Rachel Jay: The Blog

Ten Reasons You’re Not Getting Paid

1. A lot of it has to do with your location. If your town is a small blip off the interstate in the middle of cornfields, chances are, it’s not a great market for regular, decent paying work.

2. If you live in the middle of a cornfield, it certainly isn’t very economical for you to travel to and from the nearest major market to go to castings, go-sees, or whatever else on a regular (possibly even last-minute) basis.  Provided, that is, that your major market is one that has modeling agencies and/or clients looking to hire models.

3.  Bigger cities often have events going on. Certainly if any photographers in a major city are going to hire someone, chances are, they’re going to look nearby first.

4. What kind of work are you looking for? Your portfolio needs to reflect the kind of work you’re looking to get.  Certainly photographers aren’t going to pay a model to stand in their studio, smile, and look pretty when they can find a bunch to do it trade.

5. Get a thicker skin. Someone suggesting you be a housepainter isn’t rude.  If you think that’s rude, find another “full time job”, because modeling is much more harsh than that (especially if you make the move to a larger market).

6. Go to college and get an education. Modeling is a career that typically doesn’t last forever.  An education is something you will always be able to fall back on.  At the very least, take some courses on business, marketing, and personal finance, as they will be very valuable in both the modeling business, and the housepainting one.

7. It’s “accepting” not “excepting”. Presenting yourself professionally will help you get treated like one, which might improve your chances of getting paid shoots.

8. Number 6 also applies to the escort BS. You don’t need an escort on a shoot.  Especially if you’re modeling full time–certainly then the shoots you’re going to have full hair, makeup, wardrobe, and possibly even art directors on set…  but if you’re shooting with regular folks off MM or other modeling sites, doing your research on them first may help.  These articles are good to read: Safety & Due Diligence by SLE Photography and What is Due Diligence in a Model/Photographer Environment? by Curt Burgess

9. Stop using the word “edgy”. It’s meaningless.  Seriously.

10. Figure out what makes you worth paying. Once you’ve done that, market the hell out of yourself.  Here’s a hint: it’s not your height, your hair, how much you rock on the runway, or how much you love modeling… because there’s always going to be someone taller, with the same hair, who can rock the runway better, who loves modeling more.