Shandra Stark wrote:
my body is in such bad shape right now.  i have my first professional massage in a year booked for wednesday. 

now that i have three jobs, I plan to get two deep tissue or sports massages a month, and attend yoga regularly. 

stretching just doesn't cut it when you're posing for art classes 25+ hours a week.

Soaking in Masada's Joint and Muscle
-> http://www.masada-spa.com/store/custome … t=7&page=1
foes wonders

Masqued Mandie wrote:
At my school they were offering $9.50/hr to pose nude. $8.50/hr to pose clothed.

Wow.

That's...laughable.  I mean, I make 9.25 an hour at one of my part-time jobs, and 8.50 an hour at my other part-time job, but I'm there for 9-hour shifts.

One of the major schools here was offering $14 an hour, but soon they realized that all the models were taking other schools as priority, because ALL other schools in the immediate area pay $20-25 an hour.

The school closest to my house just raised their rate to $50 per session, instead of $45, and started offering $60 per session for night classes, because the model coordinator realized that everyone else was offering at LEAST that much.

I have never heard of an art school paying so little, and I started in Wisconsin.

RodsHotShots wrote:
Makes me wonder though why models charge much more to photographers when many takers will do a nude session in front of a large group of artists in a art class for a little more than minimum wage.

They do it because they're their own boss. But more importantly because people are willing to pay the money.

Furthermore, posing nude for a class is vastly different in a lot of ways than for photographers. The traditional art medium acts as a psychological barrier for the public in a lot of ways. Hanging a piece I've painted in my local boonified coffee shop, wouldn't generate any uproar. Yet the same piece in the photographic medium, people would get pissy.

It is what it is.

Extreme Body Art wrote:

Really?

The most I have seen an art class pay for posing nude is up to $25/hr... crazy.

That's the wonderful thing of Supply and Demand though... if the artist is no picky, then he/she will not need to pay that much.

Like any pricing. I'm sure it will vary depending on the market. Plus, no matter how little someone will work for.. you'll find someone to work for less.. 

I'm a believer that you get what you pay for..but still you can still find cheaper..

Masqued Mandie wrote:
At my school they were offering $9.50/hr to pose nude. $8.50/hr to pose clothed.

Yikes. That's way below minimum wage in my province. :S

Awe-InspiringPhotograpy wrote:
The art classes at my school just pay a flat rate of $15hr. Its been $15hr for the past 4years. The models will pose for the art classes but not in front of a camera. Funny thing is the artist drawing the models are also the photography students offering more money($35-75hr) to models for nude digital work. I do not understand it.

I totally understand it.

Posing for a camera is way different than posing for painters. I was posing for art classes nude long before I was comfortable posing in front of the camera nude. Paintings are very interpretive which can be more flattering and anonymous for the model, whereas photos document every flaw, they could end up anywhere, and the identify of the model is totally apparent. Personally, this has the potential to make me feel somewhat more vulnerable photo modeling (though in general I don't feel that way). A few extra bucks won't really influence someone's decisions if it comes down to what they feel comfortable and confident with.

Alisyn Carliene wrote:
I've never been offered that low.. Usually 50-80 or up to 120 is standard at least the offers i've been made for a 2 hr. class.

That's fantastic.  What college?  I'd like to give the heads up to some models.  They're only getting $18.00 - $22.00 per hour or so here in Pasadena.

Lindsey Joy  wrote:
I'm curious as to how you get these jobs at the universities. Anyone care to explain?

First, some areas actually have a figure model's group.  In the DC area there is one (I believe it's the Washington Figure Model's Guild").  The gallery closest to me that also offers figure classes uses a model from the WFMG.

Second, usually there is a point of contact with an art department.  Go into the Dept. office on campus or call and ask who the point-of-contact is for figure models, every dept. has one.  I'm very near GMU and have used a number of GMU's students who also model on campus.

Third, most campuses (again, outside the art dept.) will have a bulletin board where you can post an index card or a notice.

With just a little big of leg work--basically a few phone calls, nowhere near the amount of work it takes to typically set up a shoot with most MM photographers--you can often get hooked into 2-3-4 classes (multiple hours or back-to-back) for a semester.  The catch is...they may have you do just one class first (to check reliability and fit--can you stand still?  are you comfortable getting nude?) before they book you for all of the Figure-101 and Dynamic Figure-201 classes for the semester.

Note:  there are a couple of universities that hold figure classes and they prohibit their own students from being models in them (Washington University in St. Louis is one).  My understanding is that it's to avoid potential harassment issues.  So don't assume that the on-campus students always get first crack at these jobs--sometimes they do and sometimes they're prohibited from doing so.

--Ed

Vector One Photography wrote:
I have never heard of an art class modeling getting anything close to a photographic model. Does seem to be weird to have such a difference in the two pay scales.  The art class models have to hold a pose for a long time while the photo models are usually checking poses every minute or less.

When I was in junior college the art class models were students getting paid on a work-study as part of their financial aid package.  You can be sitting next to them in english class and then paint nudes of them in your art class.

Actually, if you figure in costs, transportation, and setting up a shoot, pay is almost comparable for some models.   

--A model I've done a number of shots with also does a couple of multi-hour classes at a local university and gets $15 an hour for a couple of hours (let's say multiple classes in one day or a total of $90).  The school is a close commute to her (she has no car), there are no clothing, prop or makeup expenses for this work.
--that same model said she spends an average of 3 hours setting up shoots for each hour of paid shooting time she gets.  If she charges $50 an hour that averages out to $12.50 per hour.  Plus transportation expenses, clothing and props, makeup. 

Let's be honest:  very few models spend the bulk of their time actually doing shoots.  From what I've been told, the majority of time is spent answering emails and calls, confirming details, checking references, figuring out how to get there, getting things packed/ready for the shoot, and transportation time to and from.  It's one thing to say "I get $50/$100 per hour for modeling nude."  But that doesn't figure in all the time spent getting that shoot.   Models who pose for figure classes have a bit of setup to get hired and then once you're in the system, prove yourself to be reliable and a good fit, can often get as many classes as you're willing to sign up for.  That can mean just saying "Tuesday is my school day--I'm hanging out at the student union between my 3 figure classes."  It's not "get-rich-quick" scheme by any means.  But if you're a model who lives in a part of the country where there are slow seasons for models (even nude models) and don't want to try traveling across the country, posing for an art school or university actually is pretty comparable pay-wise for what a lot of models earn posing for photographers.

--Ed

Lindsey Joy  wrote:
I'm curious as to how you get these jobs at the universities. Anyone care to explain?

in addition to universities you very likely have at least one if not more art colleges or schools in a town of your size and quick check on Google would likely bring these up been basically call their main office