# Got a modeling offer, but am weirded out by it.



## footballfan993 (Aug 20, 2015)

After buying my first DSLR I posted an ad on craigslist saying essentially that I am a photographer, looking for to do shoots with, I specifically specified in the ad that I would do senior portraits, But I am open to a variety of different types of photography.

Last week, I was contacted by someone that saw my ad, and was interested in doing a shoot for their daughter. Initially I didn't know much about the shoot, other than that it was for their daughter.

Over the next couple of days I began talking to the interested customer, I found out that it was a father looking for a photographer for his daughter, he said that he wanted "senior photo type photos" but upon talking to him more, he also asked for photos of her feet, because she wanted to be a foot model, I was a little bit weirded out by this, but still I was open to it. After further talking, he mentioned if we could do some shots in a hotel room, I said yes, even though this added to my concern about the shoot, he later went on to ask if I could do some shoots in lingerie, I said yes, but just like the previous requests, this further raised my concerns. After more talking, I asked him how old his daughter was, and if her mother or another legal guardian knew about the shoot, and he said that his daughter was 15, this raised a major read flag, he also told me that her mother knew about the shoot, and modeling. He did also state that the shoot wouldn't be pornographic. I told him that I was a bit weary of this situation and that I would have to look into the legality of doing a shoot with a minor in lingerie, to ensure that we weren't breaking any laws. I did also state that I would have to have both of their IDs and have them sign a release form, stating that the requested my photography service. He was also willing to pay about $250 for a 4 hour shoot, I also told him, that if I agreed to the shoot, that I would have another person be present on my behalf to ensure the safety of his daughter and my own.

Upon doing some research, I stumbled upon many different forums, on this site, Model Mayhem, and others that stated that this type of photography shoot is in more of a grey area in terms of it being considered a proper shoot, or child pornography. Upon reading that, I decided to decline his offer, as to not jeopardize my reputation or find myself in a legal mess. 

My main concern was if I had agreed to the shoot, what would happen if someone found the photographs on my camera or laptop, would I get into any legal trouble or end up on a sex offender registry, which made me also decline his offer.


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## The_Traveler (Aug 20, 2015)

TBH, there is absolutely no way I would do this without good identification for everyone and the mother present - and a good contract.
Even then, I would be really, really leary of doing this.
Nothing about this seems above board.


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## footballfan993 (Aug 20, 2015)

The_Traveler said:


> TBH, there is absolutely no way I would do this without good identification for everyone and the mother present - and a good contract.
> Even then, I would be really, really leary of doing this.
> Nothing about this seems above board.


Thank You, I was a concerned about this this as well, which is why I ultimately declined the offer. Had this been someone who was 18, I most likely wouldn't have had a problem with it. After learning that my model was only 15, that completely changed my view, and made me put my walls up so to speak.


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## vintagesnaps (Aug 20, 2015)

Good trusting your instincts.

Why would her 'father' want to do the shoot at a hotel?? And wants pictures of her feet, and her in lingerie?? I might think about bringing the ad to the attention of authorities or report it to craigslist because I don't know what this is about, but it seems to involve a minor and her 'dad' (who I'd suspect isn't). I say _suspect_ because who knows, maybe it is a daughter, who wants to model shoes??

Even if she/the father said she was 18, I'd wonder...


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## jl1975 (Aug 20, 2015)

If you felt uncomfortable, then declining it was the right choice.  Regardless of whether or not it was legal, or even if she was 18 and mom was going to be there.  If you don't feel right about it, it is your choice of whether or not you do something.  There are times in any business when you have to make a decision based on nothing more than if you are comfortable with something or not.


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## jsecordphoto (Aug 20, 2015)

Damn what a creeper, I would consider reporting this too and I never like talking to police. Dude wants photos of his daughters feet?


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## dennybeall (Aug 20, 2015)

Strike One - got the job off of Craig's List
Strike Two - his 16 yo "daughter"
Strike Three - lingerie and feet pictures
and you're *OUT*


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## tirediron (Aug 20, 2015)

Not with a 20' pole!


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## runnah (Aug 20, 2015)

Did he offer to pay you in subway sandwiches?


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## unpopular (Aug 20, 2015)

tirediron said:


> Not with a 20' pole!



Especially not with an 8' pole.


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## JoeW (Aug 20, 2015)

A couple of quick points:
--weird vibes.  Irrelevant of if it's legal, you shouldn't shoot anything you're uncomfortable with.
--shooting underage means the model can't sign a release form or can't legally consent.  So this has to be done by parents.


