and 2. People might think that I now look terrible, which would likely affect my bookings to an even larger degree.

Now, where I disagree is, "You knew that they were cutting your hair so it's your fault," as such.

No. No it's not. At hair shows you have the option to give VERY SPECIFIC limits. And I did. There were 3 people cutting hair. Two of them listened to limits. One went against our limits. Every. Single. Girl. She went very far against our limits. When I went to feel the hair, knowing she had chopped off more than she was supposed to, she slapped my hand and told me not to touch it.

So, no, I would not personally have started a thread on it. But I do think she has valid reasons for being upset, though, IMHO, is going too far with the lawsuit.

In reality we won't know how all of this affects her career until she has the space from it that I have.

Patrick Walberg wrote:
I'm sorry that this is something we disagree on, but there are very few models I hire solely on their hair.

I doubt you are her expected clientele

K I C K H A M wrote:
No. No it's not. At hair shows you have the option to give VERY SPECIFIC limits. And I did. There were 3 people cutting hair. Two of them listened to limits. One went against our limits. Every. Single. Girl. She went very far against our limits. When I went to feel the hair, knowing she had chopped off more than she was supposed to, she slapped my hand and told me not to touch it.

So, no, I would not personally have started a thread on it. But I do think she has valid reasons for being upset, though, IMHO, is going too far with the lawsuit.

I'm sorry, if people are doing that, they need to be held accountable somehow.

If a model's agency is not going to stand up for them, who is going to take a stand and try to get people to comprehend that they need to respect limits.

K I C K H A M wrote:
Because some people can book with a lot of diverse hairstyles. Not everyone can.

It doesn't have to be a "signature look" lost to make you lose work. You don't always know what gets your bookings. If I had known my hair had so much to do with it, I wouldn't have been screwing with hair shows. People didn't stop booking me because I had lost my "signature look," people stopped booking me because I was much less marketable with the cut and length I got.

Your bad haircuts don't affect your livelihood. This is pretty simple. I mean, you can disagree, but you are bringing up things that are completely irrelevant.

For me, personally, my work dried up. That means being out of work. That means no money for food or rent. Regardless of what you may think, those things really make a difference. You can tell me what you've seen, but I'm telling you what I've lived.

Kelli, I'm doing my best to see this through the eyes of the model.  After shooting for a hair products distribution business for a couple years, I've seen how unsympathetic some hair stylists can be, but most are not going to want to ruin the models career!  The stylists is doing what they are know to do ... that's their job!  In return, the models are given pay, free products, and styling that has potentially great value on the market place.  Having hair trimmed & thinned actually encourages faster growth.   

I've shot with models during their span of active modeling who have gone short or even bald for various reasons from doing the hair show circuit a little too long to being in a car crash.  Short hair is NOT the end of the World!  There are models on this website who will tell you that because they have short hair or are even bald. 

Everyone reacts to adversity differently.  Some models are emotionally attached to their hair, and would freak out over a bad or short hair cut, BUT to file lawsuits going after the hairstylist, the client or the agency can have negative repercussions.  Those with positive attitudes may look at this drastic change for new opportunities.  Why stay bummed while waiting for the hair to grow back?  Go out and find the gigs that fit the new look!  Walking out on a job is not the best thing to do!

Mikey McMichaels wrote:
That's one way to look at it. I've read a lot of photographers say that they are in charge and responsible for everything. There are lots of people who would hear about this as it was happening and ask the model specifically if they were ok. Sometimes people have reasons they're afraid to speak up.

Really the hairstylist should have had enough experience to know that there's always a risk of this happening and shouldn't down play how much her hair will change. She can always cut a little, see if the model is still ok, and then cut more. She didn't have to go straight to irreversible.

The photographer is not always the one in charge.  For hair shows where there is a class learning a new technique or style, the teacher (the stylist) might be in charge. The products company that produces the seminar might be responsible.  Or in the case of a photo shoot, the client paying for the shoot could be in charge ... so perhaps the photographer had no say?

Patrick Walberg wrote:

Kelli, I'm doing my best to see this through the eyes of the model.  After shooting for a hair products distribution business for a couple years, I've seen how unsympathetic some hair stylists can be, but most are not going to want to ruin the models career!  The stylists is doing what they are know to do ... that's their job!  In return, the models are given pay, free products, and styling that has potentially great value on the market place.  Having hair trimmed & thinned actually encourages faster growth.   

I've shot with models during their span of active modeling who have gone short or even bald for various reasons from doing the hair show circuit a little too long to being in a car crash.  Short hair is NOT the end of the World!  There are models on this website who will tell you that because they have short hair or are even bald. 

