My 10 Most Shameless Photographers

The last few months, during which many of my fellow models and I have had no opportunity to work with photographers, have been quite illuminating. I miss my favourite photographers with a persistent ache that no amount of self-shot work can fill. I miss my model friends and peers in a way that makes me appreciate my community more than ever before. And it's given me time to reflect upon some of the most loony, disquieting, and sometimes downright alarming experiences I've had at the hands of the sort of photographers who possibly shouldn't be welcome in this wonderful but unregulated industry of ours. So, over the course of a few days, I narrowed my list of experiences down to my encounters with the 10 most shameless photographers of my career. The one who resorted to subterfuge in order to justify wearing an upside-down corset for our photoshoot. The one who tried to test my table manners as part of a casting. The lonely single dad who wasn't. Many of these stories are entertaining, looking back on them. But I sincerely hope that they might help any newer models to be prepared for the occasional audacious weirdo who will put his own desires far ahead of your comfort or any sense of propriety. Sometimes I handled these experiences admirably. Sometimes, my desire to be courteous stopped me from doing the only sensible thing and confronting the photographer's wildly inappropriate behaviour. Dear models; I believe that the best thing we can do to protect ourselves is to mentally rehearse what we'd do if someone starts pushing boundaries. And it's my sincere desire that this video might help us with those mental rehearsals. Cos you couldn't make up some of this nonsense. Stay safe, beauties. PS: Content warning. I wanted this to be a fairly upbeat video, so I haven't included the small handful of actual sexual assaults I've experienced, in this film. But I'm talking about some unacceptable, sexual behaviour, perpetrated by men who took their opportunity to be alone with a woman and abused that experience. So I didn't want to at least warn you. And finally: I don't know/remember the real names of all the individuals I mention here. But if you're a model who's concerned, by all means get in touch and I'll do what I can to help, including giving you the names of anyone I do have the details for. My email is [email protected]