Jennifer McKendrick, Pennsylvania Photographer, Refuses To Photograph Teen Bullies

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Jennifer McKendrick, Pennsylvania Photographer, Refuses To Photograph Teen Bullies



A Pennsylvania photographer has chosen not to photograph a group of high school girls for their senior portraits after she found evidence of the teens bullying other students on Facebook.

Jennifer McKendrick, from Indiana County, Pa., wrote on her own Facebook page earlier this week that she came across another Facebook page with nasty comments from four high school girls whose names matched her scheduled clients.

She emailed the girls and their parents to cancel their senior photo shoots, while including screenshots of their comments to explain why she was calling off the session.

McKendrick wrote more about her decision on her personal blog in a post titled "I Won't Photograph Ugly People."

"I mean how could I spend two hours with someone during our session trying to make beautiful photos of them knowing they could do such UGLY things," McKendrick writes. "Realistically, I know by canceling their shoots it's not going to make them 'nicer people' but I refuse to let people like that represent my business."

The photographer told WTAE-TV that the comments she saw were more than just targeting other students for appearance.

"It was beyond 'your clothes are ugly' or 'you don't have any brand clothes' or 'you are ugly, your hair is not right," McKendrick told WTAE-TV. "It was vicious. It was talking about sexuality."

Her Facebook page has since been flooded with hundreds of comments from people supporting her decision.

McKendrick blogs that she hasn't received backlash for her decision so far, but she's prepared if she does. Two of the teens' parents responded to her with apologies, noting that they were surprised by their daughters' actions.

"If you are ugly on the inside, I'm sorry but I won't take your photos to make you look pretty on the outside … I simply don't want to photograph ugly people," she writes.

Article from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/...=main|main|dl3|sec1_lnk3|222412&ref=fb&src=sp
 
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MrsJrotax101

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INDIANA COUNTY, Pa. -- An Indiana County photographer has decided not to shoot senior pictures for a group of high school girls she saw bullying and harassing other students online.

"I don't want to photograph them, I don't want them to be a part of my business image and I don't want them on my blog," Jennifer McKendrick told Channel 4 Action News' Ashlie Hardway.

McKendrick said she saw four high school seniors bullying other kids on an anonymous Facebook page that went beyond just name-calling.

"It was beyond 'your clothes are ugly' or 'you don't have any brand clothes' or 'you are ugly, your hair is not right.' It was vicious. It was talking about sexuality," McKendrick said.

She told Hardway that she was supposed to take the girls' senior portraits.Instead of taking their pictures, McKendrick took screen shots of the online comments and sent them to her clients' parents, saying she saw their children's behavior on the Internet and was canceling their sessions and refunding their $200 deposits.

"I got a couple responses that said 'thank you for letting them know,' that they were unaware what was going on and that they would take care of it," said McKendrick.

McKendrick blogged about the situation and said she wouldn't photograph anyone who behaves that way toward others.

She said the response has been overwhelmingly positive."I knew about it and it was going to be difficult for me to spend the time during the session to try and take these beautiful images of them knowing that they said such ugly things," said McKendrick.

Below is an example of a letter that McKendrick sent to parents:

"I am writing to cancel your shoot scheduled _________ due to some recent events brought to my attention. After stumbling upon a Facebook page called (name removed), I witnessed mean and cruel behavior coming from _______. I am returning your depositing of $212.00 and I'm afraid will need to find another photographer for your daughters senior photos. I want to protect the image of my business and the mean and hurtful things she has said on there is not the type of client I want to represent my business. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and I hope you understand my reasons for doing so. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss this matter any further."
 
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