Tricked into a pornographic photo shoot

On the plus side, I was able to meet with the president of the agency Wednesday night after work, and he has informed me that none of my photographs have been published or posted yet. He was able to provide photocopies of all the forms I signed, along with a complimentary data disc of my top 24 shots.

When I asked about the possibility of withdrawing the more risque content and returning a portion of the fee, he graciously offered a gentlemen's agreement that I can redo portions of the session I was not comfortable with, if I cover the studio costs myself. 

N.Treuby:

On the plus side, I was able to meet with the president of the agency Wednesday night after work, and he has informed me that none of my photographs have been published or posted yet.

If it were me I would try and get ALL copies of this material and personally destroy it.  The problem is that if the photographer keeps anything and gets desperate financially nothing may be preventing her from using that material in the future. 

N.Treuby:

He was able to provide photocopies of all the forms I signed

I would high tail it to a lawyer and find out what my exposure (no pun intended) is immediately.

N.Treuby:

he graciously offered a gentlemen's agreement that I can redo portions of the session I was not comfortable with, if I cover the studio costs myself. 

That seems fair since there would be an expense.  I would also find out about getting all that material and having it destroyed.

Hard to be sure ALL copies are destroyed in this age of digital photography. Better to attempt a legal resolution, I suspect. I would want them to sign the rights back over to me so I could sue should anything be posted or printed later.

I just received an email from the company. They have arranged for a possible reshoot in early December, this time at their warehouse location with a different photographer. They want me for two hours, and I'm told the only cost to me will be $400 per hour for him and his assistant.

You can bet I will have a lawyer read any paperwork FIRST this time. 

N.Treuby:

I debated on whether or not to include a real name and/or profile pic here ...I felt that including a name and a sample from my portfolio would help demonstrate that I am a flesh-and-blood person with high hopes for a semi-professional modeling career someday... Granted, the shirtless photo was probably a bit much and I have removed it on everyone's wise advice. 

Problem is that no one would have considered THAT photo to be the pornographic shot ... and would have wondered.

I think back to a poster several years back who got cited for urinating in public.  Who found the post and everything he stated in it?  The cop who cited him.  That's why people are encouraged not to divulge too much info.

Further, your avatar photo (to the best of my knowledge) wasn't copy proof.  I think all that anyone has to do is copy image -- and then use it for whatever they want.

Anyway, I'm glad you've taken the precaution. :)

Good luck.

Quick follow-up as a courtesy to those who helped me in this forum.

I spoke with a lawyer on Monday, and his opinion is that (1) I was SOMEWHAT stupid for signing the model release before my photo shoot without reading it first and keeping a copy; (2) I was SOMEWHAT stupid for letting alcohol impede my judgement in a work environment; (3) I was INCREDIBLY stupid for not pulling the plug on the session when it became clear they expected full nudity; (4) My 'career' in mainstream modeling is basically over; (5) Proceeding with another 'reshoot' session would only make my situation worse, since essentially I would be paying THEM to take even MORE humiliating photos of me and even if I wore a mask or hid my face I would still be a two-time fetish model with a growing portfolio.

P.S. I had assumed the shot of me tied up, ball-gagged, and full of rage over being tickled would be my ace in the hole to prove non-consent on my part. My lawyer actually laughed at that. He pointed out that there were also photos of me VOLUNTARILY crawling around nude with someone riding me, not to mention several in which I am posing and even laughing while bound and gagged. "Imagine having all of these blown up to poster size in a courtroom," he said.

P.P.S. My lawyer DID point out that I'd collected a decent check for my troubles, above average for male models without much experience. Not that he would officially 'advise' fetish photography as the ideal career, but money is money. He also offered to pre-read any future paperwork should I decide to accept any paying gigs in the future ... and for a standard fee he could be present during any future sessions as an advisor.

Did you consent to being chained to the wall?  Even if you did, at any point thereafter, did you request to be unchained and, if so, was your request ignored?  How did you "CLEARY try[] to communicate that [you] didn't like what was happening"?  Did you actually communicate it or did you just try to communicate?  If the latter, was your inability to communicate because of the gag in your mouth?

Depending on the specific facts and the terms of the contract you signed but did not read and of which you don't have a copy, you could have a claim.  For that matter, the whole event could have verged into criminal territory.

I reluctantly allowed the chains to be fastened, partially for fear of disappointing the photographer and being blacklisted from future modeling work, and partially because it simply happened too fast for me to stop and think things through.

That portion of the session began with me, the photographer and the crew taking a short break. I was seated on a bar stool in boxer shorts and a robe, slamming my fourth or fifth tequila shot while they touched up my hair and makeup. Then someone put on an Enigma CD and pulled open a curtain to reveal a concrete wall with shackles and chains dangling from bolted metal plates. They flipped a few light switches, activated a fog machine, and suddenly it looked like a set from Hellraiser.

"Aw, ***heck no," was my exact response when I saw the chains.

"You don't really mean that, do you?" frowned the photographer as she took my hand in hers and guided me onto the set. "You were doing so well, what a shame to make all this money and do SUCH professional work, only to blow your big chance at the very end."

She explained that I would have a safeword, "oxymoron," and my saying it would bring about an IMMEDIATE end to our session, no questions asked. That sounded fair.

In a flash, three people were removing my robe, locking my wrists and ankles into the shackles with padlocks, and spraying mist on my skin to simulate sweat and make me glisten. I was now spread-eagled with my back to a concrete wall, wearing only the boxer shorts.

"You look fantastic!" exclaimed the photographer after she snapped a few test shots. "Now lets demo some products!"

In another flash, I was wearing a blindfold and a slave collar. And then, excruciating nipple pain!

"Aargh, what IS that??" I screamed. It felt like crocodiles had sunk their teeth into my chest, and I just knew I must be bleeding.

"Calm down, they're just nipple clamps," she laughed. "It's a GOOD kind of pain."

"Good pain?" I scoffed. "That is ... well that is an OXYMORON!" I was proud of myself for so cleverly invoking the safeword.

"You don't mean that, now flex your chest and arms for the close-up and we will have those clamps off in thirty seconds."

"I am serious, this really hurts!"

"Quit being a wussy, we're almost done."

Something rubbery was pressed against my lips, and I instinctively knew what was happening. One of the assistants was putting me in a ball-gag to shut me up.

"Oxymaaahhhgggghhh," I repeated as the straps were tightened on my gag. "Ochh-eeehhg-ngoo-raaah!"

"Are you trying to say oxymoron? We can't understand you, sorry!"

AT THIS POINT IT WAS CLEAR THAT THEY KNEW I HAD INTENTIONALLY USED THE SAFEWORD. THE SESSION SHOULD HAVE STOPPED.

Instead, they sliced off my boxer shorts with scissors, placed what turned out to be a male chastity cage over my genitals, and began to deliberately tickle me so I would flex and fight against the chains.

CLEARLY EVERYONE INVOLVED WOULD BE ABLE TO SEE THAT I WAS TRYING TO GET FREE, BEGGING THEM TO STOP. TEARS WERE STREAMING DOWN MY FACE!

To me it goes even further downhill from here. For fear of DISAPPOINTING the one committing the act you agree to the conduct??  The finale almost comes across as vindictive spite from the equivalent of an employee "having an affair" with his boss and then being "dissed."

The tequilas didn't seem to affect your memory.  "Frowned," "I screamed," "she laughed," "exclaimed the photographer," "I scoffed."  Aside from the fact that it reads like a cheap novella, I would never file a complaint using a variety of past participles after quoted statements.  "Said" is sufficient.

(I don't recommend writing as a second resource.)