I was speaking with a model who said to me “Models need more control over what we shoot! Every tfcd shoot, the photog is asking for skin. I’m a fashion model, I don’t do skin.” I said to her “Simple! start paying photographers their rate, and YOU control what you shoot!”
This totally floored her and she brought up the fact that she’s done a lot of local publication work and that she had more of a name locally, than most of the photographers. While I agree with her to an extent, the bottom line is she wants to control what she shoots, there’s only one way to do so. Fork it over sister! I realize the thought of a model paying a photographer is outlandish in today’s terms, but lets be real. The break down is a need based, for those who don’t understand, allow me to break it down;
He who desires the work more, pays.
Pretty simple, right? Or not so. It really is simple, if I want a model in my book, I’m receptive to what she says. If she wants to get paid, I will pay, if she will shoot tfcd but only shoot a specific genre, then that’s what we’ll shoot if it’s what I also want in my book. I will pay the nationally published models to shoot them, cause they have a bigger name than I and it’s a simple addition game, but local models or those who want to be models, sad but I’d never pay them. Not because I feel I’m better than them, but because they don’t present me with the opportunity to advance my career as I have far more published images than them.
Models want to bring your boyfriend? mother? best friend? an entire entourage? I can tell you most professional photographers will NOT allow this to happen on a tfcd shoot. Does that make the photog a “creeper”? or unprofessional? no, it makes them concerned with you making kissey faces or dozens of images of you looking off to the side to get silent approval from the person you brought. Or more often than not, you not working to your fullest for being embarrassed that they’re watching. If it’s your dime, you’re paying? I don’t care what you do! you’re totally responsible for those images!
Finally? time and time again, it has been proven that once there’s money involved, everyone is a bit more professional.