SweetSarahS
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Vermont
First and foremost, I am not a dummy, I have two 4-year college degrees, a great full-time job, and I was responsible enough to buy my first home with half the money down. My point being I am responsible, educated, and surely no fool. Please bear that in mind as you read this, as I can see how some people could misjudge me easily.
I am an amateur model just for fun outside of my real job. The travel, the people, and the money are nice. I don't have a manager or anything, I do photo shoots usually when a photographer has a client that they think I would be a good match for. For what it's worth law-wise, the photo shoots have taken place in seven different US states, Canada, and Jamaica. The photographers are based in NY, MA, MD, CA, and FL. I am not a pro by any means, and I am probably a little too naïve and new to it still. Several of my close friends are nearly pros, but I don't want to drag them into this situation asking for advice unless I really need it as a last resort. There is an embarrassment factor for me here.
A couple months ago I met a sweet girl at Crossfit and we hit it off quickly. In fact, I have a very distinctive and silly laugh, and the day I met her we were discussing an aspect of the gym in the locker room as we got dressed, and she made me laugh like a hyena, and when I walked out of the locker room everyone was staring because they knew it was me! A sweet sweet girl who could make me laugh is a surefire win in my book. But I wear my heart on my sleeve and I can be a little too quick to judge someone (in a positive light).
Everything went smoothly between us for a while. However I may have made a mistake when I emailed her the digital proofs of some of my photos. The first photographer I had worked with taught me a lot about the business, and he said that I could share photos with friends even though they bear his copyright. As long as I didn't try to make money from the photos, he said I could do almost anything I wanted with them. I signed a release just to do the shoot, and a release for some of the photos to be used for promotion on his website, without any furthur compensation to me. Now the problem is, I'm not sure if he meant that my ability to share the photos with friends was the way he looked at it, or that was the law. I thought it would be the law. I never asked any of the other photographers that I worked with. Now I am getting real nervous because there is tension in my relationship with this girl, and she is threatening to send the photos I sent her around to my co-workers, my boss, and friends. I'm a very confident person and I'm not ashamed of what I look like, but some of the photos are far beyond what would be considered good taste-- these are not the rather tame style of photos seen in places like Playboy.
I worry about both the legal aspects of her sharing them as well as the potential impact on my reputation at work. I have a white collar career, my boss is paying for me to finish my Master's, and I have been promoted quite easily so far. In the local community I am an extreme athlete who does a lot of charity events, I sell my crafts at farmers' markets, and I help teach craft classes on a volunteer basis. I can't afford to lose all of that from either defamation of character or from a lawsuit from a photographer. I am a bit ashamed of my decision to share the photos with anyone at all, so I hesitate to try to find an attorney locally whom I would have to sit down with face-to-face. The awkwardness, and the potential to run into the attorney out in public some day, have led me to get online to look for answers. If I absolutely must, I will find a local attorney, as I need to do something to prepare if this vengeful girl decides to send out the photos.
I am writing this on a Friday night, I just finished my workweek, and I am somewhat dreading going back to work Monday morning in case the girl has started something there. In the meantime just trying to keep my chin up and be positive!
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
First and foremost, I am not a dummy, I have two 4-year college degrees, a great full-time job, and I was responsible enough to buy my first home with half the money down. My point being I am responsible, educated, and surely no fool. Please bear that in mind as you read this, as I can see how some people could misjudge me easily.
I am an amateur model just for fun outside of my real job. The travel, the people, and the money are nice. I don't have a manager or anything, I do photo shoots usually when a photographer has a client that they think I would be a good match for. For what it's worth law-wise, the photo shoots have taken place in seven different US states, Canada, and Jamaica. The photographers are based in NY, MA, MD, CA, and FL. I am not a pro by any means, and I am probably a little too naïve and new to it still. Several of my close friends are nearly pros, but I don't want to drag them into this situation asking for advice unless I really need it as a last resort. There is an embarrassment factor for me here.
A couple months ago I met a sweet girl at Crossfit and we hit it off quickly. In fact, I have a very distinctive and silly laugh, and the day I met her we were discussing an aspect of the gym in the locker room as we got dressed, and she made me laugh like a hyena, and when I walked out of the locker room everyone was staring because they knew it was me! A sweet sweet girl who could make me laugh is a surefire win in my book. But I wear my heart on my sleeve and I can be a little too quick to judge someone (in a positive light).
Everything went smoothly between us for a while. However I may have made a mistake when I emailed her the digital proofs of some of my photos. The first photographer I had worked with taught me a lot about the business, and he said that I could share photos with friends even though they bear his copyright. As long as I didn't try to make money from the photos, he said I could do almost anything I wanted with them. I signed a release just to do the shoot, and a release for some of the photos to be used for promotion on his website, without any furthur compensation to me. Now the problem is, I'm not sure if he meant that my ability to share the photos with friends was the way he looked at it, or that was the law. I thought it would be the law. I never asked any of the other photographers that I worked with. Now I am getting real nervous because there is tension in my relationship with this girl, and she is threatening to send the photos I sent her around to my co-workers, my boss, and friends. I'm a very confident person and I'm not ashamed of what I look like, but some of the photos are far beyond what would be considered good taste-- these are not the rather tame style of photos seen in places like Playboy.
I worry about both the legal aspects of her sharing them as well as the potential impact on my reputation at work. I have a white collar career, my boss is paying for me to finish my Master's, and I have been promoted quite easily so far. In the local community I am an extreme athlete who does a lot of charity events, I sell my crafts at farmers' markets, and I help teach craft classes on a volunteer basis. I can't afford to lose all of that from either defamation of character or from a lawsuit from a photographer. I am a bit ashamed of my decision to share the photos with anyone at all, so I hesitate to try to find an attorney locally whom I would have to sit down with face-to-face. The awkwardness, and the potential to run into the attorney out in public some day, have led me to get online to look for answers. If I absolutely must, I will find a local attorney, as I need to do something to prepare if this vengeful girl decides to send out the photos.
I am writing this on a Friday night, I just finished my workweek, and I am somewhat dreading going back to work Monday morning in case the girl has started something there. In the meantime just trying to keep my chin up and be positive!
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
