Expert: Charles Taylor - 4/3/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi Charles,

I have some questions regarding a vague "scouting" message I received via MySpace from a self-proclaimed professional photographer. The photographer's profile was set to private, so I could not do any research on his page. What signs should I look for to determine if these types of offers are scams or not? He left all of the details to "on-demand" and it is not very clear what uses the photos would have if they are not actually publicly distributed. It also does not seem very professional to me for the photographer to malign the models he claims to shoot at Vivid. My gut-instinct as well as a good friend of mine who I showed the message to are telling me that this offer seems more dubious than real. Is this actually valid, or just some creep looking to score?

Also, are there any legal issues (other than any concerning the UCMJ) involved with targeting currently active duty Servicemembers for projects or for Servicemembers participating in the adult photography and film industry?

I have enclosed the message trail below (latest to oldest, my user name removed). Thank you very much in advance.

[Hi There,

First of, I do understand where you are coming from, I've actually worked with several women in the marines.

The images DO NOT get distributed, and the shoots are private 100%. I have one project which requires distribution but it's in a way you are not recognizable, at all.

Just to give you some background on myself, I am 26 and have been shooting professionally for 7 years. I have shot for numerous popular adult websites such as Suicide Girls, Gods Girls, etc.

As of right now I work exclusively for Vivid Entertaintment out of Orange County. Vivid is the largest producer of Adult Film in the USA.

My shoots with Vivid are pretty mediocore in terms of what my passion is. It is mostly girls with fake tits, fake tans and fake attitudes and to be honest, I am over it.

I have, as of 4 months ago began pursuing my own projects that push the boundaries a bit more and lean more towards photojournalism / artsy. I am happy to say I have already recieved one grant for a fairly controversial gallery I am working on.

I do pay you in cash for each shoot we do. Everything is entirely discreet, 100% private. I work with girls who are in relationships, married and single. My only qualification is that you are 100% natural, which I believe you are :)

The gallery I am working on which I would love to work with you on specifically is a bit more adult oriented, but does not require full nuditiy. It has to do with "Facials", not sure if you know what those are? The pay is extremely high, so let me know if you would like to hear more about that project.

Thanks much!
J


----------------- Original Message -----------------
From:
To: jason
Date: Apr 2, 2009 1:36 PM
Subject: RE: Hi,


Hello!

Thank you very much for the compliments. Unfortunately, I will have to decline your offer. I will be moving to Virginia within this month, so I will not be in San Diego for much longer. Also, due to my current career choice (United States Marine Corps) and level of responsibility within the job, I must be careful as to what image I present publicly and any pictures which may be seen by my superiors and/or the general public and considered "inappropriate" or "conduct unbecoming of a U. S. Marine" may result in legal/disciplinary consequences for me until the end of my military service (such as in the case of the U. S. Air Force woman who posed fully nude for Playboy magazine while she was still on Active Duty).

----------------- Original Message -----------------
From: jason
To:
Date: Apr 1, 2009 9:00 PM
Subject: Hi,


Hi,

My name is Jason. I am a professional photographer based in San Diego and ran across your profile when browsing for new subjects for a few projects I have going on.

You are gorgeous and I'd love the opportunity to work with you.

My projects range from semi nude to nude / erotic and the pay is up to $350.00 per hour.

This is not spam, and yes I am legit with plenty of references.

Would love to discuss details with you and show you some of my work. If you are not comfortable with nudity, there are a few other projects which might work for you.

Do you have instant messenger?


Thanks so much,
Jason]

ANSWER: Scouts/Recruiters are vague by nature only because they don’t want you to see their “hand”. Lets face it in today’s society anyone with HALF a brain can get work in the nude modeling field…..legitimate scouts are few and far between and are really rare anymore. Most companies that need models advertise heavy on the websites that cater to those markets.

http://www.adultstaffing.com
http://www.sexyjobs.com
http://www.pornstarjobs.com
http://www.hardcoremodeling.com


Those 4 websites above are subscription based so people actually have to pay something to belong…that being said…just since they paid $14.95 per month for access this does not make them “legit” in any way. So when looking at those sites….Caveat Emptor…just as you would if buying something from eBay.

Moving on there are some NO-NO’s of where NOT to look for erotic/nude/adult modeling jobs…these include……

http://www.craigslist.com
http://www.backpage.com
http://www.xpeeps.com
http://www.myspace.com

Don’t get me wrong…those websites DO serve a purpose…but none of them should be your first choice when making a decision of such a magnitude.

I have two SIMPLE sites that I recommend to women who want to appear in Playboy or Penthouse Magazines or their Internet versions.

http://www.penthousemodels.com
http://www.playboycastingcalls.com

I know a lot of girls who were propositioned by real photographers as well as fake photographers on http://www.onemodelplace.com Now I am not saying that its not a good place to find work….it just really depends on what type of work your looking for.


