Zombie Eye Photography wrote:

Yeah, I've been known to over think things. The german women sounds awesome, in a scary, awesome kind of way.

........ "we have ways of making you talk"

DLINE Photography wrote:
I keep the Glock 27 with me all ways. I am good at shooting Nikon and Glock so, I'm covered either way!!!!!!

When I shoot in Memphis I always carry because that place just seems like trouble to me . I love the city and shooting down town but ???

Art of the nude wrote:

To the best of my knowledge, thieves are capable of talking on the phone, although I don't have any actual research to back it up.

You didn't read the op's question, did you? It was, how do you know the girl you are messaging isn't a guy.

PTPhotoUT wrote:

You didn't read the op's question, did you? It was, how do you know the girl you are messaging isn't a guy.

It wouldn't be a stretch for the criminal to have a female accomplice to handle the phone work.


Op: It's not the jewelry business, what would make sense there sounds absolutely ridiculous in this context. Yes, you are going to have to meet strangers if you are going to photograph models. I pretty sure you can handle this.

Tell your wife not to worry, that it's younger naked pretty strangers that you're inviting home and that you're checking references to make sure that they are agreeable and helpful.

Zombie Eye Photography wrote:
Is actually a guy/guys that are going to come to your shoot, beat you and steal all of your gear?

I have nothing to base this on other than the fact that my stuff is expensive and I'm meeting a stranger off of the internet. Also, it's my first go at booking someone off of MM.

If I genuinely thought there was an issue I wouldn't proceed. I have insurance and in reality it's probably going to be fine but the thought has crossed my mind.

I'm sure I'm being paranoid, does anyone else have this type of insecurity?

You are being a bit paranoid.

Just check references with other photographers they've worked with.  If they check out, proceed.  If not, don't.

If you're this worried about "strangers on the internet" use more traditional channels until you get a few shoots under your belt, namely renting a commercial studio with staff in the building and hiring agency models with solid references.

If after several successful shoots like this you still are fearful, then I suggest you consider a different genre of photography.

Zombie Eye Photography wrote:
Is actually a guy/guys that are going to come to your shoot, beat you and steal all of your gear?

I have nothing to base this on other than the fact that my stuff is expensive and I'm meeting a stranger off of the internet. Also, it's my first go at booking someone off of MM.

If I genuinely thought there was an issue I wouldn't proceed. I have insurance and in reality it's probably going to be fine but the thought has crossed my mind.

I'm sure I'm being paranoid, does anyone else have this type of insecurity?

No problem for me. When a model gets to the shoot, the first thing I make them do is drop trou so I can 'check 'em out.'

Fail-safe. And yes, my answer is a ridiculous as the thread.

This is all said in fun, but you would think a photographer with the word 'zombie' in his name would have creepier things to worry about... lol

DG at studio47 wrote:
1. check references

2. have your own escort

3. check references

4. carry a ultra lite titanium .38 in your pocket, loaded with high grain hollow point    ammo.

5.check references

6.mace each model and frisk them for weapons and ID

7. check references.

8. check references twice

9. buy software that allows you to do a background check on everyone--start with yourself.

10. If all else fails, check references.

Love it. Can I just add to that - check references. Anybody booking a model without references is asking to have their gear knicked.
I have £40 k's worth of furs I wouldn't let any model without references near them. Not just because of theft but also because of the mentality of some anti-fur people. If they are a genuine model they will have excellent references and won't want to lose their reputation by knicking or damaging gear. Also works the other way. No way is my partner turning up as a model with that wardrobe without her checking the photographer's references or an escort ie me. She did a shoot recently in a £20k YSL mink. She wasn't taking that on public transport without me! I imagine it's good for a photographer to have an assistant/escort too when they have a lot of expensive kit - especially if in public.

Zombie Eye Photography wrote:
Is actually a guy/guys that are going to come to your shoot, beat you and steal all of your gear?

I have nothing to base this on other than the fact that my stuff is expensive and I'm meeting a stranger off of the internet. Also, it's my first go at booking someone off of MM.

If I genuinely thought there was an issue I wouldn't proceed. I have insurance and in reality it's probably going to be fine but the thought has crossed my mind.

I'm sure I'm being paranoid, does anyone else have this type of insecurity?

I've never heard of anything like that happening.

But I know of cases where the model came over for a photoshoot and her criminal boyfriend tagged along and robbed the guy. One guy I know fought them off and called the police and they were arrested. The worst he got was some cuts and bruises from fighting them. BTW, he had worked with the model a couple of times before without a problem.

There was another story in the news maybe a year ago where the criminal boyfriend waited outside in his car and the model called him on her cellphone. She unlocked the back door for her boyfriend to come in and rob the photographer. They ended up killing him. They also got arrested. It was in the news, so you can probably google this story.

Is it common? No.
Should you take precautions about who you give your address to? Absolutely.

Now, I usually have not worked out of my house. I mostly worked out of one studio or another that were located in commercial buildings. Out of probably thousands of people that have come by over the past 20 years, maybe a dozen models have either caused problems or gotten into serious trouble with the law. But some of them were doozies, like they made the crime news on television.

