Green Captures wrote:
Hello everyone,

I was approached by a girl who is 16 years old and according to her MM page she shoots nudes
I'm a 23 year old guy and I feel really uncomfortable with this shoot die to her age. Any suggestions?

She's a minor and you're an adult with a camera.  Enough said.

If you want really want to risk it, just make sure her parents are on the set.

JL Smith wrote:
Under 18 a parent parent or guardian must be present no way around this and I have received complaints from seniors.

Are you suggesting that this is required by law? Or are you simply suggesting that it is your recommended policy?

I don't know of any states where this is a legal requirement, but I could easily be wrong.

Green Captures wrote:
Hello everyone,

I'm new to portrait photography and I'm just starting to shoot models. I was approached by a girl who is 16 years old and according to her MM page she shoots nudes and she does lingerie and bikini shoots among everything else. Now, I have NO intentions of shooting lingerie and bikini pictures of her and especially any nude shots of her. I'm kinda worried about even doing a shoot with her because I don't want any weird stuff come up on the shoot. I'm a 23 year old guy and I feel really uncomfortable with this shoot die to her age. Any suggestions? Should I tell her to bring a chaperone or a parent? Is there Amy paperwork like a special model release for situations like this? How have y'all dealt with shoots with minors?

A minor should ALWAYS have a parent with them at a shoot. You should ALWAYS set up a shoot with the parents and not the minor. You also need to inform her and her parents exactly what you will and will not shoot regarding nudes, lingerie, etc.

Erlinda wrote:
Please do not make up MM rules.... There is nowhere on MM where it states that it's against MM rules to shoot underage models. If that was the case they wouldn't be allowed to sign up to the site

OMG.. sorry... I forgot to mention "Nude" in my post as that was what I was inferring to..
My Bad...
and YES.. it is against the rules on MM to contact a model underage to shoot anything nude.

No.. It isn't against the Law.

Green Captures wrote:
Thanks everyone for the advice. I'm going to have to cancel the shoot. Someone mentioned that there are ways to pose young girls in bikini without it being risque or suggestive but, like I mentioned, Im new to this type of photography and working on learning how to pose girls so I don't feel comfortable in knowing exactly what works and what doesn't, or what's specifically allowed for a girl her age. I rather get more experience first. Also, being that I live on the border of GA and SC it'd be too much of a hassle trying to figure out the laws for both states and just seems like too much trouble for a TFP event anyways. Again, thanks!

Shoot her in catalog poses. You see teens modeling swim wear in flyers, catalogs and ads all the time. Clean, hi key lighting, simple casual or fun poses. No problem. If she wants something more sexy or grown up, tell her you're not interested.

Green Captures wrote:
I'm a 23 year old guy and I feel really uncomfortable with this shoot die to her age. Any suggestions? Should I tell her to bring a chaperone or a parent? Is there Amy paperwork like a special model release for situations like this? How have y'all dealt with shoots with minors?

Regardless of what the actual issue is...if you don't feel comfortable doing something, you don't need to do it.

Green Captures wrote:
Hello everyone,

I'm new to portrait photography and I'm just starting to shoot models. I was approached by a girl who is 16 years old and according to her MM page she shoots nudes and she does lingerie and bikini shoots among everything else. Now, I have NO intentions of shooting lingerie and bikini pictures of her and especially any nude shots of her. I'm kinda worried about even doing a shoot with her because I don't want any weird stuff come up on the shoot. I'm a 23 year old guy and I feel really uncomfortable with this shoot die to her age. Any suggestions? Should I tell her to bring a chaperone or a parent? Is there Amy paperwork like a special model release for situations like this? How have y'all dealt with shoots with minors?

Why in the world would you do a shoot that you were uncomfortable with?

Are you that desperate for money that the amount a 16 year old can afford to pay you makes a difference?

This is a paid shoot, right? You wouldn't ask if it was a trade, would you?

Michael Fryd wrote:
Are you suggesting that this is required by law? Or are you simply suggesting that it is your recommended policy?

I don't know of any states where this is a legal requirement, but I could easily be wrong.

