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Model

Tryst

Posts: 20

London, England, United Kingdom

Greetings! I am a Canadian model with lots of experience on my first tour to the EU, starting in the Netherlands. I've found great success in consulting these forums for general industry questions - and my biggest one right now is what to expect for rates. In Canada, fine art work fluctuates a lot from $50-$150/hr. This makes it hard to state my rates without occasionally offending someone! But I usually go in the $80/hr or $300/half day range.

In the EU, how do areas fluctuate in price, and considering I am travelling far and accommodating myself, can I charge 100euros/hr?

Thanks so much in advance! Be kind please.

Aug 31 21 07:36 am Link

Photographer

PHP-Photography

Posts: 1390

Vaasa, Ostrobothnia, Finland

Have a look at the "Travel / Availability Notices" and you get some views what rates are.

100Eur/h is most likely too much, I would say 50-80 Eur and in UK even less than that.

Aug 31 21 08:36 am Link

Photographer

Ken Marcus Studios

Posts: 9421

Las Vegas, Nevada, US

Before you leave your home country to try and work in the EU, make sure you have appropriate work permits for each country. You might be surprised how many countries have regulations regarding freelance foreign workers.

Check ahead of time . . .

For example . . . The US doesn't allow models to come here for work without going through a lot of hassle getting permits. If you get caught working without a permit, you can be expelled and never allowed entry into the USA ever again.

Not worth taking the chance . . .

Aug 31 21 09:03 am Link

Photographer

Ivan123

Posts: 1037

Arlington, Virginia, US

Part of the problem of determining "typical" rates is that I don't think there are any.  What are typical rates in Canada or the US?  If varies enormously from city to city.  Europe is a big place so I don't expect anything is typical between Lisbon and Berlin and everywhere in between.  Having said that, I think that overall rates for figure models are lower in general where there is no "being naked" bonus because nudity is not as big a deal.

You don't specify where you are going after the Netherlands but if you will be in Germany, check out model-kartei.  It bills itself as European but is very heavily slanted to Germany so sort of a German language MM but I find the overall quality of both the models and photographers to be higher that here, not really because their best is better than the best here but because their worst is better than the worst on MM.  Most of the notices and such are in German but you can get by with English.  You can use it to find photographers outside Germany but not as many.  (And I personally recommend Berlin, it is a wonderful city.)

Good luck.

Sep 01 21 12:23 pm Link

Photographer

JT Life Photography

Posts: 624

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

You may be able to get a work visa for individual countries through the Youth Mobility Scheme under the Working Holiday program. One needs to apply within six months of your expected date of arrival and there are requirements to show certain funds in your bank account (e.g., UK is £2,530) for 28 consecutive days before application/arrival. The visa MUST be active on your arrival, retroactive won't cut it.

I think the British site (https://www.gov.uk/youth-mobility) states that the application fee is just under £300 and since the UK is out of the EU you would need visas for other European Countries. Although the sites say they will typically process within 3 weeks, with COVID I would take that with a VERY large pinch of salt.  I would double times at least.

As Ken wrote, I'd be very hesitant to try and work without the proper paperwork. A day or two in a cell followed by deportation and future refusal of entry is a real risk. And, for a photographer to hire you even with just a suspicion that you don't have the legal right to work opens them to fines of up to €500,000 and even imprisonment.
 
Can you work illegally and not get caught? Of course. Is it worth it? That is for you to decide. I know several models in Toronto that got 10 year bans from entering the States because of previously working illegally, and a few that find themselves unable to travel to Europe for the same reason.

As to what one could earn, with all the correct paperwork, you would be doing well at €60 an hour.  Not that you aren't a great model but the market is saturated.

JT

Sep 01 21 05:38 pm Link

Photographer

TomFRohwer

Posts: 1602

Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

Tryst  wrote:
I am a Canadian model with lots of experience on my first tour to the EU, starting in the Netherlands. I've found great success in consulting these forums for general industry questions - and my biggest one right now is what to expect for rates.

First of all: "EU Rates as Figure Model" do not exist.

