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Was I wrong for doing this?
The original post was too long for me to stand to look at :p. I've cut it down. Still a bit long, but I appreciate those who read it. This morning I had an all-day shoot scheduled with a photographer for what he said was a clothed editorial-type shoot. In his original message to me he said that there would be hair/MUA provided, the pay would be $20/hr, and to bring as many looks as I could. When I arrived there was no hair/MUA. When I asked him about it he said "oh I don't usually bring in hair/MUA's on Mondays." Because I thought there'd be one I arrived with no make-up on or in my bag and nothing for my hair. We decided to just wing it. It was then that he also mentioned that he had another model coming at 10:30 (our shoot was scheduled for 9), which I thought was weird since he had told me that our shoot would go until 2pm in his original message. About 20 minutes into the shoot he started to ask for nudes. As someone who shoots nudes regularly this is fine with me, but not for $20 an hour (and before you start with the "stripper rates"- I feel that I can shoot 1,000 times better when I'm nude. Of course I'm going to charge more for something I feel I can do particularly well. I wouldn't be a practical business person if I didn't.) When I stopped him and told him that I charge more for nudes he said that he wanted to shoot nudes because he didn't like any of the clothes that I had brought. I told him that he should have told me what kind of clothes he wanted me to bring and I would have acted accordingly, otherwise I was going to pick out clothes based on what I saw in his portfolio and what others have given me good feedback on. That's when he told me that he needed "high fashion" stuff, which I can't afford anyway and was not going to buy for a shoot that probably wouldn't cover the expense of the outfits. As a general rule, I do not like surprises when I'm working. If a person I'm working with says "the shoot will be like this, this, and this" and it isn't, I find that really annoying. However, according to him I should have asked what he wanted me to bring instead of just coming to my own conclusions, that it was my fault that the shoot was a failure, saying that my clothes weren't up to par and my posing/look basically sucked. Furthermore, he cited examples of models paying *him* a lot of money to be shot nude to discredit my preferential rate for nudes. Am I at fault here? Or was I in the right in walking out? *Edit* Thank you everyone for your replies. I should add that in the 3 years I've been modeling, primarily booking shoots via MM, this is the first time something like this (aside from the one truly horrible experience I had) has happened to me. Overall, I'd say that's a pretty good track record. Good job, MM!  Also, this thankfully didn't wreck my day. At most it prevented me from sleeping in and doing some morning yoga. So I'm not here to try bitch and moan to you all about how much my life sucks, but rather to get some opinions that I could learn from which I have! Thank you! *Edit #2* A lot of you seem to feel that I was in the right, which is very reassuring for me since I was having serious doubts based on what the photographer in question said to me. I'm wondering now, is what the photographer did CAM worthy? Or should I just ignore him and give him a bad reference from here on out? Apr 22 13 01:01 pm Link You do seem to have a lot of drama surrounding your llamaing. Apr 22 13 01:04 pm Link John Allan wrote: That's not an answer. Apr 22 13 01:06 pm Link Sounds like bait and switch. I don't blame you for walking. Apr 22 13 01:12 pm Link Assuming the facts are as stated, the guy sounds like a dipshit. Apr 22 13 01:12 pm Link Elizabeta Rosandic wrote: the answer is yes - it was your fault Apr 22 13 01:12 pm Link Elizabeta Rosandic wrote: It sort of is. Apr 22 13 01:15 pm Link Your only fault was not walking immediately. "I don't get MUA/hair on Mondays" is a crock of shit. Apr 22 13 01:16 pm Link Cherrystone wrote: +100% Apr 22 13 01:17 pm Link I don't blame you a bit for walking out. Bait-and-switch both on the MUA and the clothed-editorial morphing into full nude. I'm not sure how either of those issues are your fault. Apr 22 13 01:18 pm Link Cherrystone wrote: QFT. Apr 22 13 01:18 pm Link If you agreed to do fashion-editorial before the shoot, and the photographer started asking for nudes with no prior warning, then you were perfectly within your rights to walk. This is especially true since the mua that was promised was nowhere in sight. My only concern is that you felt you needed to start an internet forum about the whole thing. That's really more drama than this deserves. Apr 22 13 01:18 pm Link You should have gotten out sooner. That was your only fault. Don't listen to the trolls here! Apr 22 13 01:18 pm Link John Horwitz wrote: How? Apr 22 13 01:18 pm Link Thank you for your replies. I'm wondering, do you guys think it would be wise to, in the future, bring my own make-up and hair stuff to a shoot even if there is a MUA supposedly coming just in case? Apr 22 13 01:20 pm Link Elizabeta Rosandic wrote: You would have been right if you walked out as soon as you realized there was not someone there for hair and makeup. Apr 22 13 01:21 pm Link He's in the wrong! I would have left too. He said he would supply a MUA/hair stylist... he didn't. He said the shoot was about fashion ... it wasn't. He told you the shoot would be from 9-2... it wasn't. He sounds very unprofessional and I feel bad that you had to travel so far to deal with someone like this. Next time get references. *edit* I always bring hair and makeup items to a shoot. MUA or not! (you never know if the MUA forgets something on accident) Apr 22 13 01:21 pm Link Elizabeta Rosandic wrote: You should always bring your own. Even without the BS you encountered, shit does truly happens sometimes. Apr 22 13 01:23 pm Link John Horwitz wrote: Do what? What chu talkin bout