Not suggesting at all.  I am a father of two lovely girls who are women now.  I probably would not take what I would consider inappropriate photographs of minors anyway but since I have never been asked.. .  I do know I have lose a couple of senior sittings because I require a parent or guardian.

Keith Selle wrote:
DON'T ever shoot minors unless a parent is present regardless what type of photo shoot it is. Not worth the risk. A girl is turning 18 every day and wanting to be a model.

Couldn't disagree more. Half the girls in my portfolio were shot without their parents present, an were under 18.

The person under the age of 18 I have ever shot, and had a parent on the premises was aged 14. And even then, I found the mother so much of a hindrance that I asked her to wait in a different building from the one in which I was shooting.

Creating strong, emotive photographs requires a model who is willing to go all out, put herself out there - someone who doesn't care about what people watching will think. No-one can be like that with a parent watching.

Erlinda wrote:
I've shot 14,15,16 and 17 year olds. Parents drop them off and we shoot. You can shoot the girl in a bikini you just can't have her posing like you have the other models in your portfolio posing. You just have to make sure that she is doing poses for her age and not overly sexy.

I don't understand why photographers are so petrified of shooting under age models..... I'd like to know how many actual real stories have people heard about a photographer being arrested for taking photographs of a 16 year old during a shoot? Cause I can honestly say in all the years I lived in Toronto and Paris and now London I haven't heard of one. And believe me there are many of photographers out there that shoot kids/teenagers and I'm one of them.

In a professional context, I'd bet none.

I haven't heard of any in any context, but it's not solely about getting arrested, it's about reputation. Since reputation is based on word of mouth, your vulnerable to inaccuracies in retelling of the story.

Someone could tell a fact based story and leave parts out that end up implying things that aren't true.

How many stories have you heard about parents being hassled while shooting their own children?

Fashion Photographer wrote:

Couldn't disagree more. Half the girls in my portfolio were shot without their parents present, an were under 18.

The person under the age of 18 I have ever shot, and had a parent on the premises was aged 14. And even then, I found the mother so much of a hindrance that I asked her to wait in a different building from the one in which I was shooting.

Creating strong, emotive photographs requires a model who is willing to go all out, put herself out there - someone who doesn't care about what people watching will think. No-one can be like that with a parent watching.

https://www.modelmayhem.com/po.php?thre … st16934468

Lance DuLac wrote:
If she is a woman, especially a pretty young woman... she should have an escort. Always. Without a doubt.

Cherrystone wrote:
Do you do a Dudley Do-Right imitation too?

He has this message stored on a hot key.

For the mods:  It's quite easy to figure out who she is.

Erlinda wrote:
I've shot 14,15,16 and 17 year olds. Parents drop them off and we shoot. You can shoot the girl in a bikini you just can't have her posing like you have the other models in your portfolio posing. You just have to make sure that she is doing poses for her age and not overly sexy.

I don't understand why photographers are so petrified of shooting under age models..... I'd like to know how many actual real stories have people heard about a photographer being arrested for taking photographs of a 16 year old during a shoot? Cause I can honestly say in all the years I lived in Toronto and Paris and now London I haven't heard of one. And believe me there are many of photographers out there that shoot kids/teenagers and I'm one of them.

You have to remember your on MM. If your testing with agency new faces young teenagers are the rule, not the exception.

Orca Bay Images wrote:

https://www.modelmayhem.com/po.php?thre … st16934468

Check the date of the thread..

I missed it too.. but I am willing to bet that was one great April fools that got a lot of people.. including me. /thread jack.

JL Smith wrote:
Under 18 a parent parent or guardian must be present no way around this and I have received complaints from seniors.

Michael Fryd wrote:
Are you suggesting that this is required by law? Or are you simply suggesting that it is your recommended policy?

I don't know of any states where this is a legal requirement, but I could easily be wrong.

In California, a parent or legal guardian must be present and within eyeshot of a model under 16 if it is a commercial shoot.  The caveat is that it must be commercial.  Senior portraits, for example, don't fall under the definition.

That age, however, is not 18, it is under 16.  I don't know of any law, in any state that requires a parent to be present, in general.  I am also unaware of a similar law in any other state.  We have it in California because of the entertainment industry.

