Photographs on private property - A couple brought up an issue she was worried about were by the club she frequented was going to have a photographer on site. She was worried about someone taking images of them and where they would end up . She has every right to be worried. Photographs taken or having a photographer at a club taking photographs of you without your consent is down right outrageous. The clubs we frequented had a strict no camera policies as they should be. We are pro's and taking a photograph of someone eating a bread roll at a wedding causes anger so to have someone you don't know taking a photograph of you with a sausage in your mouth is seriously going to cause issue and likely to end in a punch up if you don't give consent. Also a house, club or private location is "private property" or as advertised they are "Private parties" (the word private means private). Taking photographs of a person or private property whilst stood on private property without consent can be contested and is not legal as someone appeared to say it was ok. If the photograph is taken in an open public place is it OK. You cannot actually be be stopped from taking images in public areas so long as your not standing on private land and it's the owner of the land asking you to stop taking photographs. However you would most certainly be pulled up if your camera was pointed in the direction of children in a park for instance.
Copyright - The photographer of a photograph regardless of signage owns copyright - period. They cannot transfer copyright as these so called photographers say, they can give a licence to use and sign a disclaimer not to use or sell themselves. Commercial images generally fall under this banner. Your best bet is to create your own agreement for the photographer to sign stating they will never use the images in any form. If you have photographs taken by a photographer you can never be sure that the photographer taking them will not keep copies, especially if they are not respected full time professionals. Someone mentioned they would take your images then transfer them to a laptop for you. The only way is if they took, transferred and delete them in front of you and then they would need to format the card. However even then they can be recovered with software. If you are having personal images requiring a photographer and need upmost security then provide your own digital card and make sure the camera does not have a second card installed. To be honest if someone isn't taking photographs for you in either of these way's then I would guess it is for their own kick and not to give you amazing photographs which i'm sure is ultimatly what you want . To produce amazing non run of the mill boudoir or erotic images they will certainly require post production and if your paying then you should expect this otherwise you will get less than optimal images.
Photographers - Everyone with a camera calls themselves a photographer nowadays it's extremely frustrating. There are photographers (artists) and there are photographers (those that have an SLR). If you want photographs then seek a professional - ideally a studio as they will be established, have a set up and ethics and will be contactable at all times should there be a problem late. By booking a pro studio they are less likely to want to ruin their years of high street reputation by being untrustworthy and having you raise awareness of an issue to others.
Good images - It's clear that having an image on your profile helps. Having interesting images helps even more. Having professional ones sparks interest and tells a person about you as you have made the effort. It will also make you feel better having the best images of you rather than a tacky one. That said it's not a must have for S&H or otherwise as most use their now images. We actually photograph many high end escorts who need amazing profile images and upmost discretion and professionalism, they pay for what they get as their work calls for it so to book a happy snapper with an agenda is not going to keep them in work. However if you want images which not only insight interest but also give you images that you can cherish forever and make you feel good then book a high street professional who will work with you. There is no alternative for quality and security.
Anyway I'm not here selling I'm just fed up with some of the comments made from photographers and assumptions made. As we are a couple who have been in the scene for 15 years and pro photographers for over 20 we understand both sides of this particular topic and just thought we would have our say.
