a breakthrough, no more tf...(kinda) am I selfish?

After posting a casting call on ModelMayhem for a free shoot I receieved a lot of interested. Some from people i'd love to shoot with and some from people that would offer nothing (you all know how model mayhem can be)

My casting call clearly stated the date of the shoot and the times etc and I receieved one message from a model asking what date and time I am free. I didnt reply until tonight, a couple weeks after the shoot as I have been super busy with work (proposing to my girlfriend
I told her that I would be happy to shoot her and gave my standard rates for work. She then gets a little arsey saying that the shoot I put a casting call for was for a free and why would she pay for a shoot.

I told her that it was a one time offer and all that stuff.

At this point I suddently realised why would I even consider shooting someone for free that wouldnt offer me anything for my own portfolio.

Is that selfish?

good..

Of course that is not selfish. Time is a limited resource in life and you always need to direct your free time to things that benefit you and your business/hobby. You will find that the MM community is a poor market for paid shoots, but that is life.

-Scott

MM, especially where I am at is more like a Nigerian scam. I responded to a TFP ad not long ago, mainly because I really wanted the girls look in my portfolio. She promptly responded with her rates of $125 an hour. She went on about how she could "improve my portfolio" for that fee. I replied and ripped her a new universe where the sun don't shine.

With that, I agree and have adopted the same policy.

Hot girls ask me to shoot them for free all the time in exchange for permission to use the photos in my port. I tell them that "pretty" isn't a form of currency, my paying customers are beautiful too, and I always reserve the right to use any image I take.

Most of 'em aren't models. They just want attention from a camera.

I love the ones that thing they are so hot that they demand you pay them for the privilege of shooting them. That might be the case if I contacted you... I usually don't hear from them after I tell them that.

I don't disagree with what the OP did but on the other hand he did float the idea that he did free shoots. I don't blame people for asking if they can also get it for free, even if it is a different date. Once you set the notion that you will work for free you are bound to get further requests for more free work. This part of the danger of doing free work,whether it is MM or some other site.

I don't blame people for asking either, but I do roll my eyes when they get themselves wound up into a tissy of entitlement.

Frankly if I want 'that look' on my portfolio, I'll pay for it. If not I'll ask for payment to shoot them. Otherwise I've learnt the hardway that free just doesn't cut it on most occasions - not where I live.

think of yourself first. Avoid doing free stuff. If people whines that they gonna pay, screw them.

If I ran the world I would abolish TFCD shoots

It's not selfish but unless you're a top photog in the modeling world, you will run into that a lot. Especially on MM and OMP. Most of the top guys either have a client pay the model, or they pay the model to shoot and make the money back from the publication.

Nothing wrong with asking, its very common to shoot models for TF, but getting antsy about it is ridiculous.

Even if someone offers to shoot for free to complete their portfolio (Goes both for Models/Photogs) they may already have the look you do, so theres no point in it for themselfs.

I will always prefer a model to a pretty girl, pretty girls don't know how to charm the camera as well as a true model. Some of the best models i know look normal, but they shine in front of the camera

I don't mind doing TF shoots aslong as i can get the specific look i'm looking for.

But theres 2 things, 1) i always get the rights to a TF shoot. 2) delivery is at my discretion timewise, we agree on what she/he gets, but when is entirely up to me, and it can take several months.

mikekelley wrote in post #11536098
If I ran the world I would abolish TFCD shoots

I dunno, if I did the model mayhem thing I think I'd always be getting them to sign model releases and structuring the shoots so that they'd sell well as stock. There is quite a bit of value in a good commercial stock shoot.

chakalakasp wrote in post #11539560
I dunno, if I did the model mayhem thing I think I'd always be getting them to sign model releases and structuring the shoots so that they'd sell well as stock. There is quite a bit of value in a good commercial stock shoot.

Presenting a modeling appointment as TFP with the intention of licensing the image for further commercial use can backfire on you in court--model releases have been overturned on that basis. If you know upfront that you intend to use the images commercially, it's better to pay the model a standard rate.

My standard procedure: If I ask you, it's free. If you ask me (even if you asked me in response to my marketing), it's full price.