Because of some of those incidents, I do not want random people coming to my home. So I prefer not to work from my house, but from an office/studio.

Another problem with working from home is neighbors. Two years ago I rented a house that had a nice garden for photo shoots. A busybody neighbor called the cops on me. She probably saw that pretty girls were coming and going. and accused me of who knows what. That wasn't the first time I had trouble with neighbors.

So for many reasons, I prefer to keep my personal life and my business separate.

http://www.lagunabeachbikini.com/PICTORSTUDIOS/

Zombie Eye Photography wrote:
nyone wonder if the female model you booked.... Is actually a guy/guys that are going to come to your shoot, beat you and steal all of your gear?

I don't, because I check out potential models, including checking references.

On the other hand, I check references to avoid being ripped off, to avoid drama queens, to avoid flakes, and to avoid other issues.  Works for me.


Daddy always said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

Light and Lens Studio wrote:
This could turn into a hilarious thread.  LOL.

Where are you finding your models, man?    If  you are  getting them off MM, they have a port.  And if they are experienced, they should have references.

Ohhhh.  Wait.  Have you been smoking some funny weed? 

What if you  booked a model that turned out to be a beautiful, but deadly spy?  And, you were held hostage until you complied with her demands.   You can fill in the blanks with what those could be.  Would you give in and risk having it be the end of the free world?

Be sure that you have a metal detector installed in your studio in case one of your models came 'armed'.  My models all come with arms.  I'm really not into shooting armless models. 

It never ends.

maybe consider installing trapdoors throughout the house with snake pits below

Zombie Eye Photography wrote:
Is actually a guy/guys that are going to come to your shoot, beat you and steal all of your gear?

No, I make it a point to check the model's references. Makes everything so easy.

"maybe consider installing trapdoors throughout the house with snake pits below"

That's just ridiculous. Like any good photographer I already have trapdoors throughout the house with a giant snake put below.

Art of the nude wrote:
To the best of my knowledge, thieves are capable of talking on the phone, although I don't have any actual research to back it up.

PTPhotoUT wrote:
You didn't read the op's question, did you? It was, how do you know the girl you are messaging isn't a guy.

Jeffrey M Fletcher wrote:
It wouldn't be a stretch for the criminal to have a female accomplice to handle the phone work.

Exactly.  There are any number of terrible outcomes you can dream up as possible.  Any reasonable concern can be met with a plausible objection, so you just have to use your judgement and try to be rational

37photog wrote:
I think some people are being overly critical of you.  While it's a rarity, I'm sure it's a valid concern or at least a good asset for you to be proactive about. Always good to think ahead, although, I'm sure you will be fine.  I always like to talk on the phone, not just to check if it's a girl, but more to build a more solid & trusting level of commitment. When only emailing & texting, I feel they are more likely to not be taking it seriously, and flake out/no show.  Then, I never hear back.

Honestly though I wouldn't be too worried of it being guys coming over & beating you up, but a concern I occasionally have is telling people where I live, that I have some level of photography equipment in my house, and possibly my schedule of when I'm available. Giving theives a reasonable chance to rob someone.  Doesn't seem like it's a problem in the industry though, but it would be a pretty well devised plan.  And as hard as they talk I'm sure alot of the people who posted in this thread could have been caught right in the scam.

Yeah, I figured that some people would be a little critical and/or miss the fact that I clearly said I was a little concerned, not shaking in my boots and hiding under the bed with a shotgun about it. It's all good, just part of the forum life.

I'm setting up a coffee meeting with her 4 days before the shoot in order to meet her and go over some style choices. I think this is a good way to hit all of the targets- I get to see her in public (and she gets to see me too), we talk style and I'll feel better that she might even show up. Also, I'm checking her refs, as we speak.

ei Total Productions wrote:
I have had a female model turn out to be a guy, but not turn out to be someone who wanted to rob me.  They just lied about their gender and thought I wouldn't notice ... I did.

Jordan Bunniie wrote:
Ummm..

It was strange

ei Total Productions wrote:

ei Total Productions wrote:
I have had a female model turn out to be a guy, but not turn out to be someone who wanted to rob me.  They just lied about their gender and thought I wouldn't notice ... I did.

It was strange

I, for one, would like an OT reply with this story, in detail.

Zombie Eye Photography wrote:
Is actually a guy/guys that are going to come to your shoot, beat you and steal all of your gear?

I have nothing to base this on other than the fact that my stuff is expensive and I'm meeting a stranger off of the internet. Also, it's my first go at booking someone off of MM.

If I genuinely thought there was an issue I wouldn't proceed. I have insurance and in reality it's probably going to be fine but the thought has crossed my mind.

I'm sure I'm being paranoid, does anyone else have this type of insecurity?

I think you watch too much tv.

ei Total Productions wrote:
I have had a female llama turn out to be a guy, but not turn out to be someone who wanted to rob me.  They just lied about their gender and thought I wouldn't notice ... I did.

GOD BLESS STARBUCKS and friendly first meetings over coffee! 

fullmetalphotographer wrote:
No, I usually have a meeting with the model before hand and at least talk to them on the phone. Plus I have at least 1-2 assistants on the set. Working alone with a model to me invites a whole lot of potential bad issues.