The EU ranges from high-income countries like Germany, Sweden, Netherlands to low-income countries like Bulgaria, Romania, Poland... Average income in Sweden: 3.050 Euro per month. Average income in Hungary: 5.000 Euro per year...

In Canada, fine art work fluctuates a lot from $50-$150/hr. This makes it hard to state my rates without occasionally offending someone! But I usually go in the $80/hr or $300/half day range.

In the EU, how do areas fluctuate in price

Extremely.

Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Austria: the high end.
France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Malta: medium.
Poland, Czechia, Slowakia, Estonia, Lithunia, Latvia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Greece, Croatia: below medium.
Bulgaria, Romania: the low end.

and considering I am travelling far and accommodating myself, can I charge 100euros/hr?

Top edge.
By the way: $80 (Canadian) = 56 Euro... $300 (Canadian) = 200 Euro. This is competitive.

Do not forget: economy in Europe had suffered from massive one and a half years Covid-19 restrictions. Especially "media and culture industry" had been devastated. A lot of models, actors etc. don't earn anything for more than a year.

By the way: if you want to do it correctly you need a work visa for the EU (Schengen Visa).

Thanks so much in advance! Be kind please.

You got mail via MM. (I hope so. If not feel free to contact me via MM)

Sep 02 21 05:27 pm Link

Photographer

PHP-Photography

Posts: 1390

Vaasa, Ostrobothnia, Finland

TomFRohwer wrote:
Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Austria: the high end.
France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Malta: medium.
Poland, Czechia, Slowakia, Estonia, Lithunia, Latvia, Slovenia, Cyprus, Greece, Croatia: below medium.
Bulgaria, Romania: the low end.

If you talking about model rates I would not call Czech or Latvia below medium, they are at high end.
Don't forget Hungary, Ukraine and Russia.

Sep 03 21 01:23 am Link

Photographer

TomFRohwer

Posts: 1602

Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

PHP-Photography wrote:
If you talking about model rates I would not call Czech or Latvia below medium, they are at high end.

At least they try to get these rates.
There is a huge scene of fine art and fetish models in Czechia existing since ~ 20 years. They like to call out rates of 100 Euro/hour or even more. But not just since Covid-19 these rates are very negotiable. And Covid-19 (the pandemic like the restrictions) has devasted the Czech economy. So many people are jobless or depend on low income jobs. In an economy where 50 or 100 young girls apply for one job as waitress for ~7 Euro/hour nude model rates are very negotiable.

("Nudity brings you better through times with no money than money brings you through times with no nudity"...)

Don't forget Hungary, Ukraine and Russia.

Ukraine and Russia are not EU countries...

And photographers in Ukraine or Russia have tons of beautiful and capable nude models available who live in a society with high unemployment and average wages of ~200 Euro/month - for well trained professionals. Photographers in Ukraine or Russia do not wait for models from overseas wanting to get paid 100 Euro per hour...
Moreover high class nude models from Ukraine and Russia are fierce competitors to models from overseas in the EU. They have also the advantage that it's cheaper to get to Germany or France from Kiev by low cost flight or train or bus than to travel from the other side of the great pond. And if they bring home ~400 Euro net earnings back home from their 14 days travel this is more than a university professor earns in a whole month. (And usually it's tax free income.)

Hungary as Czechia and Slovakia has a big modelling scene, too. And Hungarian photographers have as little as money than their Czech or Slovakian counterparts...

As said above: 50 Euro/hour or 200 Euro/half-day are quite competitive for a capable nude model in the "upper half" of the EU countries. By the way: I never got the meaning of "1-hour-nude-modelling-jobs". If you don't get paid for make up time etc. you will spend three hours overall to get paid for one hour modelling...

As a travelling model you need accomodation. You have to rely on restaurants. Your living expenses are higher than at home. So it makes much sense to try to offer attractive 1/2 (or 1 day) rates. It pays off for both sides.

200 Euro for 1/2 day is an attractive offer for committed amateur photographers. And - at least in Europe - amateur photographers make most of the customers of nude models.

Sep 03 21 02:46 am Link

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