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## The_Traveler (Aug 21, 2015)

If you are very very uncomfortable, you might talk to Childrens protective Services and see what they think.


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## footballfan993 (Aug 21, 2015)

Thanks for your responses, I'm glad that you all agree with me. I'm also glad that I was given all of the details when I inquired about them. To clarify, I was the one that posted the craigslist ad, asking people if they needed a photographer. The only way that I would have gone through with this offer is if the girl, was 18 or older, then I would have done the shoot, I have no problem shooting erotic styled photos. The issue I had with this particular situation was that the model in this case, was under the age of 18, which prompted me to turn this offer down.

I do appreciate everyone's input, thank you, all!


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## robbins.photo (Aug 22, 2015)

I guess I must be a total prude.  I would have hit the eject button right after he asked me for pictures of her feet.  I wouldn't have stuck around for any of the rest.  Seriously?  A  foot model?

Yikes.


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## Designer (Aug 22, 2015)

footballfan993 said:


> Thanks for your responses, I'm glad that you all agree with me. I'm also glad that I was given all of the details when I inquired about them. To clarify, I was the one that posted the craigslist ad, asking people if they needed a photographer. The only way that I would have gone through with this offer is if the girl, was 18 or older, then I would have done the shoot, I have no problem shooting erotic styled photos. The issue I had with this particular situation was that the model in this case, was under the age of 18, which prompted me to turn this offer down.
> 
> I do appreciate everyone's input, thank you, all!


In case you missed it yesterday, this whole scenario is RED FLAGGED for a number of reasons, but the man who claimed you would be photographing HIS DAUGHTER in provocative poses was the one that I cannot overlook.

The man who called left enough clues as to what kind of person he is by repeatedly changing his story.  HE IS LYING!  To be blunt about it.

I know you're young, and haven't witnessed the full range of depravity in the human race, so I will tell you now;  there are definitely some people in this world you need to steer clear of.


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## The_Traveler (Aug 22, 2015)

I'm not against some parts of the 'full range of depravity' but my opinion was based on not letting a relatively new photographer getting caught in something that might taint his future.


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## Designer (Aug 22, 2015)

Well, any time someone lies to me I am put off from furthering any kind of relationship.


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## Solarflare (Aug 22, 2015)

There is no way in hell I would have done that job.

And yes I would have tried to inform the daughter, the mother, the school of the daughter and the local child welfare services about this.


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## Designer (Aug 22, 2015)

Solarflare said:


> There is no way in hell I would have done that job.
> 
> And yes I would have tried to inform the daughter, the mother, the school of the daughter and the local child welfare services about this.


You're assuming that the man was talking about his actual daughter?

The man is a liar, so you believe whatever you choose to believe, but for my money, I'd say he was going to go on Model Mayhem next to try to find a model.


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## The_Traveler (Aug 22, 2015)

Designer said:


> The man is a liar, so you believe whatever you choose to believe, but for my money, I'd say he was going to go on Model Mayhem next to try to find a model.



You are making a jump from the 'man' for a second hand account of what the man said to an statement that he is a liar.
There are many reasons to not do this shoot without making assumptions and calling him a liar.
Conclusion-jumping is a very bad habit to cultivate.


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## TreeofLifeStairs (Aug 22, 2015)

The_Traveler said:


> Conclusion-jumping is a very bad habit to cultivate.



Is that the conclusion you've jumped to?


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## Designer (Aug 22, 2015)

The_Traveler said:


> Conclusion-jumping is a very bad habit to cultivate.


But I'm good at it.


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## Designer (Aug 22, 2015)

Besides; I think the majority consensus is to avoid taking the gig.  And this is based on what?  Why do the majority of members here tell the young photographer to NOT do this shoot?  What could be their reasons?

We have only the OP's statement of the facts as he knows them, and yet most members have somehow smelled a rat.  Why is my calling the man a liar so farfetched?  Apparently some here are of a mind to believe the man who would be a customer, and presumably take the gig.  

Who knows; maybe the mother of the girl will bake some cookies.  

More power to you.


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## Designer (Aug 22, 2015)

I don't often use red text, but in this case, it seemed to me that the OP might still be considering the gig, so that red text was my way to making sure he noticed it.