That's occurred to me as well. I don't do nude photos so I feel a little insulated from some of the bad things that can happen but not all of them. I plan on having one other person (not including the wifey if she's around) there at all times.

Zombie Eye Photography wrote:
That's occurred to me as well. I don't do nude photos so I feel a little insulated from some of the bad things that can happen but not all of them. I plan on having one other person (not including the wifey if she's around) there at all times.

Pretty much any of the "bad things" can happen with out nudes.  And, of course, when you shoot nudes, there's less of an issue with the model worrying about the photographer showing anyone nude pictures. 

Alabaster Crowley wrote:
How is this any better than the countless threads where models wonder if photographers are going to assault them?

It's probably not that different at all. I suck.

You on the other hand do NOT suck. You are exactly who I want to shoot. In a case where I'm OT'ing my own thread, I'd love to shoot with you some day. Plus, I'm reasonably sure your won't rob me.

Right?

RIGHT????

Alabaster Crowley wrote:
How is this any better than the countless threads where models wonder if photographers are going to assault them?

Slightly more novel.  Other than that, I don't see the response being much different.

Art of the nude wrote:

To the best of my knowledge, thieves are capable of talking on the phone, although I don't have any actual research to back it up.

and they're also capable of meeting you in a public place. that's why you do both of those things and then trust your intuition. It seems to get sharper the more freelance modeling I do.

Zombie Eye Photography wrote:
Is actually a guy/guys that are going to come to your shoot, beat you and steal all of your gear?

I have nothing to base this on other than the fact that my stuff is expensive and I'm meeting a stranger off of the internet. Also, it's my first go at booking someone off of MM.

If I genuinely thought there was an issue I wouldn't proceed. I have insurance and in reality it's probably going to be fine but the thought has crossed my mind.

I'm sure I'm being paranoid, does anyone else have this type of insecurity?

You can always get an escort

Zombie Eye Photography wrote:
Is actually a guy/guys

That's all I read.

And no, I haven't worried about that.

If you had asked about stealing my stuff?!  I'm always worried about that!!  Models are notorious for stealing stuff.  Hearts.  Souls.  Life.  Etc.

Zombie Eye Photography wrote:
Is actually a guy/guys that are going to come to your shoot, beat you and steal all of your gear?

I have nothing to base this on other than the fact that my stuff is expensive and I'm meeting a stranger off of the internet. Also, it's my first go at booking someone off of MM.

If I genuinely thought there was an issue I wouldn't proceed. I have insurance and in reality it's probably going to be fine but the thought has crossed my mind.

I'm sure I'm being paranoid, does anyone else have this type of insecurity?

No, not really.  I'm a former photojournalist.  I've lost track the number of times someone has pointed a gun at me.  And yes, I've been been held up a few times (both in the US and overseas).  I didn't have to feel paranoid, I KNEW everyone I was dealing with wouldn't mind hurting me or knocking me off on the chance I was carrying a pack of cigarettes or at minimum had a very low regard for human life.  I'm not real brave (stupid mostly) but you either learn to get comfortable with those fears or you don't.

Ed

Zombie Eye Photography wrote:
"Anyone wonder if the female model you booked....

Is actually a guy/guys that are going to come to your shoot, beat you and steal all of your gear?

I have nothing to base this on other than the fact that my stuff is expensive and I'm meeting a stranger off of the internet. Also, it's my first go at booking someone off of MM.

If I genuinely thought there was an issue I wouldn't proceed. I have insurance and in reality it's probably going to be fine but the thought has crossed my mind.

I'm sure I'm being paranoid, does anyone else have this type of insecurity?

"wonder if":  No.

"does anyone else":  No.

On the first, I've got a good sense of gender.  If a dude is acting as a female, he's going to do a lousy job of it, even in email, and I'm likely to know something is amiss.  If it's someone who is transgendered, she's generally interested in passing versus taking my camera gear.  She'll also have photos in her port that are of her, and with those I'll at least suspect a gender issue.

Besides, don't assume women are angels.  Women commit crimes too, sometimes egregiously violent ones.  While men commit serious crimes, women do too.

By the time I'm shooting with a model, we've communicated sufficiently that I trust her and she trusts me.  I know she's the model she claims to be, and she knows that I'm a fashion photographer.  Although she could be doing a complete social engineering job on me, if she acts consistent with her port and profile, I'm not worried.

On the second, I have to function in the world.  Bad things happen all of the time.  Good things do too, and moreso.

I could tell you all manner of stories of truly good people that outshine all of the bad.  I can tell you stories of MM models who did extraordinary work with me.  Was everything perfect?  No.  Were there times I was worried about my stuff?

On one shoot, the model left something in my car.  We were on the "set."  I'd already gone over the sample photos on the iPad 2, which was also in my car.  We'd already built trust between us, though it was the first time we'd worked together.  I gave her my car keys and told her which buttons unlocked and locked my car.  She returned in a few minutes, and everything was fine.

Yes you need to be careful.  However, the world is either a generally good place or bad.  Which is it for you?