In August of 2013 it was suggested to me by a professor of a class that I was auditing, that I do a day of compassion project. Being a classic fboa (first born over achiever) I decided to try to "do" a month of compassion. For my project I would wave my modeling fee for 12 different photographers for 12 slots throughout the month of August. I was preparing for my final few shoots when a photographer contacted me to ask if he could book me for a paid shoot the following week. He was willing to pay all of my fees: €75 for an hour of fully clothed high fashion, €200 for modest "lingerie" [corsets, underwear & stockings], then €200 for 10-15 minutes of me posing nude with nothing facing the camera except for my back [seemed artsy & innocent enough] then came the first red flag. €400 for 10-15 minutes if he could watch me prepare butt naked before shooting my back. I told him that I would have to speak with my husband and under no circumstances would I pose for full nude or topless photos since this would disqualify me from many professional endeavors later on in life, the closest I would get was him seeing my bare back.
The second & third red flags came when he said that we could meet in Verona and he would book a five star hotel and he asked if the €400 per 10 minutes could include touching (barf). I said absolutely not, he said, 'That's right, you're not an escort' [red flag #4] and I'm thinking [no, but now that you mention it, I'm bringing one with me to this shoot]. He proceeded to grow very angry and condescending as I asked if I could bring an escort for safety reasons [red flag #5]. At first he said yes, the escort could wait outside of the room in the hallway, I repeated, "Ok so I will agree to do the shoot if my [body guard] can wait in the hallway outside of the photographing room." He went livid, and long story short when I said, "I'm sorry but I will need to cancel this shoot" he said "F@%& You" and hung up the phone.
Girls, there is no reason to ever take a job like this. If you grew up with "daddy issues", I am truly sorry for the pain that you must have experienced growing up. But trust me, you are worth more. You are valuable, you deserve better. Do not under any circumstances let a man speak to you like this. Someone who is deserving of your time and of your work {if you are a model} is not someone who is going to speak to you like you are some worthless piece of meat.
Secondly ladies, be wary of the promises which will be fulfilled at an undefined (and sometimes defined) point in the future. For the sake of time & boredom I did not write and record our entire 45 minutes phone conversation but other red flags throughout the initial conversation included several promises of further jobs and of participating in fashion shows on a big scale (the fortunate thing about big promises is that with my two friends: 123people.com & google.com any large claims can guickly & easily be verified here). Anytime someone makes a big promise for the future (regarding work) get a signed contract, without a signed contract those promises are nothing more than meaningless words.
I always hated the idea of being tied to an agency, mainly because I felt that if I worked with a big agency like my birth mother or grandmother, I would end up becoming like them in terms of being cold hearted, pathological liars who will destroy anyone (including their own children) for the sake of furthering their own agendas. But after this terrible experience, I am strongly reconsidering. Agencies have the benefit of getting you real work with real companies, so while they do take a percentage of your profits, they serve to protect you from less professional clients such as the one mentioned above.
Dedicated to gianni 58, you are a creep.
The second & third red flags came when he said that we could meet in Verona and he would book a five star hotel and he asked if the €400 per 10 minutes could include touching (barf). I said absolutely not, he said, 'That's right, you're not an escort' [red flag #4] and I'm thinking [no, but now that you mention it, I'm bringing one with me to this shoot]. He proceeded to grow very angry and condescending as I asked if I could bring an escort for safety reasons [red flag #5]. At first he said yes, the escort could wait outside of the room in the hallway, I repeated, "Ok so I will agree to do the shoot if my [body guard] can wait in the hallway outside of the photographing room." He went livid, and long story short when I said, "I'm sorry but I will need to cancel this shoot" he said "F@%& You" and hung up the phone.
Girls, there is no reason to ever take a job like this. If you grew up with "daddy issues", I am truly sorry for the pain that you must have experienced growing up. But trust me, you are worth more. You are valuable, you deserve better. Do not under any circumstances let a man speak to you like this. Someone who is deserving of your time and of your work {if you are a model} is not someone who is going to speak to you like you are some worthless piece of meat.
Secondly ladies, be wary of the promises which will be fulfilled at an undefined (and sometimes defined) point in the future. For the sake of time & boredom I did not write and record our entire 45 minutes phone conversation but other red flags throughout the initial conversation included several promises of further jobs and of participating in fashion shows on a big scale (the fortunate thing about big promises is that with my two friends: 123people.com & google.com any large claims can guickly & easily be verified here). Anytime someone makes a big promise for the future (regarding work) get a signed contract, without a signed contract those promises are nothing more than meaningless words.
I always hated the idea of being tied to an agency, mainly because I felt that if I worked with a big agency like my birth mother or grandmother, I would end up becoming like them in terms of being cold hearted, pathological liars who will destroy anyone (including their own children) for the sake of furthering their own agendas. But after this terrible experience, I am strongly reconsidering. Agencies have the benefit of getting you real work with real companies, so while they do take a percentage of your profits, they serve to protect you from less professional clients such as the one mentioned above.
Dedicated to gianni 58, you are a creep.