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THETA Sensual Arts Modeling Forum
To TFP Or Not To TFP
Posted By: Henry Butz (69.18.164.91)
In Response To: TFP?
Location: Long Island, NY
Date: Thursday, 18 March 2004, at 8:38 a.m.
(Dianne Bennett)
TFP is a whole can of worms. In the end, you need to do what makes sense for your career and do what you enjoy. I just attended a talk given by a professional photographer who offered this advice. Quote - "A professional photographer (or professional model) is akin to being a prostitute. First you do it for fun, then you do it for friends, then you do it for money."
(please direct flames and feedback to the email provided)
A less whimsical way of re-phrasing this quote is, "Time is money." The photographer and model will probably spend the same amount of time on a shoot. Maybe the model spent all day at the hair dresser the day before. Maybe the photographer spent all weekend in the darkroom the day after. From my point of view, I invest a lot of time, money, and energy into the "art" of photography.
So, when does the model get paid and when does the photographer get paid?
This is actually a less philosophical discussion than you might think. You have to determine what the market is. If the photographer is selling nude photos to an adult website in exchange for cash, then profits need to be passed onto the model in the form of a flat fee or percentage.
Portfolio building is usually mutually beneficial for both the photographer and model, so TFP is more appropriate (but, I always pay college students in cash)
Black and white fetish and nude photography probably has the least amount of commercial value, but I find it to be the most rewarding. Glamour models find the images to be the least useful in their portfolio; but, there is no real cash income to justify paying models "the going rate."
The term "TFP" has been tarnished by a sea of Internet photographers offering it to every model, irrespective of their market, the money they are making off the photographs, and/or the experience of the model. Girls 18-25 have little experience in the art of business and negotiation and view every "TFP" offer as someone trying to "rip them off."
Personally, I've declined to work with some models, even turned down TFP models because it costs me a significant amount of time and money every time I press my shutter release (on my b/w film camera). It's a shame that 95% of the photography and modeling on the Internet has gone "glam." Not a lot of shooters are doing anything "real," because swimming against the tide is often not profitable. That's why we have this forum.
(off my soapbox)
Henry
: So I've come to the point where I am not
: willing to shoot with anyone who comes
: along. I know a bit more about photography.
: I've looked through my images so many times
: I think I've got them memorized. I'm also
: finding that I've got a lot less time to
: just pop off and do a shoot whenever I want.
: So now I have to decide what TFP to take and
: what to turn down. I know that I can base
: some of my decision on the quality of the
: work of the photographer and on their level
: of experience, but all of that is so
: subjective. I'd love any ideas that anyone
: has out there. What kind of things do you
: look for when deciding to do TFP, either as
: a model or photographer? I don't want to
: burn any bridges as I'm realistic to know
: that I'm not what everyone is looking for to
: begin with but at the same time all the
: things I've already mention are out there
: too.: Here's a sample from a TFP shoot I'd definitely
: do again, maybe I should include one from a
: shoot I don't think I'd do again for
: contrast?
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