"I always liked to take pictures, but I didn't expect that the other party would not only take pictures, but also be willing to visit attractions and chat with me for an afternoon."
Huang Ping from Xiamen, Fujian Province, brushed a post on social platforms a few months ago on "makeup retouching, accompanying the whole process", spent more than 200 yuan to buy the service of the escort for an afternoon, felt good, and has since become a frequent customer who buys escorts. "Sometimes when I go out to play, I'm embarrassed to always ask my friends to accompany me, and it's good to spend money on a 'partner'."
A recent investigation by a reporter from "Rule of Law Daily" found that escort photography is gradually popular among young people in some cities, especially big cities, and the price of accompanying photography is mostly 1 hour and tens of yuan, and some escort photographers can not only accompany the photo and play, help introduce attractions, plan shooting routes, but also edit pictures, provide makeup, etc. At the same time, disputes caused by shooting techniques that do not meet the requirements, "releasing pigeons" and "escaping orders" are also common.
Experts interviewed believe that as a new thing, there is no clear service standard for accompanying photography, and the parties communicate mostly through social platforms or more private chat software, which lacks formality and security risks, and needs to be vigilant and standardized.
Service levels are uneven
"I know every corner of the city, and I can lead you through the bustling commercial districts and old alleys, and take you to discover the beautiful moments hidden in the corners."
"Whether it's the stride of a meteor or eye contact in a big smile, I will help you record these unforgettable moments. I will try my best to make every photo full of life and the warmth of the story. ”
......
On social platforms, enter the keyword "accompanying photography", and many such promotional advertisements come into view.
The reporter checked and found that those who provide escort services call themselves "escort photographers", which are full-time and part-time, and the price is mostly 50 yuan to 100 yuan per hour. "Taking photos + accompaniment" is their main business, and some accompaniers say that they can "plan tour routes and take pictures while traveling" for out-of-town tourists. "Can I make an appointment in mid-August" and "1.8 ask for a photo accompaniment", many netizens have already enthusiastically consulted the business below the post.
Liu Chang from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, is a part-time college student who is in the summer, she combines her art major with part-time work, and "takes orders" by posting accompanying information on her social account. "Now I mainly use ordinary cameras, mobile phones, etc. to accompany the shooting, mainly in coffee shops, shopping malls and other indoor occasions, and also go to some Internet celebrity attractions to help people take pictures."
"Emotional value is a very important part of the escort business, and it is also the main reason why many people choose to buy escort services." Liu Chang said that many of her customers are foreign tourists who come to Hangzhou, and while taking photos to leave a memorial, they also hope to contact the locals and truly feel the local atmosphere, so she will introduce the customs and customs of Hangzhou for the other party, recommend Hangzhou's attractions, food, etc., and many customers have later become friends who can chat.
Liu Chang introduced to reporters that the previous online appointment service was actually very popular, and the accompanying photo was added on this basis, adding many elements, "the requirements for the level of photography may not be as high as the appointment shooting, but the emotional demand is higher."
"I would tell my clients that I haven't been practicing photography long enough, so please don't show me too much photography. This is also to lower the expectations of customers, my level is more like the level of friends who have better shooting skills around me. Liu Chang told reporters that she would explain these situations to customers in advance.
The reporter's investigation found that many escorts directly use mobile phones to shoot, photography technology is indeed not too high, some use retouching software to retouch, which has led many consumers to complain about "poor escort technology", "chaperone absent-minded, many pictures taken are virtual" and "really disappointed in accompanying photography".
Huang Ping has encountered the problem of dissatisfaction with shooting technology, she told reporters that some escort services have the problem of exaggerated publicity, which is easy to produce unpleasantness and even disputes. "Some of the accompanying photographers I met had no shooting experience, and they were not as good as my friends, and some of them would only press the shutter, and the results of the photos were not good."
Yi'an from Beijing is a photography enthusiast, familiar with the industry, photography, photography and other industries, in his opinion, many of the escort photographers on the platform have no professional qualifications and technology, some of them register multiple accounts to provide escort services, one account has more negative reviews, just use the other. "Many escorts mainly help with casual photos, shop visits, travel check-ins, update life photos, and chat, but their photography skills are neglected, which leads to the problem of vague consumer prices and inconsistent expectations."
Breach of verbal agreement is common
A number of experts said that the form of offline companionship and casual dating can meet the spiritual needs of some consumers and reduce the emotional burden. However, it is worth noting that the phenomenon has appeared for a relatively short time, and there is no special law to regulate the phenomenon and no unified industry norms, consumers should carefully identify risks and protect their own rights and interests.
The reporter's investigation found that the escort is often a verbal agreement reached by both parties, which is not binding enough, and it is more common for the two parties to "not be punctual", "release pigeons" and "evade orders".