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## The_Traveler (Aug 22, 2015)

Designer said:


> Besides; I think the majority consensus is to avoid taking the gig.  And this is based on what?  Why do the majority of members here tell the young photographer to NOT do this shoot?  What could be their reasons?
> 
> We have only the OP's statement of the facts as he knows them, and yet most members have somehow smelled a rat.  Why is my calling the man a liar so farfetched?  Apparently some here are of a mind to believe the man who would be a customer, and presumably take the gig.
> 
> ...



You are trying to diminish my argument in a rather silly way by implying I thought the op should take the job.
I didn't say that the op should do the job, in fact I was the first person to say not to do it.
And my conclusion was based on the facts as recounted, not any judgement external to that.

Whatever the reality, the downside of doing it was too great

But, since I didn't hear any lie from the man himself, calling this unknown man a liar is a real leap because you actually don't know what he said. He may be an ephebophile, he may be tall, he may be short, but you don't know.


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## robbins.photo (Aug 22, 2015)

The_Traveler said:


> Designer said:
> 
> 
> > Besides; I think the majority consensus is to avoid taking the gig.  And this is based on what?  Why do the majority of members here tell the young photographer to NOT do this shoot?  What could be their reasons?
> ...


All quite true.  The truth is we can't even be certain this wasn't just a prank, someone sees the craigslist ad and decides to contact the op and just see how outlandish they have to get before he declines.

Like I said, I'm a prude.  I would have hung up after the feet pictures request.   

Sent from my 306SH using Tapatalk


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## vfotog (Aug 22, 2015)

footballfan993 said:


> After buying my first DSLR I posted an ad on craigslist saying essentially that I am a photographer, looking for to do shoots with, I specifically specified in the ad that I would do senior portraits, But I am open to a variety of different types of photography.
> 
> Last week, I was contacted by someone that saw my ad, and was interested in doing a shoot for their daughter. Initially I didn't know much about the shoot, other than that it was for their daughter.
> 
> ...



much of what you have written is very concerning. especially the last paragraph. If you are going to shoot, you need to understand the law. Being ignorant of it is no excuse; before the registry comes jail time. 

Of course you should have refused, but you gave the potential customer some wrong answers. You should have been saying NO a lot sooner. Senior pictures means a minor. Senior pictures aren't done in hotel rooms, and minors shouldn't be in hotel rooms being photographed. Period.  Let alone in lingerie, which you also said you would be willing to do. Telling them they'd have to sign something saying they asked for the photos is absolutely meaningless. You are the one who would be behind the lens. If the action is illegal, it's illegal.  Whether this man is her pervert dad, a pimp, or whatever, there just isn't any legitimate reason for this shoot.

Something else to consider is this proposed shoot could have been a sting. If it was an undercover officer, you sure didn't put yourself in a good position. The more you said yes, the worse the scenario got. You ultimately said no, but you did say you would be willing to go to a hotel room with a high school student and be willing to shoot her in lingerie. You gave them plenty of reason to put you under surveillance. How did you communicate with this person? If the story is as you say, you might want to seriously consider turning all of this information over to law enforcement.


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## footballfan993 (Aug 28, 2015)

I believe I have to clarify some points here... 

I did not know the model's age, until after I knew all the other details about the hotel room, foot modeling, lingerie, etc. As I learned more about the type of shoot that this man was requesting, the more weary and uneasy I got about it. As I started to talk to him, he first mentioned that it was going to be a "senior photo style", he later elaborated on that it would be foot photos, and that the model (who at the time I didn't know her age, as that bit came after everything else) was only 15. That was a bit alarming, but I do realize that foot models are needed for magazines and ads to model shoes, socks, and other foot attire.

My stance on shooting erotic images definitely doesn't mean that I would go through with this particular situation. After learning of the model's age, I declined his offer, because the model herself was underage, and not knowing any of the legal matter, and after looking it up, finding that there is a bunch of grey areas, I declined. I knew that I was going to decline the offer even before looking up the legality on photographer forums. I simply wanted to see what other photographers have done, as this would have been my first gig. Furthermore, the suspicious situation of the model and her supposed father and their request, made me decline the gig.

I am more than comfortable shooting nude photos of people in an artistic sense, as currently being a nude model myself at my university, I have come to appreciate it. But of course, due to the model being a minor and under the age of 18, I declined the photo gig. Like I had said previously, had she been 18, I would have considered doing it, yet still with high caution, but she was not 18, therefore I declined it.


