What I learned about Suicide Girls

Update (01/13/08): I recently became aware that SG and   Phillip Warner  and Apnea recently came to a settlement. Apparently all the bad blood between the two parties is now resolved and Warner and Apnea now supports and advocates fully for SG. They issued a joint statement about the settlement:

“We want to make it clear that we 100% have no hostilities towards SuicideGirls in anyway anymore, we all came to a really fair agreement over this dispute, and there were no bad people here, just mistakes and misunderstandings. If you’ve boycotted SG on our behalf, you helped us come to this agreement, so thank you but the battle is over, and we’re all friends again.”

And they now want everyone to sign up for SG:

“To help offset our legal expenses, when you sign up with SuicideGirls, please use this affiliate code so that we can use the money to pay off our lawyers and focus on Apnea’s modeling and my photography!”

To me this just seems to be a big sell out; going from adamantly opposing SG to now fully supporting SG. To read more on the subject you should check out Amelia G’s article on blueblood.net entitled: SuicideGirls vs Lithium Picnic Lawsuit Settled

Anyways, I just thought I’d put this out as an update to my blog post below.

 

A couple days ago, Suicidegirls.com (NSFW) contacted me wanting me to join their team as the portland staff photographer. I was flattered at first. I had also heard some pretty bad things about SG. Instead of just going off of what other people believe I decided to do my own research on them. What I found not only confirmed what other people have told me about them but went above and beyond it (or should I say below and beyond).

SG touts itself as being a company that is “founded on the belief that creativity, personality and intelligence are not incompatible with sexy, compelling entertainment, and millions of people agree. The site mixes the smarts, enthusiasm and DIY attitude of the best music and alternative culture sites with an unapologetic, grassroots approach to sexuality.” In reality SG cares more about getting as many images for as little amount of money and then turning around and making as much money possible on those images. SG also touts itself as a women run organization when in reality the one who makes most of the decisions is a man, Sean Suhl. He is also the president of the company. He has been known on numerous occasions to verbally sexually harass suicide girls that work with him. They have on numerous occasions exploited their models and photographers, paying them an incredibly low amount per set shot (which in the professional photography world would be seen as a huge insult). They have been known to not pay models and photographers until they sign new updated contracts that decrease the models and photographers pay. The list goes on and on . . . and on and on.

They also have no respect for their customers. Coming straight from the mouth of Sean Suhl:

“I don’t give a shit what you want anymore because the only people who respond to this shit are the assholes demanding things.”

Below is an email I wrote to them listing the reasons why I would never work for them:

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So I wanted to do my own research about SG and not just rely on what I’ve heard from other people and from your site. Just looking at the contract it’s almost laughable (and wrong in my opinion) how much control and freedom models and photographers sign away to SG. For one photographers are signing away any discoveries, ideas, techniques, etc. that they learn during the two years they are contracted with SG. Who in their right mind would agree to that?

And the pay is just as laughable/wrong. No wonder SG has photographers sign contracts like this because they knew if they didn’t staff photographers would jump ship and find jobs that actually pay them what they are worth. SG is paying photographers $300 (at most) to hand over the copyright of 80+ images. That $300 is barely enough for the shooting and editing and nowhere near enough for handing over ownership. For it to be worthwhile, the pay would have to be at the least $1000 per shoot.

Your explanation of why models are paid more is a complete joke as well. Yes they’re nude on the internet forever but they don’t have to invest thousands of dollars in photography and editing equipment, hundreds of hours learning the trade, not to mention a good deal more time shooting, editing, and preparing the photos for SG.

I took time to read up on what past photographers had to say about SG (outside of your trash can section (NSFW) on SG) and all I heard was bad things. How you forced photographers to sign new contracts before you paid them, paying them less in the new contracts than the old, paying for plane tickets to remote assignments but then making the photographer pay out of pocket for expenses like hotel, studio, transportation and food while on the trip, rejecting sets from photographers and not paying them for the sets, etc. (the list goes on and on).

I also read up on SG’s lawsuit against Phillip Warner and I have a very hard time believing your side of the story after everything I have read across the internet. I found nothing to support SG’s side (and believe me I searched quite a bit). I even read the contract he signed with you and it clearly states that SG’s competition does not include single girl sites (which is what SG is suing over).

I really wanted to believe that SG was/is a good company with good business practices that treats and respects their photographers and models with dignity. But what I found is the stark opposite, that SG is really just out to get as many photo sets for as cheap as possible.

I appreciate your offer of staff photographer for SG but I won’t and will not ever work for a company that treats their employees the way SG treats theirs.

I wish you the best.

Sincerely,

Isaac Lane Koval

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Now when they replied to my response the only rebuttal they had was “the sgirls community is an unreliable rumor-based resource.” Other rebuttals actually call the girls making the accusations mentally insane . Now, I could understand these lines of thinking if it was only a couple people accusing SG of wrong doing . . . but no . . . if you do a search on google about SG you’ll find pages and pages of horror stories about them. There’s absolutely no way all these accusations can be false.

Right now they have a lawsuit against one of their past photographers, Phillip Warner. I’m really hoping the judge rules in the photographer’s favor and reveals SG for what it truly is.

If you are a model or photographer interested in working with SG I urge you to research them yourself and then make an educated decision whether you want to work for them or not. Myself, I will be boycotting any and everything that comes out of SG.

For more info on SG go to the sites below:
Ex-Photographer tells the truth
Another Photographers experience
The Ugly Side of “Alternative” Porn
boycott SG myspace
SG censorship
the selling of SG photos to third party hardcore porn sites
SG model contract
(model handcuff photo by Terry Turner, after6photos.com / model – Lady Atropos)

Tags: accusations, boycotting, censorship, contracts, email, expenses, exploit, exploited, false, flattered, hotel, judge, lawsut, models, pay, Phillip Warner, Photographers experience, Portland, president, rebuttals, rejecting sets, Sean Suhl, staff photographer, stduio, Suicide Girls, Suicidegirls.com, touts, transportation, trash can section