Rie Ramussen’s attack on Richardson may be a publicity stunt, but Banister said it may also be that all these complaints may be suddenly coming out because the models he has worked with just had enough of his unprofessional behavior.

Jamie Peck, a freelance model that once worked with Richardson, admitted that the shoot with him went too far and that she regretted all the things that happened, and yet didn’t want to be a "kill-joy" or lose other potential modeling gigs. She wrote an article for The Gloss outlining her argument, called "Terry Richardson Is Really Creepy: One Model’s Story.”

Banister points out that since one of Peck’s images did end up in a publication; she must have signed a model release. The situation could have been avoided, according to Banister, “if she had thought about it before the shoot, and set the boundaries.”

"Read that contract!" Banister stressed "And understand it fully." There are terms within the contract that can be modified, i.e. the model can refuse to be nude and can specify that the photographer at no point will be allowed to be nude.

Banister also advises that the model bring a friend or a manager to the shoot. "Having that second set of eyes is helpful,” she said. “And when you hire the photographer, you’re the customer, you should get whatever you want out of the situation."

Banister said that models should "understand all that you can ask for…do your research, do a background check…people have to take responsibility for the contract obligations that they make."

And models should be willing to walk out. "There’s nothing more powerful than walking out…" Banister said. "It’s very sad," she continued, when a model does things she doesn’t want to do "out of fear her career would be over. (Ask yourself), Is it a career worth having if I do this?"

Banister wondered if whether the fact that fashion photography is a male-dominated industry has anything to do with the sex scandals, and if cases like Richardson would be fewer if there were more female fashion photographers.

"Would it be better working with female photographers?" Banister asked. "Women understand women better than anyone."

Boston photographer Shannon Michelle agrees. "It would be interesting" if the industry changed, she said, because "essentially, women know what women want. They offer a different eye, different perspective. … It’s been a man’s world for such a long time, in all aspects, that women haven’t gotten in. … Maybe they don’t want to deal with agents, casting directors…or they don’t know how to shoot it."

Many women who are photographers tend to do more glamour shoots or weddings. Michelle said.

But as a female photographer, Michelle — who shoots boudoir, headshots, fashion and runway — said she finds it "really, really tough…on the runway. It’s tough, physically." Working with other male photographers she noted how they can be "perverse, dirty to deal with…and the ego on these guys!" It’s still a man’s reign, she said. She pointed out that, like the modeling industry, top agencies that represent photographers typically list between 10 to 15 photographers (usually all male).

"It’s really competitive to begin with," Michelle said, "And these men that are repped have been there for awhile. It’s a long process" to get to the top. Even famous male photographers now are in their 50s and have been doing it for 30 years or more, which means they began their careers in the late ’60s when females weren’t even exploring this field.

Another Boston fashion photographer, Natalia Borecka said, "If I had to give a reason why I think there are more male fashion photographers than female, I would say that it is because women who want to work in the fashion industry strive to be more directly involved with fashion design itself. Though relatively few women are photographers in the industry, we out-number men as fashion wearers, editors, stylists, and connoisseurs."

Borecka thinks in the next decade or so, there will be more of a balance of gender in photography.

Shannon Michelle also agreed with this point of view, and aligned herself with Cyan Banister’s interest in protecting models, advising them to be safer and smarter. "There are perverts in any industry. Take a friend. Don’t be talked into doing something you don’t want to do. Discuss it before."

With regards to her own shooting, Michelle knows she is responsible. "I am responsible for the images. I pressed the button. You’re the model, you’re behind the lens and you don’t know."

She prefers to meet with the model beforehand, to talk about the concept and to establish trust.

"I would be happy to give it [the contract] in advance," Michelle said.

Perhaps with more female photographers in the fashion industry, there would be a lower percentage of sex scandals like Richardson’s happening. Some male photographers, Michelle opined, have these egos which are "out of control…They have this ridiculous mindset that ‘oh, she’s a model, she’s seducing me with her eyes…’ No, it’s for the camera. They look at me the same way too. It is their job to project the same way to the camera, to the audience…"

Men, she said, seem to push their models to appear sexy, "over-the-edge like Maxim when a lot can be said for subtly."

Natalia Borecka, who has been following the Terry Richardson scandal closely said, "It’s scary stuff, and I can see how unescorted young models would feel safer with female photographers…The dynamics and the chemistry during a shoot are a bit different when the photographer is a female."

Jennifer Keany, an up-and-coming fashion photographer graduating from the New England School of Photography thinks that, "a lot of male fashion photographers are in it for the wrong reasons. Not all though! I think men and woman’s idea of beauty are totally different regardless. We view women very differently, naturally."

Boston model and actress Gianna Simone has been in the fashion industry for four years, and said that in that span of time, she has worked with only three female photographers.

"It’s weird,” she said. “I never thought about it. I always thought shooting with a male, ‘Well, that’s natural.’"

Working with male photographers has never bothered her, nor has she had to worry about "protection against the creepy male photographer," but she did acknowledge if she had a preference with working with either a female or a male photographer, she would chose to work with a female.

"Not a lot of males understand were females come from," Simone said, pointing out that women are more understanding to female body issues. "It’s the whole understanding the female better and the connection."

With regards to why there aren’t more females behind the camera in the industry, Simone thinks it is because that is how things have always been; however, it is "something that’s going to evolve someday. Right now it’s more of a male’s than a female’s [job], that’s how the world works," and then she added, but "it is definitely evolving."

She did not think that female photographers shoot much differently than males, and that composition was more of a "personal thing and doesn’t have to deal with sex."

"But I don’t think it matters whether you’re a male or a female photographer," Shannon Michelle agrees. "It’s more of a safety thing. It’s a job. The paperwork needs to be done beforehand, ideally. Models need to educate themselves…Think smart and be safe."

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About The Author

Lee Hershey is Boston-based a fashion model who aspires to be a fashion journalist. She is a recent French and English Literature graduate of Simmons College. She recently started the clothing line lee.lin. She has also contributed to New England Films Magazine.

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