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## unpopular (Aug 29, 2015)

it's entirely possible you just getting messed with.

seems kinda goofy, actually. not impossible, not at all. just kinda goofy. in fact, at first i figured you were trolling.

By the way, here in Montana it's nude photos of 16 year old girls is legal, so long as you keep your hands off of them:

Missoula photographer charged with sexually assaulting teenage girl

Which seems a little odd.


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## vfotog (Aug 30, 2015)

footballfan993 said:


> I believe I have to clarify some points here...
> 
> I did not know the model's age, until after I knew all the other details about the hotel room, foot modeling, lingerie, etc. As I learned more about the type of shoot that this man was requesting, the more weary and uneasy I got about it. As I started to talk to him, he first mentioned that it was going to be a "senior photo style", he later elaborated on that it would be foot photos, and that the model (who at the time I didn't know her age, as that bit came after everything else) was only 15. That was a bit alarming, but I do realize that foot models are needed for magazines and ads to model shoes, socks, and other foot attire.
> 
> ...



this doesn't clarify anything. You say that the *first* thing you talked about was senior photos. That means the model is a minor. So before you talked about anything else, you knew she was underage. Neither foot modeling nor hotels nor lingerie have anything to do with senior photos.


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## footballfan993 (Aug 30, 2015)

vfotog said:


> footballfan993 said:
> 
> 
> > I believe I have to clarify some points here...
> ...


Good point, however, she could have been 18, I was 18 as a senior, furthermore he said that the photos would be styled as senior photos, not that they would specifically be senior photos.


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## Designer (Aug 30, 2015)

Now  I'm curious about any followup with this offer.  Have you and the man continued any communication?  Have you received any other offers of a similar nature?  What is your disposition of the original offer?  Can you tell us your thoughts after reading our responses?


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## pixmedic (Aug 30, 2015)

Designer said:


> Now  I'm curious about any followup with this offer.  Have you and the man continued any communication?  Have you received any other offers of a similar nature?  What is your disposition of the original offer?  Can you tell us your thoughts after reading our responses?



I dont think they would be suitable for public consumption.


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## bobandcar (Aug 30, 2015)

No one realizes that a "senior" could be a 22 year old in college?

Defiantly right decision on turning it down and I would probably bring your findings to some authority.


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## snowbear (Aug 30, 2015)

In one context, a "senior" is someone 60 or older.  There's a vision for you.
My evil twin (currently chained to the wall) is mumbling something about keeping the number and checking back in a few years. 

OK, I'm done.  I have to go wash in bleach and rubbing alcohol.


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## thereyougo! (Aug 30, 2015)

When I saw Senior and that this was a US based discussion I figured 60+ which in the uk we call OAP (Old Age Pensioners).  The only potential lie that the potential client is his relationship with the girl.  The changing circumstances of the shoot would lead me no to trust the 'client'.  However, if I were someone with nefarious intentions, I wouldn't tell the photographer that the 'model' was 15.  I would say 18 at least.  After all, how would the photographer know unless he asked for proof of age?

Personally I think you were right to decline it as there are all sorts of weird scenarios here.


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## Donde (Aug 30, 2015)

Well I think the moment he mentioned feet you should have shot the price up to a thousand dollars and told him ok but only the feet. After all how's the prosecutor going to prove they were underage feet...


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## vfotog (Aug 30, 2015)

thereyougo! said:


> When I saw Senior and that this was a US based discussion I figured 60+ which in the uk we call OAP (Old Age Pensioners).  The only potential lie that the potential client is his relationship with the girl.  The changing circumstances of the shoot would lead me no to trust the 'client'.  However, if I were someone with nefarious intentions, I wouldn't tell the photographer that the 'model' was 15.  I would say 18 at least.  After all, how would the photographer know unless he asked for proof of age?
> 
> Personally I think you were right to decline it as there are all sorts of weird scenarios here.



in the US, Senior Photography is an entire field of commercial photography that has nothing to do with older people. The senior year is the final year (grade 12) of public secondary education. Graduation is in May/June and students are generally 17-18. Senior photos are usually taken at the beginning of the senior year, so the students could be as young as 16 at that time. Lots of photographers specialize in shooting senior photos, which are used in the school yearbook, invitations, announcements, etc. Obviously, senior photos don't involve feet, lingerie or hotel rooms.  As for proof of age, any intelligent photographer is going to insist on identification with proof of age if they are going to shoot a younger person, particularly if there is anything slightly risqué.


