When and Where to Get a Model for a Photoshoot and How Much to Pay

When you're getting into genres of photography that require working with models, navigating the landscape of who to hire, when to pay, and more can be a bit confusing. This great video will tell you exactly when you should pay for a model, when you should offer a trade, and where to find them.

Coming to you from Daniel Norton, this great video talks about the various situations you'll be faced with in which you'll need a model and when it's appropriate to go to an agency, when to use a friend, when to offer a trade, and more. As Norton mentions, one of the most important reasons to use an agency is that you'll have a backup if something goes wrong with the model you've hired. When you're working on a large set and there's a lot of money going to different pieces to bring the whole shoot together, it's risky to not have a backup of any single part of the shoot, and working with an agency ensures you'llĀ have access to another model should anything happen. Check out the video above for more helpful information.

If you want to dive deeper into the business of photography, check out "Making Real Money: The Business of Commercial Photography!"

Lead image by Spencer Selover, used under Creative Commons.

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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7 Comments

Agreed. Same about Hair and Makeup team. I still feel it and even see it in final results when the hair stylist is doing hair just because it is a job for her vs when it is a job that she loves to be part of it.
Pretty much when I ask a stylist to be on my shoot and her first question is "how much?" vs "what's the concept? what ideas? etc"... I just go change my stylist and find someone that is enthusiast about the shoot.

What's in if for them? You sound as if you think your work is so fabulous everyone should be tripping over themselves for the opportunity to give away their labor for you.

Mark it up, unless your time is free.

Don't shoot models and you've amputated the problem. :-)