🚩 Photographer Red Flags Part 3: Suggestions made by you!

Here we are again, ready to discuss some more of my top photographer red flags. As I've stated in my previous posts, not all of the experiences mentioned have happened to me personally.

This time..

I have received quite a few messages in regards to the red flags I've posted and I will begin by posting some of the ones you guys have sent through to me, that either I missed or possibly you missed reading in my previous posts. Even if it has already been said, it's a very important point so I do apologise if there is a few double ups.

🚩 Red Flag 1: They won't let you bring a support

Now this one I know I've included before, it's basically one of the first things that you learn when you begin modelling, if you ask a photographer if you can bring support and they say no, DO NOT GO.

I don't care, no excuses, this person could be the Queen of England for all I care and i'd still be saying no.

There is extenuating circumstances (The space is small, covid restrictions etc.) HOWEVER the photographer should still not be straight off the bat telling you no. They should be suggesting HOW this person can attend to make you feel comfortable, they should be able to tell you, theres not much space for shooting however they could watch from here or wait outside here.

A photographer should never;

1. Expect you to meet them for the first time alone. Male or female.

2. Tell you your not allowed a support as they are too 'Distracting'

3. Put you in a position that makes you uncomfortable

🚩 Red Flag 2: They try to lure you in with their impressive portfolio of 'published works'

This one I know I talked about checking their tagged section on Instagram and all of those little checks to make sure the person is a legitimate photographer. But one thing you should never fall for when you're performing this check, is thinking that the photographer must be legitimate because they have been published.

Online Magazines will take almost any work if the photographer has paid for it

Websites such as Kavyar will give you the option when you submit your work if you would like to pay for your submission giving you a 100% chance of getting in the magazine. Some will even offer a high fee to be put onto the cover of magazines. So don't be fooled by a photographer with 'Published Photographer' in their bio. It is an achievement, I will never take away from that but unless the photographer has been published in a well known magazine (Playboy, vogue, maxim etc.) plus has proof of this, do not believe that they are going to get you into big magazines or that they are a big famous published photographer just because their bio says so.

While we are here though, and for the record, all of my magazine features have been through free submissions by my photographers so far.

🚩 Red Flag 3: They have a huge following

Not so much a red flag, but it can definitely be something to be very very careful of. Do your research, look at their likes and their comments. If the person your'e looking at has 125,000 followers but only 100 likes per photo do not believe that they are established as you think. If you can't see their likes, go to their comments section. A person with a genuine large following should have a mass of comments as well as likes on their photos.

There are literally hundreds of pages that offer paid followers, some even sending out a price per how ever many followers they can send to your profile. These accounts are fake and you can tell by the Instagram accounts actual engagement who has paid to get to where they are and who has grown organically.

I do understand some accounts get 'shadowbanned' and can find it harder to get the engagement at certain points, sometimes the algorithm just simply doesn't like you anymore and your content isn't pushed as much, however with that large a following, there should still be an outstanding amount of proof that they did reach the point they have organically.

🚩Red Flag 4: They try to name drop people you are familiar with

I am aware, I'm no big-time celebrity, influencer or model but I have worked with and discussed working with a number of different photographers from around the NSW area and one thing I tend to hear from some of my fellow model friends is that the photographer has messaged them and used me as a reference. Whether it's 'Oh I've worked with Renee before' or 'Oh me and Renee are planning to shoot..' there has been quite a few times where I have heard of people referencing me without even once contacting me, and what concerns me here, is some of these people are lying to the girls who I talk to. I have had, on a few occasions, other models approach me about photographers who have said a photographer has messaged and said that we're in the process of planning a shoot together, when this person has never even once spoken to me.

So i'll put this in bold and underline it for you; CHECK WITH THE REFERENCE BEFORE BELIEVING WHAT YOU'VE BEEN TOLD.

Another point for that would be, just because I follow them back does not mean;

1. We've worked together

2. We've talked about working together

3. That they are safe! Sometimes I'm still doing my own research so never assume that because someone else is on their follow list that they are safe.

The best way to check is to always message the person being talked about, ask them their experience, any feedback and even ask them if you are planning on shooting together. A good reference will always send you a concise message about the person you're asking about and let you know if there is anything you need to watch out for or be wary of when connecting with this person for the first time.

In Conclusion..

Your own safety and comfort will always be paramount with a good photographer, they will not drop names of people they haven't interacted with and they most certainly won't flash around their following or their achievements without discussing what you want to do first. (Ie. some models dont want to be in online magazines, so a good photographer might offer or show a previous published work as inspiration or as something to aim for if the model wants to but they will not use this as their source of credibility ).

Next time..

We will discuss the red flags when shooting, including inappropriate comments and how to handle them as well as what to do when you feel uncomfortable.