Willis? Apr 22 13 01:23 pm Link ForeverFotos wrote: Personally, I think "internet" and "drama" together is an oxymoron. But anyway... Apr 22 13 01:23 pm Link You nailed that one. And I'm a photographer. ;-) Don't give it another second of your time. PS. I'd say "Better luck next time." But instead I'll say "more clarity next time." -JULIAN Apr 22 13 01:24 pm Link I have had shoots without hair/mua present, but I have always made sure the model knows this. I have never (and I mean never) told a model to work nude without prior arrangement, and I would not do so. It's simply not okay. If you provided the clothes without getting any prior info about what to bring, just to bring a bunch of different looks, you should have walked. You don't have to bring makeup to a shoot that's supposed to have an MUA, and you should simply walk out if that happens again. Apr 22 13 01:25 pm Link Elizabeta Rosandic wrote: not because in case MUA doesn't make it, that again sounds suspect. But I would carry a kit that allows you to do three things: Adjust your hair a couple ways, makeup for a natural look, makeup that can be used to reduce shine. Apr 22 13 01:27 pm Link Elizabeta Rosandic wrote: 1) You were right in leaving Apr 22 13 01:27 pm Link Lynn Elizabeth wrote: Sadly, he had good references. But at least he didn't have good references and then turn out to be a sex offender or something- that would be seriously Apr 22 13 01:28 pm Link As a photographer, I always tell the model what wardrobe to bring before the shoot. Since we are typically shooting my ideas how would she know what to bring unless I tell her. The excuses the photographer gave you are bullshit. I think he just wanted to shoot nudes and was hoping you would do it for $20/hr once you arrived at the location. Apr 22 13 01:29 pm Link Elizabeta Rosandic wrote: No, you shouldn't drag along a makeup artist for "just in case". That's a waste of the artist's time at the very least. You should however, as a model, be skilled enough in basic makeup for photography, that you could handle a simple natural look, as well as a simple more fashion oriented look. Things happen. Apr 22 13 01:29 pm Link Elizabeta Rosandic wrote: Oxymoron...? Apr 22 13 01:32 pm Link John Allan wrote: Ahem. I didn't say "bring a MUA", I said "bring make-up". Big difference. Also, I am perfectly capable of doing my make-up seeing how I've lived the last 21 years as a girl, but if a MUA is supposed to be present, I won't necessarily be prepared to do my own extensive make-up looks. Please do me a favor and read my posts before you badly troll them. Kthanks. Apr 22 13 01:33 pm Link I think you already knew the answer to this before posting. Apr 22 13 01:37 pm Link Blue Box Photography wrote: Yes. Real life has merit to be drama. The internet is not real life. The internet is the internet. Apr 22 13 01:43 pm Link Blue Box Photography wrote: Elizabeta Rosandic wrote: I see. To me, the internet is nothing but drama. Apr 22 13 01:46 pm Link If I were you, I would have walked out since he breached the agreement, so I don't see anything wrong on your part. You could have walked out before the shooting even started and that would have been fine. Apr 22 13 01:48 pm Link Blue Box Photography wrote: Ha! I can certainly see where you're coming from there. Apr 22 13 01:52 pm Link John Allan wrote: Read much? Apr 22 13 01:54 pm Link Elizabeta Rosandic wrote: yes. Even if he had booked an MUA, she could have cancelled/flaked and you would have been in the same situation Apr 22 13 01:55 pm Link So many thoughts! Okay, in random order... ... First, let's acknowledge that we are hearing only one side of the story. We have no reason to believe or disbelieve that OP, but the story is credible. Let's assume that it is. ... "Bait & switch" and general disorganization are, to me, less than professional behavior. That can be annoying. ... Seems like he immediately started changing the agreement the moment you arrived (no hair/MUA) and continued to make changes (asking for nudes). ... I think you would have been justified leaving when these significant changes were attempted. ... However, one of my credos is... It is exceedingly easy to escalate hostilities, and It is exceedingly difficult to de-escalate hostilities. ... Another credo of mine... Assume that every photographer you meet will talk with every other photographer in the world. ... Thus, how you extract yourself is very important. You don't want to punish the guy. You don't want to educate the guy. You just want to take care of business. Apr 22 13 02:03 pm Link I think you were trying to give him the benefit of the doubt at first and that's why you probably didn't leave right away. He was just trying to see how far he could go by pushing things into nudity and then trying to make you feel bad. It's a tactic used by insecure people in bullying others. Apr 22 13 02:04 pm Link Looknsee Photography wrote: Thank you, this sounds like very good advice. I'll certainly keep this in mind. Apr 22 13 02:08 pm Link I think you were in the right. The guy was at best completely lax in observing his part of the deal and expecting you to be happy with it, or at worst, actively lying to you to get a discounted rate on your nude work. As a side note, I always bring hair and makeup equipment to every shoot, even if a HS/MUA is booked. I've been in situations before where the MUA has been unable to show and the shoot had to be re-arranged. I also make sure I ask (via email or pm so I have it in writing) what a photographer wants me to bring clothing-wise. I had a couple of guys try and skip out on payment last year because I didn't bring an outfit they wanted to shoot (they had made no mention of wanting it) and only recieved payment because I could pull up the list they had sent me on my email account in front of the studio owner. Sorry you had a sucky time  you weren't at fault, so just chalk it up and move on if you can xxApr 22 13 02:12 pm Link |
. This is just worthy of being pissed off about. 
