MUA Ethics

Story time: A while back, I was working on a group shoot with several other artists and models, when the photographer wanted one model’s hair changed because (no joke) it was too tall for the small statured photographer to capture the way he wanted, but the stylist who did it had already left for the day. Let me explain one thing to lay people that may not be familiar with how it works - each model’s look is assigned by the creative artist, not the model or photographer. So this guy stops the whole carefully orchestrated process of doing hair and makeup for the models still prepping to shoot, throwing off everyone else’s schedules, to demand someone “fix” something that a) wasn’t broken, and b) wasn’t his call. It got me thinking about industry ethics, and things that should be obviously unacceptable, but I’ve seen people do anyway. In addition to not overstepping the duties of your position and stopping a whole shoot to deal with your own… ahem… shortcomings (Gawd. I’m sorry you guys. I had to.), here are three more things that would make you a jerk.

Ask to borrow someone’s product, then steal it. Look, we’ve all borrowed something, then forgotten to hand it right back. Not a big deal. Until you shove it in your bag. Make a habit of handing things back immediately, and if you have to set it down for a while, make sure it is separate from your own things.

Dump a client, then try to win them back when they’re more successful. I shouldn’t need to explain this one. That’s just a dick move. When you reach a level that you have to turn down bookings, it’s fine to prioritize your clients. But it is not okay to try to steal one back when you realize you made the wrong call. You can’t win them all. Accept it and move on.

Offer to do a job for free/exposure when a professional has been requested. This one is a little nuanced, so I’ll try to be clear… I know it feels like you’re being helpful and offering a good deal to someone who needs services you want to provide, but what you’re actually doing is undercutting, and it’s a really bad business practice. If someone requests TFP, by all means offer to work for exposure. If someone offers up an intriguing project you want to work on but says they don’t have a budget for MUAH, absolutely offer to do it for free! But if someone says they want to hire a professional and you offer to work for free, you are devaluing your own services as well as everyone else’s. Just don’t.