A photog refuses to photograph a group of girls because they are "ugly" on the inside and were bullying other girls online.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/19/jennifer-mckendrick-penns_n_931324.html
Do You Photograph 'Ugly' People?
(22 posts) (17 voices)-
Posted 1 year ago #
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Good for her.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I don't think I would make it my business to pass up business. /shrugs
Posted 1 year ago # -
IndyGeoff said:
I don't think I would make it my business to pass up business. /shrugsIssues of business and money to one side for a moment, bullies need to be taken down. No mercy. Their victims will often be scarred emotionally for life and have been known to kill themselves. Bullying is unacceptable in any civilized society.
Teenage girl bullies ESPECIALLY are usually viscous little pieces of dog turd. Usually they do not know (or don't care) just how much of a problem they cause in those who are more fragile emotionally and/or somewhat more vulnerable than they are at that point in time.
At an ethical and moral level, I applaud the action of the photographer involved 100%.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Good choice on the photogs part. My son was a victem of bullying until he finally stood up for himself. Unfortunately, he still deals with some of scars (emotional) from it.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Bravo !!!!!!!!! Wise and thoughtful decision !
Posted 1 year ago # -
I think it is a great decision to make a business decision based on morals, as long as it is her business to be making these decisions, which it sounds like it is!
Posted 1 year ago # -
I say, good for her for being willing to take a stand. I know I wouldn't be able to do that, especially if I photographed for a living.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Hi all,
I agree with Bernard and with the tenor of the thread; it's just wise.
My best,
Mike
Posted 1 year ago # -
I thought this thread would be about ugly people in the traditional sense of the word: ugly on the outside. Actually I think ugly, or, better, different/special/unique people make a way more interesting subject. But that is on the streets and while doing documentary work. I can imagine that in the studio those people make for less gorgeous pictures. However, it'd not be wise to say no to them, just don't put their pictures in your portfolio :)
As for those girls, +1 for passing, naturally. Not the smartest thing to do business-wise, but sometimes you need to just take an action you know probably won't be best for you, but is the right thing to do.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I have twice written commentary on this and deleted it, because it has to do with the social ills of society and not photography.
the post here support the weak and try to protect them instead of making them strong, however that has to do with society not photography.
The photographer missed an opportunity to make a difference by recording and highlighting one of the ills of society.
The ability to tell a story while using the camera, not just taking pictures.
I really really do not want to go into commentary on how people and even dogs are trained and encouraged to operate within a given boundary, and the weak is encouraged and protected, instead of being taught how to become strong.
The photographer missed a great chance to document one of the ills of the society in a way that could make an impact in the lives of the ones who are affected.
Posted 1 year ago # -
The photographer actually should've taken the pics now that I think about it, but secretly have a hidden agenda to take some shots portraying the girls in a nasty way :)
Posted 1 year ago # -
casperwb said:
I have twice written commentary on this and deleted it, because it has to do with the social ills of society and not photography.the post here support the weak and try to protect them instead of making them strong, however that has to do with society not photography.
The photographer missed an opportunity to make a difference by recording and highlighting one of the ills of society.
The ability to tell a story while using the camera, not just taking pictures.
I really really do not want to go into commentary on how people and even dogs are trained and encouraged to operate within a given boundary, and the weak is encouraged and protected, instead of being taught how to become strong.
The photographer missed a great chance to document one of the ills of the society in a way that could make an impact in the lives of the ones who are affected.
Photographers are people and people are part of society. By extension photographers are part of society too, and a very influential part at that. While not all photographers are media, all photographer are an extension of media at the very least. We all know how powerful the media can be when portraying people.
Now that photographer wasn't "documenting" these girls in their natural habitat. No, she was scheduled to do a photo shoot in a studio setting which is aimed at producing glamourous (or beautiful) shots for the girls' senior portraits. How would she have been able to highlight and record the ills of society?
Hopefully this served as a lesson for the girls or at the very least as a wake-up call. As individual this is the only power that we have; to go along with negativities and let them slide hoping for a better outcome or take a firm stance and asserts positive
I said it before but good for that photographer. I think that everyone should take an example from her and stand up for their values and what they believe in. It's true that she lost a business opportunity but life is full of opportunities and I very much doubt that her business hinged on her going ahead with the shoot. At the very least, I think that she's the type of person that can sleep very soundly at night.
(On a distantly related topic, has anyone seen The Machinist?)
Posted 1 year ago # -
I do think it is good what the photographer did and the follow through she did with the parents. It is interesting she only heard from two of them. Kids that age learn and replicate ideas from their parents.
The think that catches me is why was she trolling around on their Facebook pages? (That is a rhetorical question.)
Where I grew up in the central US - bullying is common, verbally aggressive, and is just part of growing up. The way of bullying has not changed since my grandfathers day. Well, we didn't tie kids to a flag pole and hoist them up - it is mostly verbal anymore. The thing that has changed is Social Media has taken this to a whole new level. Students can't go home and escape it - they are surrounded by it on their phones and computers and rather than just a couple of friends seeing what happened, it gets spread throughout the whole school in a matter of minutes and now with photos and video. Then people try to "One up" and do something more grand.