Speaking of the phenomenon of "evasion", Liu Chang bluntly said that he has encountered many times, and he will now use the method of paying a deposit to screen some people, but he will still meet people who do not pay the final payment, once met a customer, said that he was very satisfied with her accompanying service, but disappeared halfway, and directly blocked her, and the travel fee and the final payment were not paid.
There are those who do not receive the final payment, and there are consumers who are "released pigeons". Xiang Yang, a resident of Beijing's Haidian District, encountered a similar situation. Once, Xiang Yang confirmed with the escort in advance that "it can be less than half an hour later than the agreed time", but on the day of the accompanying shoot, after Xiang Yang arrived 20 minutes late, the other party "turned his face" on the spot, saying that Xiang Yang would no longer provide escort services due to Xiang Yang's breach of contract, and refused to refund the deposit.
Xie Hongfei, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that China's Civil Code stipulates the form of contract formation, including written, oral or other forms. Therefore, the parties can be established if they reach an agreement on the auction by means of a verbal commitment. The offline "companion economy" of accompanying photography is essentially an anonymous contract in which one party provides labor services and the other party pays remuneration, which can be classified as a labor service contract.
"Whether the client or the escort breaches the contract, they must bear the corresponding liability for breach of contract according to the form of the breach and the degree of default." Xie Hongfei said that if one of the parties "releases pigeons", which constitutes a fundamental breach of contract, the other party can rescind the contract and have the right to demand compensation from the other party; If one of the parties only arrives later than the agreed time, which does not constitute a fundamental breach of contract, but is a delay in the performance of services, the other party may require the breaching party to continue to perform and request it to bear the liability for the delay in performance.
With regard to the payment of the final payment, he believed that if the escort had completed the service as agreed and the customer refused to pay the final payment, the customer would constitute a defective payment, and the accompanist could not only request the customer to continue to pay the final payment, but also have the right to claim compensation for the loss. If the customer has already paid the deposit and the accomer "releases the pigeons", the customer has the right to request the accompaniment to return the deposit twice in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code. Similarly, if the customer "releases the pigeons" himself after paying the deposit, which constitutes a fundamental breach of contract, the accompaniment also has the right to confiscate the deposit.
So, if the level of photography taken by the escort is significantly lower than the consumer's psychological expectations, or if the two verbally agree, does it involve a breach of contract?
Xie Hongfei believes that if the level of photography is completely inconsistent with the standard of publicity, and does not meet the customer's requirements at all, it may constitute a fundamental breach of contract, and the customer has the right to rescind the contract and require the other party to return all the money paid. If the level of photography is only lower than the customer's psychological expectation or the oral agreement between the two parties, it is "performance of contractual obligations is not in accordance with the agreement", which may constitute defective performance, and the customer has the right to request it to take remedial measures (such as reshooting, reducing the price, etc.), if the accompaniment refuses to reshoot, the customer has the right to cancel the contract and can request compensation for losses.
Improve legislation to regulate the industry
Xie Hongfei reminded that while enjoying offline companionship services such as escort photography, it is necessary to be vigilant against possible risks, including customer fraud, breach of contract, sexual harassment, personal safety threats, and even infringement of the legitimate rights and interests of minors, which need to be solved by strengthening supervision and establishing and improving laws and regulations.
In interviews, many consumers also said that safety is the most important factor they consider when choosing to accompany photos. "After all, the other party is a stranger, and they are all personal orders, and there is no reliable institutional endorsement behind them, so I was still very cautious at first." Yan Qing, a resident of Chaoyang District, Beijing, said that after comprehensive consideration, she found a photographer with a large number of posts, a long posting cycle, and a lot of feedback in the comment area through social platforms, and deliberately chose the meeting place in a crowded place.
"The common way to screen customers is to set up to accept only same-sex companion photos, double orders must be couples, make it clear that some remote locations do not pick up, and do not pick up too late." Liu Chang said that as a photo accompaniment, for safety reasons, she will also screen her customers, "more than the evening when I go home, I will report my address and customer information with my parents."
Experts interviewed pointed out that because buyers and sellers of escort services mostly communicate through social platforms, there is a lack of formality and certain security risks. On this issue, the relevant platform should assume the corresponding risk warning and review obligations.
Wang Yegang, an associate professor at the Law School of Central University of Finance and Economics, believes that platforms have a security obligation to ensure security. According to the provisions of the Civil Code, if the operators and managers of business premises fail to fulfill their security obligations and cause damage to others, they shall bear tort liability. According to the provisions of the E-Commerce Law, e-commerce platform operators who fail to fulfill their obligation to review the qualifications of operators on the platform for goods or services related to consumers' lives and health, or fail to fulfill their obligations to ensure safety and security to consumers, causing harm to consumers, shall bear corresponding responsibilities in accordance with law.
"If the platform fails to conduct the necessary review of the information and qualifications of the accompanying service provider, and fails to remind the service provider or consumer of the possible risks of accompanying the auction, causing the service provider or consumer to suffer damage, it shall bear tort liability." Wang Yegang said. (Rule of Law Daily)