Green Captures wrote:
Hello everyone,

I'm new to portrait photography and I'm just starting to shoot models. I was approached by a girl who is 16 years old and according to her MM page she shoots nudes and she does lingerie and bikini shoots among everything else. Now, I have NO intentions of shooting lingerie and bikini pictures of her and especially any nude shots of her. I'm kinda worried about even doing a shoot with her because I don't want any weird stuff come up on the shoot. I'm a 23 year old guy and I feel really uncomfortable with this shoot die to her age. Any suggestions? Should I tell her to bring a chaperone or a parent? Is there Amy paperwork like a special model release for situations like this? How have y'all dealt with shoots with minors?

Paintings and Pictures wrote:
Contact your local law enforcement and let them talk with the District Attorneys office to determine what is best for this minor.

Art of the nude wrote:
"Dear police department, there's a girl on Model Mayhem who claims to be 16 and says she'll shoot nudes.  Will you have the DA determine what's best for her?"

Yeah, that'll work.

Especially if she's Bubba Sue who works for the DA's office.

Some years back I forwarded an e-mail from "parents" who wrote me offering their 13yo for nude photos to a local FBI agent (who I know over beers). The next time I saw him in person he said "Don't tell people but ... that was bait.".

Retouch
Nice to see MM getting on the ball! Now maybe we will be seeing more instances of "pubic mound" and "labia" in the forums in place of that other popular misnomer.

Green Captures wrote:
Should I tell her to bring a chaperone or a parent? Is there Amy paperwork like a special model release for situations like this? How have y'all dealt with shoots with minors?

ABSOLUTLELY have a parent or chaperone there at the shoot and you may want to have a camera rolling and keep the footage archived in order to cover your ass in order someone tries to make some weird allegations. In regards to the release, the parent/guardian has to sign the release.
The couple of times I worked with minors I had the parent and the model sign the paperwork.
In regards to the nude thing...I wouldn't touch that with a 10 foot pole. Technically nude art is ok (depending on poses of course), but things like that are so quick to be labeled as child porn/exploitation, especially in the U.S., that it is best to not even go there. Even the lingerie theme could be a slippery slope.

BMI Studio wrote:
If she wants something more sexy or grown up, tell her you're not interested.

+1
Yeah...Tell her you'll take all the sexy grown up shots as a birthday present for her when she turns 18

Brooklyn Bridge Images wrote:
llama Mayhem paranoia knows no limits
Its hysterical when you think that every day some kid walks into a photo studio at the mall and gets their photo taken.

You're right about the no limits, but the mall thing is very different when it comes to perception.

I doubt that anyone with a standalone studio where their business is people who come to them for photos worries either. It's different for a freelancer, or hobbiest or someone developing themselves into an established photographer - which is who these questions will always come from. An established pro both won't need to worry and will have figured out how to handle this issue already.

Also, there's no interpreting what's going on in a mall photo studio like there is a location shoot. There's no sign at a location. No one knows whether they're seeing a movie being shot, a magazine shoot or a family shoot. They watch with curiosity and can tell what it's not, but they can't always tell what it is. The fear is of other people's paranoid reactions filling in the blanks.

Wysiwyg Photography wrote:

Check the date of the thread..

I missed it too.. but I am willing to bet that was one great April fools that got a lot of people.. including me. /thread jack.

Check who posted it. He trolls like that all the time.

New Kidd Imagery wrote:
Who even gets contacted to by a minor to shoot nudes anyway?

Who contacts models under 18 to shoot nudes?

Both seem pretty far fetched.

'I cannot wait till I'm 18.. then I can shoot nudes"... just seems unlikely that's all.

Me.. and I'm sure a few other body painters out there have been contacted as well.

I let them know to contact me again when they are 18... again.. it's not because it's "illegal".. it's because I don't have the money to defend myself in court if it came to that.

As for me contacting models under 18... that would never happen.

Lance DuLac wrote:
If she is a woman, especially a pretty young woman... she should have an escort. Always. Without a doubt.

*facepalm*