Artist Name
Over all the years that I have been photographing, I have worked with many models. Most models want their photographs to be published under a chosen name, an artist name. And that is perfectly fine. It also happens in music and other creative industries. Some models use this name as something to hide behind: another identity. These models do not want their real identity to become known in connection with the photographs. Part-time models especially often do not want colleagues from their other job, for example, to know about their modeling career. There are also models whose parents or other family members do not support (nude) modeling.
It has always been tricky to keep your modeling career a secret. Especially in the digital age, where photographs can be shared so easily. And you also have to trust the photographers you work with. They need your real name for legal reasons such as contracts and age verification. But it was still manageable. A photograph published under a fictional name was not easy to match to the model's real name.
However, recent developments in facial recognition have changed things. You could always search the internet if you knew someone's name. You could also search for visually similar images using Google Image Search or Tineye.com. But this does not reveal the model's real name. Recently, however, it has also become possible to search for faces.
Facial Recognition
Facial recognition software searches for images containing the same face. It works by creating a kind of 3D model of facial features. This means you are no longer searching for visually similar images; you are actually searching for the person! It does not matter if you are smiling in one photograph and looking angry in another. The distance between your eyes and hundreds of other features do not change.
This technology is complex and requires significant computing power. But the technology is developing rapidly. Several websites have recently been launched that allow you to search for people within seconds. All you have to do is upload a photograph, and before you know it, the results are on your screen. I tested one of these websites in two ways: with my own photograph, so I can publish the results here, and with a random selection of models from Purpleport.com. Naturally, I will not publish any images from the latter test.
Test with a Selfie
Let me start with myself. I publish my work under my real name and also use my real photograph in my bio. My family and friends know that I work in nude photography. Therefore, I can safely share the results of this first test. For this test, I took a selfie—not a photograph from the internet. This is important because it shows how the system works with "new" faces, images that the system should not already know.
You can see the result beside this text. I am quite surprised. It works exceptionally well. Every photograph shown is indeed me. Three of them are not particularly surprising: they resemble the selfie and are public photographs from my own websites. But the first result is surprising. I was unaware that this photograph even existed (it is a still from a television interview). My eyes are closed, my mouth is open, I am clean-shaven and have short hair. Very different from the selfie I used for the test. The software therefore genuinely recognized my face rather than making a visual comparison. The photograph in the lower-right corner demonstrates the risk of this type of software. It is a photograph of me being honored as a firefighter. As mentioned, my work as a photographer is not a secret. But it is something else entirely that anyone can now discover within seconds that I am also a firefighter. Incidentally, you need the paid version to visit the website where the image originated and to view the photograph without blur.
Test with PurplePort Models
For this test, I selected ten random models from PurplePort. I searched their portfolio pages for a photograph where the face was clearly visible and without excessive makeup. I used that photograph for the test. Of the ten models, I was able to discover the real names of two. I do not think they would appreciate that. Even if you are open about your work as a photographic model, you probably do not want everyone visiting your personal Facebook page or finding your real name.
There was something else that stood out to me as a potentially undesirable situation for the models. For many models, I found photographs that were "sexier" than the shooting styles they listed on PurplePort. This does not necessarily have to be a problem, but some models may have done shoots in the past under a different name and may not want everyone to know about them. This occurred more often than I expected. Of the ten models advertising themselves as artistic nude models, I found erotic photographs of four.
I also discovered a flaw in my research: I selected random models in order to keep the test anonymous. The problem with this is that I cannot say with certainty whether all the matches are actually correct. Looking at the results of my own test, I believe they are quite reliable, but I cannot be absolutely certain.
And finally, I also found unexpected and unwanted results: lookalikes. You know how people say that everyone has a lookalike somewhere. It is rather unfortunate if that lookalike works in pornography and you do not.
I did not save, share, or investigate this data any further. My only goal was to determine how easily this kind of information can be found nowadays.
Use the Tool to Your Advantage
You can use Google Image, Tineye.com, and these facial recognition websites to search for photographs that have been used without your permission. This is also how facial recognition software is marketed: as a tool for finding copyright infringement. I do not wish to promote the use of facial recognition software and have therefore not mentioned its name. If you would like to use it to search for copyright infringement, or to search for yourself, feel free to send me a message.
Conclusion
With this new, publicly accessible facial recognition software, it is becoming almost impossible to remain anonymous as a model. It is also no longer possible to maintain separate modeling careers under different names.
I found the names of two models. That is already a significant percentage, and this software will only continue to improve. Models should be very aware of this kind of technology.
Do you still want to pose anonymously? That is, of course, still possible as long as your face is not clearly visible. For examples, take a look at my project 'Un·dis·closed'. Questions about this article or about modeling? Feel free to send me an email.