How to check a photographer before a shoot

1. Check they are a real person or business

• Look for a website on their own domain. A genuine portfolio site shows their work, their real name or business name and a way to contact them. A website alone doesn't prove anything, but it takes time and money to build and leaves a public record, which a throwaway profile doesn't.
• Check the name matches everywhere. The name on their website, Instagram, Facebook and Google should be the same person, with the same work.
• Search for them on Google Maps. Many working photographers have a Google Business Profile with reviews from real clients.
• If they say they run a business in Poland, look it up. Search their name or NIP in the public business register at biznes.gov.pl.
• Look at the account's history. A brand-new profile with lots of polished images, few followers and no tagged collaborators is worth a closer look. Plenty of genuine photographers are new or small, so treat this as a reason to check further, not a verdict.

2. Check the work is theirs

• Reverse image search a few portfolio photos with Google Lens or TinEye. If the same images appear under someone else's name, walk away.
• Ask someone they've worked with. Look at the models tagged in their posts and message one or two to ask how the shoot went. Genuine photographers expect this and don't mind.

3. Talk and agree the details before the shoot

• Ask for a short video call. A genuine photographer will rarely refuse.
• Get the details in writing: date, time, full address, the concept, wardrobe, who else will be there, and who is doing hair and make-up.
• Agree how the photos will be used. Is it TFP (time for prints, where neither of you pays and you both use the images), paid work, or a commercial job? Where will the images appear? For commercial use, expect a written model release that says so.
• Agree any nudity or implied nudity in advance, in writing. Don't agree to anything on the day that wasn't agreed beforehand. You can still say no on the day to something you did agree to.

4. On the day

• Tell a friend where you're going and when you expect to finish, and share your live location.
• Bring someone with you, at least for your first shoot with a new photographer. Genuine photographers are used to this.
• Make your own way there and back.
• You can stop the shoot and leave at any point. You don't need to give a reason.

5. If something feels wrong

• Stop replying, and don't send more photos, documents or money.
• Keep screenshots of the profile and your messages.
• Report the profile on the platform where they contacted you.
• Report it to falszywyprofil.pl, which tracks fake model, photographer and casting profiles in Poland. Reports are anonymous.
• For scams, phishing or a hacked account, report it to CERT Polska at incydent.cert.pl.
• If you are in danger, call 112.

Social media still matters

Genuine social accounts are essential for photographers and models. They're where your work gets seen and where most collaborations start. The question isn't whether someone uses Instagram or has a website. It's whether everything they show you leads back to one real, checkable person.

More guides

• Why models say yes to some photographers — for photographers
• Why a website beats socials alone — for models and photographers