Now once again I always like to list a few “agencies/managers” who may be able to find you work as well…..it is in their “best interest” to keep you happy…that way you are making $$$ for them.




http://www.valleybabesxxx.com
http://www.spieglergirls.com
http://www.ocmodeling.com
http://www.goodtogotalent.com
http://www.doublexxxposure.com
http://www.exotictalentagency.com
http://www.deepdishmodels.net


The next thing I would say is that “BIGGER” is often simply NOT better when it comes to websites and/or number of models on the site……a lot of times the websites have girls that cant ever be booked and are only listed to draw in more “new” girls….its an old bait and switch game they play. It also depends on how they treat their models…are you merely just a number to them or a real actual person.  

You also mentioned something about current active duty armed forces personnel……

This one is a no brainer……before you took your ASVAB…..before MEPS….and of course way before “boot camp”…..there was a person (your recruiter) who had you sign a bunch of forms……some of these said that you can get a dishonorable discharge and may face court-marshal for certain things……It would be covered in your Uniform Code of Military Justice or UCMJ…its continues however the entire length of the contact between you and Uncle Sam. You are technically property of the DOD during this time….When I was stationed in Duval County I saw a lot of naval personnel get picked up by JSO/ABPD/NBPDJ/BPD many times they left with Shore Patrol or NCIS.


Anyway….best of luck……

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you very much for your quick yet detailed response! While I was waiting, I read up on the other questions that were asked here. I really didn't think the offer was legit (and I honestly didn't think that it was a good idea while I still have time on my contract), but I also wanted your professional input and I wanted to have the answer visible to others who might have received similar random messages along these lines to prevent them from getting duped.

I do have a few lingering legal questions, however.  

I am concerned that the "professional photographer" may be engaged in unsavory and unscrupulous (if not illegal) business practices by exploiting young servicewomen, since he attempted to convince me by telling me that the shoot was private and the photos would not be distributed. Not once did he make any mention of the legal requirements or documentation, and he wanted to pay me in cash only. In the message thread, he claimed that he has worked with other servicewomen in his reply after I declined due to still being on active duty. I think that the other servicewomen who did consent to the photo shoots may not be fully aware of the adverse repercussions on their military career like you have explained to me, considering how he appeared to imply to me that there would be no harm from doing it. With the usage of the word "erotic" and mention of "facials," (unless that means something other than the act of ejaculating semen on someone's face), it is inferred that sexual conduct will take place in some of the photo shoots. Would this fall under the UCMJ (which interprets this as "prostitution and pandering") due to the involvement of the servicemembers, or the precedents set by California v. Freeman (interpreted as "pornography," which is protected if filmed in CA)?

This whole matter brings me to my final question: Is it legal for adult photographers/filmmakers, etc. to knowingly solicit servicemembers (who would then be violating the UCMJ by participating), or is there a standard business/industry policy against this? (In short, if it is not legal for the talents to be filmed, is it still legal for the filmer to go ahead and shoot them anyway?) I do not believe that Vivid would be very thrilled knowing that one of their employees (if he does really work for them) is hiring talents who aren't supposed to doing this work on his private side-projects while dropping the company name and insulting their contract girls. I figured that the adult film industry has standard hiring practices regarding the talent and something else in place to help protect itself from litigation, similar to the portion of 2257 regulations that require age-verification for the talent.

Again, thank you for answering my previous questions.

Answer
That’s a good idea to stay on the legal side of things until your discharge is in hand. Unfortunately even though your doing your best in trying to prevent someone from falling prey to someone’s unethical practices…as I have told many people…that is the name of the game or the nature of the business…without trying not to sound too jaded about the blue biz…it is a built in fact that there are many, many unscrupulous folk both men and women just as in all types of businesses that play “games”. You must take in the common analogy of “cash, grass or ass nobody rides for free”…there are many in the biz that just want a quick bang or some that just want quick $$$ but all in all no one is going to get there for free. As with most anything in life there is somewhat of a price to be paid.

Private collector photos/videos falls into a “grey area”….this means that unlike “urban legend” the fact of the matter is that it is actually true…there are a lot of companies that shoot this “type” content…..Now be aware that the standard adult model releases DO NOT apply here….that would be the principal ingredient in the shoot in its entirety anyway….. Anonymity. Some members of society want to do a porno but wish not to have it commercially released or broadcast to the world….and there is where you have the private collector’s videos/photographs. This content does not need to be something taboo or illegal just something that the end user has absolute whole rights to and will never see the light of day past that person unless someone want to deal with a new set of legal challenges.

As far as the broad legal ramifications that would encompass the spectrum of both civilian and military law….your best bet would be to seek qualified competent legal council. As I have mentioned before I am NOT an attorney. But as you stated I do believe as well that a legitimate company such as Vivid would not want to get bad press being associated with some scumbag using their company name. Most corporations take such violations very seriously and you may wish to forward any such emails to the proper person at that company.

By the way....2257 regulations are a product of the US Government and NOT one of the adult industry...so it is an actual FEDERAL LAW. Some people ask me occasionally if there are strict standards on being tested for HIV/STD's within the industry....The answer to that one is that there are NO FEDERAL LAWS requiring the testing in general of adult industry performers. Now since California is technically the only state where you can legally shoot commercial adult content...the state may have its own rules requiring such testing...but once again since I don’t reside in that state I really cant give you concrete evidence of such.

As I said before best of luck.....and if it sounds just too good to be true....it probably is!