Question to Female Photographers

JJacula wrote in post #4155718
...I lived in a co-ed dorm at Olds College (highest alcohol consumption per capita of all post-secondary institutions in North America the years I attended - yes, I contributed)...

Well at least no one can blame you for bringing down the average!

cdifoto wrote in post #4156035
Well at least no one can blame you for bringing down the average!

I've always found myself to be above average in most situations.

I can see no problem with refusing clients. You can't be sued for that. If somebody did try then all you have to say is "I reserve the right to refuse to do business with whomever I wish". The problems only come when you start to give reasons for your refusals. For example you could say "I chose not to do business with this individual because my schedule was full" or "I had a bad feeling about the deal" and so on. That's all fine. If, however, you say "he looks like a gangster" or "his skin was the wrong colour" then you are leaving yourself open to cases of racism etc. Always remember the shortest answer gives the least ammunition for future problems. A completely irrelevant answer usually confuses the asker sufficiently to diffuse the issue.

As far as nude photography goes, I certainly won't do it. I won't take photos of under 18s either unless it's in a wholesome family setting.

I would be rather concerned if a group of guys or girls at a wedding tried to draw me away from the centre of the event into some strange area. I would suspect their intentions. Of course, having lived and worked in Eastern Europe for about 10 years I've seen just about the worst sides of human nature. This is one reason why I now have a CWP.

I'm lucky - I look like everybody's mom and that's how I'm treated, with respect. I would put in a "no nudism" clause in your contract if you're that worried about it. Truthfully, I wouldn't worry about it until it happened, because "what if" really won't get you far. My .02 worth.

I've never had a problem with this, but then again my clientele here in small town America aren't exactly those who would engage in this sort of behavior. I did have a young man from a larger metro area contact me about doing a session of "frisky" photos of he and his girlfriend. I politely declined and promptly referred them to my ex-boyfriend. I would have loved to have seen his face when that call came in to his studio.