Jen Somerfield wrote:
This is a ridiculous comparison.

1) A 4 hour shoot might involve 2 hours travelling, 2 hours replying to emails/calls
2) A model may not expect to get 40 hours a week at that hourly rate, so it is not a full working wage
3) No sick pay, or paid holiday leave
4) No pension, or maternity leave
5) Often weather-dependent, if snowed in and the trains stop running = no shoot or pay
6) You can't model forever, your pay probably won't increase like it would working up the ranks of a company

This is why freelancers always charge more, computer men have a callout charge, the burglar alarm fixer charges an arm and a leg, cleaners are £10ph, because they are not working the entire week, often not even a full 8 hour day.

And the proof of the pudding is, how many rich models have you met?

..just my two pence.

1) If I was searching for a job and found one... my job does not compensate me for my travel time or my time looking for said jobs.. Don't take jobs that the rates are too low for longer travel times.... DO take the jobs that are closer and a "quick buck".

2) A model might not get "40 hours" because she prices herself too high to get that many hours.  Too many models think it's expected to charge $100/hr and complain why they never get work or rarely get work.. It would be interesting to see how much work a model would get if she dropped the rate by half and see if she would make more per month?  An interesting study I would think.

3) I don't get that either... and I work 40 hours a week.

4) Again.. I don't get that and work full time.

5) If work sends us home early because there is no work or "nothing to do".. yep, we don't get paid for our time either.

6) I think you are wrong there.. I think pay can increase as your skills and experience increases, the more in demand you are, the more you can 'insist' on getting paid... You control your rate, so give yourself a raise if you feel it is warranted, but if you don't get work.. the public might feel different about your rate.  Too many models feel that "TF" is working for free when if they would take TF shoots (with the right photographers) it could increase their earning potential.

Jessie Shannon wrote:
There is an old saying: Buy the best..forget the rest

And I'm not trying to sound like a bitch when I say that, but as with all things in life, you get what you pay for.

A) "Buy the Best", but the best doesn't respond. (even when you are willing to pay their required rate)... they don't even read the message and ignore that you even exist.

B) "You get what you pay for" might be true in some cases but there are still amazing girls that I have worked with that have worked for pretty cheap. The rate doesn't make the model good at what she does.

Little Alice wrote:

I really have to disagree with that statement.  If you are dealing with "models" where that's all they do, then I'm very sorry.  Real models do a lot more before and after the shoot.  Even shoots that do not require clothing still require prep time.  Any model who just rolls out of bed and shows up as is clearly does not have consideration.

I do more before and after too? bfd, we all read that forum topic 50x. I also consider MUA part of the working time, so what on earth do you need to do after that has any impact on the session we already did?  30 seconds to write, "thanks for the great shoot?" on my MM profile?

Oscar Partida wrote:
i say 20 hr for a model is more than Fair

Depends on the model, the content of the shoot, and the usage rights.

For someone just starting out online it may seem fair.

For someone used to agency rates it may seem ridiculously low.

Tiffiney C wrote:
Hey all. I have a serious question. Lately I've been seeing more and more casting calls "paid" in the amount of about $20-30 or $20-30/hr. My question to the photographers who post these castings is who is you're target market for these castings? Is it hobbyist models who are excited to get any kind of compensation for a shoot? Are you looking for serious models who can give you the images that you are looking for? Do you get a lot of responses for these castings? Would it be more beneficial for you to post the casting as TFP with a small stipend for gas/travel then insert the $20-40.

I usually only offer TF shoots, but I'd say the photographers who post this are looking for the model who will fit their needs AND wants to receive the pay. 

You do realize minimum wage in California is $8/hour.  If a model gets paid $20 an hour, that's better than working at McDonald's.  Now, if she only does one shoot per month, or once every couple of weeks, then that's not a lot of money.  However, if she books a few shoots each day at that rate and shoots about 4 to 5 days a week, then she's making a fairly decent amount of cash.

You can of course not respond and choose not to shoot with that person, but at the end of the day one model will have somewhere around $40 to $60 in her pocket and you will have nothing. 

I know some very talented model who'll shoot with crappy photographers just so they can earn the pay, but shoot TF with good photographers to create art.  You of course set your limit for the pay being offered, but at the end of the day who cares what someone else is offering if you're not going to even read the casting?

Tiffiney C wrote:

I hope you are being facetious. I guess $20 is a lot of money if your job pays $8/hr, or you live with your mom, or you don't have to provide clothing, shoes or wardrobe for the $20 comped shoot. Not saying that you are any of the above, but do you think that $20 is worth 2-4 hours of your time?

In this economy, there are millions of people not working at all.  If models aren't employed all the time, then $20-$30/hr for 2 to 4 hrs can help, especially if she wasn't going to make anything that particular day.  Most photographers on here don't get anything for most of the pics they take.  There are too many people who just can't afford to pay a lot.  If you can afford to ignore these posts, then fine, ignore them and let someone else earn the money.  Or maybe you should pay the photographer.

Lanna Barrones wrote:
I just had to decline an offer for $25/hour.

For me, it entailed

A) 1 fitting = 100 miles round trip
B) half day of shooting = 100 miles round trip, 4 hours of my time

Total of 200 miles on my car, ~4 hours of driving, 4 hours of modeling.

All for $100.  Not a financially viable option for me.  Might be worthwhile for someone else living closer.

That goes without saying...
It all depends on where the job is..
And that is not even specific to model gigs..

I wouldn't take a job for 10/hr that I had to travel over 50 miles to get to it.. BUT, if that job was across the street from where I lived (and provided that the job didn't SUCK big time)... I would probably take it...

Sort of like modeling.
The job is literally a 4 or 5 minute drive away and you are doing nothing else anyway.. You just made $100 bucks with little effort.

Also a model has to take into account how often she gets booked... and at what rate does she get booked at (constantly).

Why take a $20/hr gig if you are constantly getting booked at $40/$50/$75/$100/hr

So I truly do see both sides.. but sometimes models forget that there are some awesome girls out there that have jobs already and when they model and get paid for it.. it's extra (not necessarily needed) income.

J Jessica  wrote:

$20 is a LOT of money, actually.

yep.

i consider $20/hr gigs.