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## robbins.photo (Aug 30, 2015)

Donde said:


> Well I think the moment he mentioned feet you should have shot the price up to a thousand dollars and told him ok but only the feet. After all how's the prosecutor going to prove they were underage feet...



Lol.. fiendishly clever.  Disturbing.. but still, clever.


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## Donde (Aug 30, 2015)

Robbins just a little humor there, This whole thread is a joke, troll post perhaps? Advertise for a "model" on Craig's List, responder is "dad" wanting to bring fifteen year old "daughter" to hotel room for photography. Sounds like a situation where the photographer would be asked to pay the $250 ha ha.  I am in Colombia which has a libertine reputation (especially thanks to the U.S.Secret Service) and any man, woman or girl on the street could tell you what that ad is calling for.


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## robbins.photo (Aug 30, 2015)

Donde said:


> Robbins just a little humor there, This whole thread is a joke, troll post perhaps? Advertise for a "model" on Craig's List, responder is "dad" wanting to bring fifteen year old "daughter" to hotel room for photography. Sounds like a situation where the photographer would be asked to pay the $250 ha ha.  I am in Colombia which has a libertine reputation (especially thanks to the U.S.Secret Service) and any man, woman or girl on the street could tell you what that add is calling for.



Lol.. guess they forgot about that whole "Secret" part.  Whoops. 

Ya, the whole thing sounds pretty hoaky from the get go, probably just some guy who was bored and looking through craigslist ads and he probably called a couple just to see how outlandish he could get before they turned him down.


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## Designer (Aug 30, 2015)

thereyougo! said:


> However, if I were someone with nefarious intentions, I wouldn't tell the photographer that the 'model' was 15.


Until he shows up with a 13-year-old model.


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## Donde (Aug 30, 2015)

My two cents: skip Craig's list _et al, _get your self a couple of girl friends and take lots of pictures of them.


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## robbins.photo (Aug 30, 2015)

Designer said:


> thereyougo! said:
> 
> 
> > However, if I were someone with nefarious intentions, I wouldn't tell the photographer that the 'model' was 15.
> ...



Lol.. well like I said earlier, the minute he mentioned the feet thing I would have hung up.  Never would have heard the rest.  Ya, I'm a prude.. lol


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## psreilly (Aug 31, 2015)

I've shot agency models that are 16 with parents present and they're clean shoots. Even THAT is uncomfortable at times, can't even fathom this lol


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## Braineack (Aug 31, 2015)

Buying your first camera and offering to take other people's pictures was my first red flag.


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## OmbreFox (Aug 31, 2015)

I can't think of a single father of an underage daughter who would allow her to be photographed in lingerie by a stranger off the internet. 

Way too many red flags here, you definitely made the right choice!

Unless "boudoir" photography is a field you're going to seriously get in to and research vigorously- forget it. There are TONS of gigs out there, you don't have to take them all. I don't use Craigslist for anything anymore - it's become a festering cesspool of crazy. 

You're on the right track with the Facebook page for advertising; you can do quite a bit with it and reach a much wider (and more targeted) audience!


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## robbins.photo (Aug 31, 2015)

OmbreFox said:


> I don't use Craigslist for anything anymore - it's become a festering cesspool of crazy.!



Lol.. yup, that pretty much sums it up.


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## Designer (Aug 31, 2015)

OmbreFox said:


> *I don't use Craigslist for anything anymore - it's become a festering cesspool of crazy*.


Let's get that chiseled into stone.


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## robbins.photo (Aug 31, 2015)

OmbreFox said:


> I don't use Craigslist for anything anymore - it's become a festering cesspool of crazy.!



Lol.. yup, that pretty much sums it up.


Designer said:


> OmbreFox said:
> 
> 
> > *I don't use Craigslist for anything anymore - it's become a festering cesspool of crazy*.
> ...



Marble.  Even better. 

Lol


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## footballfan993 (Sep 3, 2015)

Again, he said that they would be "senior styled" not that they would specifically be senior photos to be used in a yearbook. The photos could have just been a portrait style. Furthermore, I was probably excited about getting my first potential client, that I didn't add all of the details up until later. And after realising the true kind of photos this person wanted, and then the model's age, that I was put off by it. Which resulted in me saying no, to the offer. Also You can still be an adult in high school, I was 18, making me an adult, during my senior year.

I'll just have to be more selective when it comes to accepting shoots! But I really do appreciate everyone's input here.


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