I'm going to be talking about modeling and money, so if that offends you, go ahead and carry on. (For those who don't know, TFP stands for Time for Print, which basically means shooting for free, or for the photos.)
Generally I should be charging about 70/hr for regular shooting and 120/hr for lingerie or glamour style. Remember that includes wardrobe, travel, my time, expertise, bleach, nails, usually hair and makeup, etc. Obviously lingerie is going to be more expensive because it's more risque, more in demand, and just riskier in general. I don't necessarily like having a shit ton of pictures of me in my underwear circulating the internet so I should get paid well for it.
Charging any less for shooting just wouldn't be worth it. There's so much time and money that goes into it. Yes I know that photographers spend a lot of money on shooting too, I get that, but I've done so much TFP that I have enough. I need to be actually making a profit.
The problem is, there isn't really a market where I live. Everyone here knows each other, has shot with each other, only does TFP, and the photos are pretty much just to add to the portfolio. No one does commercial work, no one submits to anything of any importance. So I'm just kind of like, what's the point? I like modeling but I feel like I'm going in circles. If I've already shot TFP with a photographer and he wants to shoot again, I can't say "okay here are my prices."
I've had so many photographers contact me about shooting but they all want to do it for free. I can't keep shooting for nothing! There is no benefit for me anymore since I already have a bunch of great photos in my port.
So now I've got a guy who wants to shoot, can't afford my rates, but would offer me MAYBE $25/hr for lingerie. Or gas money. And I'm considering it just because it's SOMETHING for compensation even though the photos are pretty average and nothing to write home about. And my agent has said "don't do glamour for less than 120/hr, you're selling yourself short" but where the heck am I supposed to find the people who will pay these rates?
I just feel like I'm running in circles here.
