Shoot Hijacking...

Vtec44 · Nov 1, 2015

When I organize a shoot, I have complete control over all aspects of the event. No one can do anything without my explicit approval, even the paying clients LOL. Call it being arrogant, but that's how I work. I'm one of those control freak photographer.

A while back, I had an MUA at a wedding with her own photographer to take behind the scene shot. I had the person escorted out after he became a distraction.

With that said, I would have stopped the shoot and have the person escorted out. It's a creative distraction on top of everything else.

imagemaker46 · Nov 2, 2015

As a professional you lost control of your shoot, that should never happen. She should have been told as soon as the camera came out that she was there for makeup, that's it. None of this falls on her shoulders at all. Even during the break she steps in and starts shooting, you should have asked her to pack up her things and leave, and you should have taken control in front of your client. This makeup person has now thrown your ability to control a situation in question. Personally if I was the client I wouldn't hire you again based on this.

imagemaker46 · Nov 2, 2015

Vtec44 said:
When I organize a shoot, I have complete control over all aspects of the event. No one can do anything without my explicit approval, even the paying clients LOL. Call it being arrogant, but that's how I work. I'm one of those control freak photographer. A while back, I had an MUA at a wedding with her own photographer to take behind the scene shot. I had the person escorted out after he became a distraction.

With that said, I would have stopped the shoot and have the person escorted out. It's a creative distraction on top of everything else.

Not being a control freak at all, being a professional with professional standards. I work the same way.

Scatterbrained · Nov 2, 2015

Vtec44 said:
When I organize a shoot, I have complete control over all aspects of the event. No one can do anything without my explicit approval, even the paying clients LOL. Call it being arrogant, but that's how I work. I'm one of those control freak photographer. A while back, I had an MUA at a wedding with her own photographer to take behind the scene shot. I had the person escorted out after he became a distraction.

With that said, I would have stopped the shoot and have the person escorted out. It's a creative distraction on top of everything else.

Nothing control freak about it. It's called "being in charge".

The OP should have put her foot down immediately when that girls camera came out. Lesson learned. Maybe next time don't run the strobes on optical sync.

Personally, I'd go back to those forums and point out how unprofessional the MUA was, and make sure every other photographer that thinks to hire her knows what to expect.

desertrattm2r12 · Dec 23, 2015

I will not mince any words. You need some backbone. It was your shoot and you should have throw her out right away. Or called the cops -- disturbing the peace. Sometimes an errant elbow in the eyeball works wonders. This is the real world here. You can't put up with this kind of garbage.

nycphotography · Dec 23, 2015

coming in late here...

But you should have bounced her.

No need to be nasty about it... just be chill and apologetic, while saying: I'm sorry this is a professional production and I can't give permission to use any of this work product without my client's explicit permission. If you want a couple "on the set" shots for your book, I can take a few and send the to you, and you can get tears when the magazine is published. But other than that... I'm sorry, but he answer is no. Your camera can't come out of the bag.

Also, she does NOT have model releases, so any images that turn up I'd turn straight over to the my lawyer (connecting in the model). I might also tell the magazine what happened, and give them a chance to get their lawyers involved, and also make sure she never has any chance of working for that client.

Finally, I also would not be above some rather aggressive name and shame activity. Word of that crap gets around, and the work tends to dry up fast. Chances are you aren't the only "victim" and starting the discussion in the right circle could prove quite satisfying.