Without adults outside who are outside the group of kids parents being willing to stand up to children, and tell them this is wrong, nothing has a chance to change. If all the change is that they don't post it, that is not small feet as it is a perpetual snowball that just grows as it rolls down hill. It is a since of one's communal and social responsibility that is wonderful to see. Props to the photographer!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Good Move for the photographer. As a former teacher, professor, and Colonel I have seen bullying and how it degrades a society or a group. If not corrected it can lead to calamity. This is a good topic and good for Nikon Rumors for posting this. One of my favorite all time photos of women was of a 78 year old who was a wonderful subject.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I once had a photoshoot with a model in Texas who I met at an airport and after talking to her for half an hour suggested we both call it quits as she was just so into "beauty" that I finally realized I could not work with her. I have met some less than attractive people who were so dynamic they were amazingly photogenic. I also admit I really do not make much use of retouching of faces in my work although I can do that quite well, but I often think it detracts from the final photo. However when you are shooting for a client you need to try to achieve what they are after.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I think that photographer is acting like a bully herself! She has the right to refund the girls money but she had no right to attack the girls on her website for what they did. She contacted the girl's parents, fine I understand that, but why go after the girls publicly like that? Who the hell does she think she is? Is she a commanding officer in the internet police?
We might not know the girls involved but a quick google and facebook search can reveal a lot. Locally these girls are probably all well known and are now an international laughingstock thanks to this photographer. And the girl who was originally bullied is probably devastated too because now the whole word knows she was being picked on. These are CHILDREN and the photographer acted like a child herself!
Ridiculing a client like that in public is never a smart business decision. It's worse yet when children are involved.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I totally agree with SuperShooter on his above comment as well. I do not myself use Facebook at all but I see some positive things about it and many very negative aspects. As a former college prof and military officer I believe in dealing direct. Not to post a specific issue all over the Internet. In fact I should admit that I do not post anything on the Internet other than my website input and to Nikon Rumors. I believe that the photographer should have taken this up directly with the girls involved, not to post it on the Internet. My above comments were made WITHOUT realizing all of what was going on. Which does bring up a good point......dealing direct with people does have the added value of also finding out some of the rest of the story??
Posted 1 year ago # -
Super Shooter said:
I think that photographer is acting like a bully herself!... never a smart business decision. It's worse yet when children are involved.
Did you read the article? Its not a business decision at all. It's an ethical and moral one.
As others have said, you have to stand up to these little sh!ts (I have changed the spelling in my message away from a swear word, not to offend anyone).
Perhaps better not to suggest that the photographer did something wrong for sticking up for her own ethical and moral value set, rather we should suggest that the bullies are the ones with the problem and deal with THEM!
Oh yes... someone did.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Super Shooter said:
I think that photographer is acting like a bully herself!
[...]
Locally these girls are probably all well known and are now an international laughingstock thanks to this photographer. And the girl who was originally bullied is probably devastated too because now the whole word knows she was being picked on.The photographer did not reveal the identities of any of the girls involved in the alleged bullying incident.
Posted 1 year ago # -
I applaud her for standing up for something she believes in. I think it would send a message if more people did things like this. I was never "popular" but happen to be physically big enough to not have to worry about being bullied. I had friends who were constantly picked on and what is said and done today in our children is appalling. Not all but enough to be a problem.
To see this article makes me smile a little knowing that there are people out there trying to make a difference and not just saying, "well its just the way things are"
From a business standing I don't think it was a bad move also. I mean this is a photographer I have never heard of before and most likely never would have but now because of this article I have. As all of us that have to push work know word of mouth sells and I'm sure she has gotten more shoots then she has lost.
Im not by anyway saying that is why she did it. Just that it is something to think about. I agree the little shits got what they had coming to them.
~CheersPosted 1 year ago # -
I have been the target of bullies (by both boys and girls) through most of my childhood, so I know how painful it can be. That stopped the day I declared I had enough and since then I did not let anyone to step on me while largely succeeding at avoiding receiving slaps in the face.
I mostly agree with what has been said here but I would still like to present some devil advocates perspective for what it is good for.
When reaching adulthood, I was quite surprised to learn that young’s of most social animals were also bullying each other’s and the ones that did not have brothers and sisters to bully them were not doing as good as the ones that did.
In time of peace, we need to keep our daredevils and otherwise bad boys and girls on a tight leash but in time of trouble, we are quite happy to throw them at the enemies. This may explain why nature consistently produces about 16% of them (according to many scientific studies) across all epochs and cultures while the large majority of us are conservator, traditional and quite content to blindly follow the authority. They must have provided a survival advantage for the human species as a whole and have therefore their utility. For sure we cannot encourage these behaviors in time of peace but it may not be advisable to rid ourselves of these characteristics even if we could. In the grand scheme of things, it is hard to tell if bullying in general is not as much a blessing as it is a curse.
Posted 1 year ago #
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