A fashion photographer was shamed online after sparking outrage for charging $100 extra to shoot plus-size models. The New York City based photographer, identified as, William Lords reportedly charges $950 for a photoshoot of a “standard” model while charging $1050 for a “plus-sized/curve” model.
The incident was brought to light after a model named Megan Mesveskas reached out to Lords for a shoot and asked him his commercials and availability. When Megan got to know about the photographer’s problematic commercials, she took to TikTok and shared the response she got from Lords. Initially the video received just a little more than one thousand six-hundred likes on TikTok. However, when fellow models and related stake holders also shared the story on social media platforms, the video of the incident met a wider audience.
Meanwhile, after sparking outrage, William Lords told Newsweek that he feels that the price is absolutely fair for “these girls”. “$100 is absolutely nothing compared to what I do for these girls,” he was quoted saying.
The Facts of the Matter
Even as we move towards a more inclusive society, reports of discrimination and exploitation in various industries is something that’s still common. This is especially true for the modelling and entertainment industry where numerous incidents of discrimination of a particular person based on their skin colour, height, or weight is reported.
A photographer from New York City has recently come under fire for reportedly charging $100 for clicking pictures of plus-sized models. The man was called out recently by a model in NYC and since then, he has sparked outrage among models and advocates of inclusivity.
Model Appalled to Find Out Discriminatory Photoshoot Pricing
Megan Mesveskas, a model and founder of a model, recently approached a New York City based photographer William Lords and made enquiries on his availability and commercials. She was rightfully appalled when she received an email where Lords had mentioned that he will be charging $100 to shoot a plus-sized model.
Megan shared the incident on TikTok where she gave the details of the email she received in response to her inquiries. William Lords’ manager replied to the email with two separate pricing. In the email it was mentioned that a “standard” model’s photoshoot would cost $950 whereas the price of conducting a photoshoot for a “plus-sized/curve” model is $1050.
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“How Does This Make Sense?”
In her TikTok video, Mesveskas can be heard saying, “Yep, you’re reading that right. A curve or a plus-sized model is going to cost an extra hundred dollars.”
Sixtine Rouyre, a Model Nexus model also took to Instagram and shared her reaction to the matter. In her video, Rouyre can be heard saying, “This is just one more example of how awful the modelling industry is to literally anyone over a size zero. Like, how does this make any f**king sense?
“How does it make sense to charge more because the person standing in front of you, that you’re taking photos of, is bigger?” the model added in her Instagram post
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What Do the Models Feel About the Matter?
Sixtine Rouyre also spoke to Newsweek and was quoted saying, “After speaking with many models, no one has even heard of a higher rate for models with a lot of acne or one who would need exponentially more photoshop retouching—so to see this applied arbitrarily against women who a photographer deems as non-standard sized is, really odd at best and discriminatory at worst.”
“$100 Nothing Compared to What I do..”: NY-based Photographer
Meanwhile, after being called out for his discriminatory pricing, Lords spoke to Newsweek where he tried to make sense of the pricing. The fashion photographer said that the $100 he charges more is spent to obtain “creative and high end” outfits for models for plus-sized models.
“$100 is absolutely nothing compared to what I do for these girls,” he was further quoted saying.
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