The modeling world today...

For those of you on modelmayhem.com- you are probably aware of the rampant TFP/TFCD debate.

My stance tends to fall on the unpopular side (as far as models go). I think TFP/TFCD is a privelege, not a right as a model. Perhaps I am a little old-fashioned. Maybe I am behind the times. Either way, I still feel there is a lot wrong with the modeling industry since the advent of internet modeling sites.

When I first became aware of the ability so sign up for modeling sites, admittedly I was excited. I thought "Wow, I can upload my pictures, write a little snippet about myself, and I will book work- and I can do it all for free!!!" You have to remember, when I first started modeling, being listed online was an expensive process (As far as I knew), you had to find an agency with a website, and they would post your photos and information, for a large fee. Luckily, my parents wouldn't go for that, so I never lost money on that venture. My initial thought process on modeling sites is exactly what's wrong with the industry today. I thought that maybe, possible I could get famous just by posting my stuff online.

Now you have thousands of girls, women- and in some cases children with profiles on multiple sites, claiming to be seasoned pros. That alone would not be so inherantly wrong- if they paid for pictures.

Let me take you back (sadly, not long ago) to about 1999 when I was first trying to get into modeling. I was about 14 years old, and very inexperienced. Obviously I was not going to book work right away. I began to build my portfolio. I luckily stumbled upon a photographer that only charged me for film processing ($75 a roll). I thought that was an amazing deal, and so did my parents. I shot with her several times, and paid every time. I had no problem with that- she was offering me a service- and as logic would dictate, I paid for that service.

No lets zoom back in to current day- new models, basically in them same boat I was in starting out, now have rates, and consequentially expect the photographers to pay. Let me ask this one question- what could someone inexperienced possibly offer any photographer career wise? It's not like beginners are pros in their field, so obviously they are not offering a legitimate service. Instead of paying photographers to improve their own books, they insist on being paid and keeping the same crappy snapshots in their portfolios.

I feel that before you can establish yourself in any career, you must research and gain experience. There are various resources online, there are land-based agencies that will tell you how it works, and there are many professional photographers that can help these models understand the industry. Yet they don't invest their time. How can you expect to get anywhere, in any career without experience and an investment of some sort? If someone wanted to be a doctor, per se, they would invest their time and money in going to college. Plain and simple.

Bottomline- clients pay photographers and models. Yes, sometimes photographers are the client- but the model will know that upfront- it is not their determination to make.

Of course, some models do, in fact, offer a servic- and become a commodity. Models who have a lenghty resume, are celebrities, have extensive dance or gymnastic history, or models who specialize in fine art modeling (to name a few) have a definitive service to offer, something that no just anyone can do, thus putting them in demand. Unless a model exhibits that she is a commodity, and not just some inexperienced newbie- they should pay a photographer to build their book, research and find what genre they fit into, and pursue an agency or find a way to book work freelance. That's just how it works.

If I am somehow wrong, please feel free to correct me. Otherwise, I hope I helped clear somethings up for people in the industry just starting out.