Everyone reacts to adversity differently.  Some models are emotionally attached to their hair, and would freak out over a bad or short hair cut, BUT to file lawsuits going after the hairstylist, the client or the agency can have negative repercussions.  Those with positive attitudes may look at this drastic change for new opportunities.  Why stay bummed while waiting for the hair to grow back?  Go out and find the gigs that fit the new look!  Walking out on a job is not the best thing to do!

Well, some girls book great with short hair-- better than long hair. I, unfortunately, am not one of them.

And we fully agree on one point. Most hair stylists do NOT want to mess up a model's career. I would never think such a thing! The problem is that 50 people can do it right, and it only takes that ONE doing it wrong to mess things up. Some girls can keep working, and some girls can't, but it should be OUR decisions (with our agencies, of course), not the decision of someone who decides to go against their word and contract.

Who said anything about being bummed? It's like you think that we are upset by changes and sit and sulk. No. I'm a hustler and I always have been. I worked my BUTT off getting new pictures and trying to market my new hair. For me, I actually had to get a whole new portfolio, because when people saw my long hair their only comments would be that they wished I still had long hair-- and no bookings.

After completely redoing my book, my bookings went up *slightly* but I mostly got the same feedback-- my hair needed to grow out.

Most of what I booked with short hair was magazine work, the edgier stuff-- and if you know ANYTHING about the market in LA, you know that means no actual money.

Trust me on this, I worked hard and I tried like hell to book. It doesn't work for everyone.

Patrick Walberg wrote:
The photographer is not always the one in charge.  For hair shows where there is a class learning a new technique or style, the teacher (the stylist) might be in charge. The products company that produces the seminar might be responsible.  Or in the case of a photo shoot, the client paying for the shoot could be in charge ... so perhaps the photographer had no say?

Most likely you are correct. Generally in these situations the photographer is not in charge, from my experience.

K I C K H A M wrote:
Well, some girls book great with short hair-- better than long hair. I, unfortunately, am not one of them.

And we fully agree on one point. Most hair stylists do NOT want to mess up a model's career. I would never think such a thing! The problem is that 50 people can do it right, and it only takes that ONE doing it wrong to mess things up. Some girls can keep working, and some girls can't, but it should be OUR decisions (with our agencies, of course), not the decision of someone who decides to go against their word and contract.

Who said anything about being bummed? It's like you think that we are upset by changes and sit and sulk. No. I'm a hustler and I always have been. I worked my BUTT off getting new pictures and trying to market my new hair. For me, I actually had to get a whole new portfolio, because when people saw my long hair their only comments would be that they wished I still had long hair-- and no bookings.

After completely redoing my book, my bookings went up *slightly* but I mostly got the same feedback-- my hair needed to grow out.

Most of what I booked with short hair was magazine work, the edgier stuff-- and if you know ANYTHING about the market in LA, you know that means no actual money.

Trust me on this, I worked hard and I tried like hell to book. It doesn't work for everyone.

I'm glad that you and I have the same "positive" attitude of not letting setbacks keep us from doing what we love.  I definitely see it as a set back, but not a total disaster.  I've suffered set backs before, but each incident is different.  Certainly there is a cost to set backs such as the OP's bad hair cutting ordeal, and yours too! 

It's difficult to judge what happened to her that day because we weren't (there) involved, and we didn't see how bad her haircut really was.  If that stylist was one of those few that didn't give a shit about the models future gigs, then perhaps the OP does have legal recourse.  I don't know.  What I have learned in my own experience is that often times if it can't be resolved outside of court, then the rewards of winning a case are often bittersweet.  The time and energy, not to mention money expended on a court case is draining!  I wouldn't sue, and it seems that although it cost you time and money to get your portfolio and career back on track, you didn't sue either, did you?  Each case is different. It's the OP's decision to sue or not. Best wishes to her!

K I C K H A M wrote:
I'm confused as to why my quote is here. Are you asking why I am dragging you into things?

No.  Sorry I wasn't clear.  I was asking Mr. Cowles why he dragged me back in.  I had answered a similar response to Mr. Cowles post previously, and I was not contributing anymore.  There were many other people still involved on the thread that were saying things which Mr. Cowles could have referred to.

I quoted you to highlight the experience you shared in contrast to what Mr. Cowles was saying.  He implied there were no damages caused by the haircut.  Your experience showed there are damages, when you said you lost paying jobs  which were scheduled and experienced a year with very little work.  I would consider that damages.   Because I referred to your statement in my response to Mr. Cowles, I quoted it as part of my post.  Sorry for the confusion.