Stay Safe, Sweets

As the seasons change and weather turns cooler (I mean, not in Miami, but other places), photoshoots move from outdoor locations to indoor studios. Staying safe is always a concern in the modeling industry, but especially so when you’re working on private property. Unfortunately a number of photographers have established a reputation for the whole community of having a predatory nature. I’ve made a myriad of mistakes over the past 4 years, and I wish I had had someone to give me more guidance. Whether it be a comment, an inappropriate touch, pushing limits, or something worse, these behaviors are absolutely deplorable and should not be something you just accept as “part of being a model”.

Here are my top tips for staying safe as a model, no matter where you’re working. 

1. Recommendations from friends. The first photographer I worked with came recommended by my friend Ingrid. If you’re new to modeling, recommendations for photographers from friends is a great place to start. Personally knowing someone who can vouch for a photographer and their work style is very comforting. Keep in mind, just because someone recommended a photographer to you, doesn’t mean they will work with you for free. If you don’t have a portfolio or any experience, you may need to put some money in first. Alternatively you may have a photographer friend who would love to help you build your portfolio or a friend with portrait mode on their phone (trust me, portrait mode is a life saver).

2. Do your research. If you don’t have friends in the industry, it may be a little more intimidating to start. Take a look at hashtags for your area, for example #miamiphotographer #mkeportraits #artofchi, and see who is using those tags. This is an easy way to find local creatives. Whether you’re new to the industry or a veteran, I think the next step is very important. Check their feed and tagged photos to see who they’ve worked with and then reach out to a model or two. Sometimes models take a little while to respond due to clogged up DMs, but I can almost promise you they will tell you about their experience. For example, I reached out to a model earlier this year regarding a photographer I was unsure about. She was upfront about his more aggressive approach to directing, but that the pictures would be amazing. She even followed up with me after to see how my experience was. 

Also check the blacklist! I’m not sure the last time this list was updated, but it is a great resource for identifying photographers who may not be safe to work with, even starring photographers with multiple reports.

3. Bring along a friend! For most shoots outside of the Brickell area, I rely on Sam to take me, as I don’t have a car. Unless he has other obligations, Sam will stay with me through the entire shoot. Not only does this prevent inappropriate comments or touches, but you have an extra creative director. I love having someone there to give pose suggestions when I’m starting to burn out or just hype me up. If the photographer says you can’t bring a friend or it would make them uncomfortable, this is often a red flag. To me, this says there are bad intentions. If there is already a full creative team, I wouldn’t worry about bringing anyone else along. If a photographer wants to take half naked or fully nude photos of you alone in his house, then I would say this is a “guy with a camera” and not someone with good, artistic intentions.

Additionally, I have location services enabled on my phone to share my location with Sam at all times. This is just an extra precaution that makes me feel a little safer.

4. Trust your gut. I’ll keep this one short and sweet. If something feels off, you’re probably right.

5. Know your limits. If you know you’re not comfortable doing x, y, or z, make sure that is communicated prior to the shoot. Stick with your limits and don’t let them pressure you! Photographers pushing boundaries is one of the most common forms of predatory behavior in this industry. I once booked a sunrise city shoot, for which we determined it would be on the sexier side (i.e. bodysuit, lingerie); however I did not explicitly say what we wouldn’t do. During the shoot, the photographer asked if I would do some implied shots (top off, but covered). I said I wasn’t particularly interested in doing that, to which he responded, “Well I’m paying you, aren’t I?” It made my blood run cold to have payment held over me, and I let myself be pressured into doing something I didn’t want to do. While I did get paid, I didn’t see the images for about 3 months, and they had the worst “watermark” I’ve ever seen. 

6. Just because you worked with them before, doesn’t mean you have to work with them again! If you’re uncomfortable with something that was said or done, don’t be afraid to cut contact. I’ve had my fair share of bad experiences with photographers, from unprofessional characteristics to inappropriate comments to one of the worst nights of my life. You don’t owe this person anything, it’s totally fine to block them without saying anything. This is usually the route I take, mainly because I hate confrontation and sometimes it takes me a while to process the situation. Only once, I have directly communicated my issues with a photographer after they completely violated my privacy and trust. Although they understood and promised it would never happen again, I guaranteed it would never happen again by no longer working with them. 

7. Share your experiences. Should you have a bad experience, with a particular artist, be vocal about it. You can protect other models from having to go through a traumatic experience. This doesn’t mean you have to share a long post or video on your story outing them; however if you think they are enough of a danger, I encourage you to do so. My worst experience was with Billy Pissios, and this was a night that took me a while to understand what happened. While I’m not going to go into details here, Whenever I saw a model I knew post content from Billy Pissios, I made sure to directly message them to warn them about his behavior. 

After a weird comment, I was iffy about working with a photographer again. Another model shared that she had been sexually assaulted by this photographer, and the photographer in turn, tried to run a smear campaign against this model. Showing his true colors allowed me to confidently make the decision not to work with him again. And finally, seeing other people’s stories also reminds you, you’re not alone. My inbox is always open to those who need someone to talk to.